Ana Tejada Rocket Propels Utah Royals FC To Win Over Racing Louisville
Sep 29, 2024, 12:20 AM
(Photo courtesy of Utah Royals FC)
(Photo courtesy of Utah Royals FC)
SANDY, Utah – The Utah Royals FC ended its three-game losing streak with a 1-0 victory over the Racing Louisville FC at America First Field on Saturday.
The last time that Utah and Louisville faced off, the Royals fell in a disappointing result.
In that game, Utah allowed five goals. Without star goalkeeper Mandy Haught and former No. 1 overall pick Ally Sentnor, it looked like the Royals may have a tall mountain to climb at home.
¡Nada como tres puntos en casa!
Nothing like three points at home! pic.twitter.com/yP6Vk4mJpC
— Utah Royals FC (@UtahRoyalsFC) September 29, 2024
Royals Top RLFC Behind Ana Tejada Goal
Despite all of these facts, Utah held the advantage through the first 45′. The Royals led in possession, shot attempts, and corner kicks before the first half came to an end.
The first look on goal came from Louisville in the 13th minute. Marisa DiGrande sent a beautiful cross through the box and Lauren Milliet opted for a chip shot but missed high.
On the counter, three different Royals players looked to put the club on top in front of the home crowd. Cameron Tucker, Dana Foederer, and Zoe Burns all had their attempts blocked.
Over ten minutes of back-and-forth later, two more attempts from the Royals split the goal. Cloé Lacasse missed to the left in the 26th and Hannah Betfort missed to the right three minutes later.
As the 45th minute approached, Louisville had yet to get another quality scoring look. However, Utah had yet to put a shot on frame.
After nine minutes of stoppage time was added, that changed but to no avail. Lacasse attempted to sneak a shot past the RLFC goalkeeper in the bottom left corner but she was able to fall on it for the first save of the match.
All even at the halfway mark pic.twitter.com/r6oqja0NtJ
— Utah Royals FC (@UtahRoyalsFC) September 29, 2024
The Royals kept their foot on the gas after the break. The first shot of the half came off the foot of Claudia Zornoza in the 48th minute. Three minutes later, Cameron Tucker forced Katie Lund to make another save.
RLCF responded with some pressure of their own. They went on the counter and Savannah DeMelo took back-to-back shots with the second finding Cristina Roque in the center of the goal.
A few minutes later, Taylor Flint nearly found the top bins but Roque denied the attempt once again. The Royals went on a counterattack of their own shortly after, a common theme in the second half.
After not much came from Utah’s attack, Louisville took over and took control. Over the next 10 minutes, they took four shots and kept the ball mostly in their attacking third.
As mentioned earlier, the story was attacks and counterattacks at AFF on Saturday. Utah benefitted from that as the 90th minute approached.
From the top of the box, Tejada sent an absolute steamer toward the net and it sailed past the keeper for the first score of the match.
.@anatejaadaa goes the distance 🚀🤩 pic.twitter.com/ycJSSD9ghk
— Utah Royals FC (@UtahRoyalsFC) September 29, 2024
Six minutes of stoppage time was added but neither side was able to get anything to promising as the match came to an end with a 1-0 scoreline.
Follow the Utah Royals with KSL Sports
The Utah Royals FC will hit the road and head to the Pacific Northwest for a match against the Portland Thorns FC on Saturday, October 5.
Live radio calls of every game can be found on sports.ksl.com. Select games will be broadcast on the KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM/1280 AM) and KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM/1160 AM).
