Forward Katie Stengel forced a mistake from the North Carolina Courage defense and ended the Utah Royals’ 319-minute scoreless drought, a key moment in an eventual 2-2 draw at Sahlen’s Stadium on Saturday afternoon in the NWSL.
“That goal was clutch,” Royals forward Brittany Ratcliffe said. “We needed that to get back in the game.”
Utah had been trailing since the sixth minute of the game, when Courage defender Merritt Mathias won the ball off a corner kick and one-timed a shot into the net from distance.
The Royals survived five more shots and six more corner kicks in the first half and went into halftime down 1-0.
The Royals got their break in the 52nd minute, when North Carolina misplayed a long ball in the box. Courage defender Abby Dahlkemper and goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland broke toward the ball, and Dahlkemper headed it up and behind Rowland. Stengel swooped in to battle for a header at the post, and flicked the ball into the back of the net.
Fourteen minutes later, Rowland flubbed a clearance, putting the ball at Ratcliffe’s feet. She took two touches and from outside the box drove a shot in at the near post for a 2-1 lead.
But goalkeeper mistakes would even out in the end. In the 80th minute, Royals goalkeeper Abby Smith — who made three saves in the game — came out of the box to contest a long ball sent over the top of her back line.
With Courage forward Lynn Williams closing in on her, Smith mishit the clearance. The ball dribbled off to her right, where Royals defender Sydney Miramontez tried to put it out of harm’s way, but North Carolina midfielder Crystal Dunn deflected her strike into the goal.
Utah will start a four-game homestand next weekend against the Portland Thorns at Rio Tinto Stadium.