(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Royals FC forward Amy Rodriguez (8) gets past Portland Thorns FC midfielder Celeste Boureille (30), in soccer action between Utah Royals FC and Portland Thorns FC, at Rio Tinto Stadium, Saturday, April 28, 2018.
Sandy • Surrounded by three defenders, Utah Royals forward Amy Rodriguez made it look like she had all the time in the world.
First, she took a touch to her right to evade Portland Thorns goalkeeper Britt Eckerstrom, who then collided with defender Kelli Hubly. Then, Rodriguez took a second touch to get away from defender Meghan Klingenberg before sliding a shot into the net.
It was the first goal for Rodriguez since an ACL tear last season and the first home goal for the Royals in franchise history, but the Thorns rallied to force a 1-1 tie at Rio Tinto Stadium, keeping the Royals winless on the season.
“I think this is the most frustrated I’ve been I think after a game,” said Royals coach Laura Harvey, “just because I felt that we knew what it was going to take to break them down, we just didn’t do it well enough and often enough. But when we did do it, it caused them a problem.”
Rodriguez was planning on only playing 45 minutes, but took advantage of a change in plans when she got the ball in the 53rd minute for the score.
“I just remember staying calm in the moment,” Rodriguez said, “taking my time, being patient, waiting for the right shot to come out.”
The Thorns’ tying goal came in the 67th minute. Portland midfielder Christine Sinclair’s pass to Tobin Heath left the forward in on goal for a one-on-one with Royals goalkeeper Abby Smith, and Heath scored in her second match back after offseason ankle surgery.
Rodriguez said her she and the staff are building up her playing time based on how she feels in each outing. She has no set timetable for returning to playing a full 90 minutes.
“We see how hard she’s been working,” said Royals captain Becky Sauerbrunn of Rodriguez. “I know how hard it was to lose her in the [FC Kansas City] season last year … and you could see the excitement on her face, that [goal] meant a lot to her. And it’s just really unfortunate that it couldn’t have been the game-winner, that we couldn’t make it [that] for her.”