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ORLANDO, Fla. — The NWSL's No. 1 team, Orlando Pride, went undefeated over the first half of the season, and showed no signs of slowing down in a 6-0 win over the Utah Royals in the first game of the season's second half on Friday.
Utah made it 27 minutes without conceding a goal as it looked like the run of close games could continue for the Royals coming off of their second win of the season.
NWSL golden boot leader Barbra Banda broke the ice in the 27th minute with her ninth goal of the season, and another Pride goal during first-half stoppage time deflated a hopeful Utah team heading into the locker room.
"This is a hard one to swallow right now," head coach Amy Rodriguez said on the broadcast at halftime. "We really wanted to walk out of here with a clean sheet. Now we're down two and we've got a lot of work to do."
Amy Rodriguez on the @UtahRoyalsFC first half in Orlando pic.twitter.com/9mynDkL2BO
— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) June 22, 2024
Banda got her 10th goal of the season in the 86th minute, and Brazilian legend Marta had a brace of her own to hand Utah its largest defeat in club history, overtaking a 5-1 loss at Louisville in April. The Pride scored three goals after the 85th minute as the Utah defense completely fell apart late.
Rodriguez tweaked the lineup and formation again for the Royals on Friday, with three center backs and two strikers, including BYU alum Michele Vasconcelos up top with rookie Ally Sentnor.
"It was gonna require a ton of really good shifting from our center backs and our sixes (defensive midfielders) tonight," Rodriguez said of the changes. "And I just felt like we weren't quite there."
French newcomer Amandine Henry has worn the captain's armband the last two matches for Utah and Rodriguez described her as the team's "game manager" due to her nearly two decades of professional experience and ability to read the "emotionality" of the game.
"I'm disappointed, but I keep my head high because we're going together," Henry said after the loss. "Orlando was better than us. ... We have some work to do to be better for the next game. We have two games before the break, so we have to stay strong."
The Royals return to America First Field on Saturday, June 29 against the Portland Thorns before heading out for their final pre-Olympic break match at Seattle on Sunday, July 7.
