'Determined' Del Fava snaps Utah Royals' skid with late header against Bay FC
'Determined' Del Fava snaps Utah Royals' skid with late header against Bay FC
Kate Del Fava scored the game-winning goal in the 89th minute, and Mandy Haught made three saves to make it stand up as the Royals snapped a 6-match losing skid with a 1-0 win over Bay FC.
The weight of a 10-match winless skid that included six-straight losses hung like a dark cloud over Kate Del Fava.
The Utah Royals center back tried to ignore, to move to the next play, next game, and next opportunity. But she thought about it — when you’re the last-place team in the league, it’s hard to completely push those feelings aside.
The Royals had invested a lot in Del Fava, signing her to a contract extension through the 2026 season (with an option for 2027) before Utah’s inaugural season of 2024 was complete. They flew her entire family to Utah for the ceremonial contract signing and photo opp, too.
At 25 years old, the Kenosha, Wisconsin, native was a big part of the Royals’ movement goin forward. So she felt a personal responsibility for the team’s struggles — and she had to put them to an end.
But first, she had to get a touch on Ally Sentnor’s perfect free kick over the Bay FC defense.
Del Fava scored the game-winning goal in the 89th minute, and Mandy Haught made three saves to make it stand up as the Royals snapped their skid with a 1-0 win over Bay FC at PayPal Park in San Jose, California — marking Utah’s first road win over the season and first win since March 22.
“We were determined to put one in the back of the net,” Del Fava said. “Perfect ball in from Ally; all I had to do was pretty much touch it. You could see the excitement from the whole group. It was a hard-earned 3 points.”
And to borrow one from Sentnor, postgame via Instagram: “Bless Kate’s head rn.”
The celebration, as one might expect, was thrilling — one that was, perhaps, three months in the making.
“On the inside, I am jumping for joy and so excited for my team,” a subdued Royals coach Amy Rodriguez said following the match. “They found a way to win in a hostile environment, with tens of thousands of fans cheering against us, the backs to the wall for the first half. We were out of possession for most of it, and then in the second half really changed the tune … And then, I was really happy to hear that final whistle.”
Indeed, after clinging to a scoreless first half, Utah (2-10-1, 7 points) flipped the page around with an aggressive press and equally aggressive counter-defense after the break.
The Royals out-shot Bay FC 7-1 in the second half, including 5-0 in shots on goal with a 4-1 advantage from the corner flag.
“I think we just kept building momentum as the half went along,” Del Fava said. “I think it all led up to the moment where we got the goal. We’re really happy with the whole group for being able to see that game out.”
With a losing streak stretching to six consecutive matches during a 10-match winless skid, Rodriguez continued to tinker with her lineup against the Royals’ fellow 2024 expansion side.
The latest move involved starting attacking midfielder Macey Fraser, the first in the NWSL for the 21-year-old rising star from New Zealand. Cameron Tucker also began the match at center forward, putting Sentnor back on the wing (with fellow rookie Brecken Mozingo), and sending captain Paige Monaghan to the bench.
Amandine Henry donned the captain’s armband for the Royals.
But Bay FC out-shot the visitors 8-4 in the first half, holding Utah without a shot on goal. Things got worse when Lauren Flynn, the rookie utility back who made another appearance at left back Sunday night, went down with an injury and was replaced by Madison Pogarch in the 25th minute.
A potential go-ahead goal in the 85th minute was called back with a late offside flag on Bay FC’s Racheal Kundananji, moments after a review on Del Fava’s challenge against Deyna Castellanos was ruled clean in the box.
But it was Del Fava that would give the visitors the first lead, going up amid chaos in the box to head Sentnor’s set piece past Katelyn Rowland.
It was Utah’s first goal since May 12, and just the seventh goal of the year for the expansion squad. But Sentnor has a way of putting Utah in winning positions, her pace and skill with the ball well past her rookie stature or 20 years in age.
Sentnor has now scored or assisted five of the Royals’ seven goals on the season, including a goal and an assist to win both matches.
“The ball is just stuck to her foot,” Del Fava said of the youngster from Hanson, Mass., by way of North Carolina. “She’s so technical, she can drive and she can dribble like no one else on this team can. I think the higher up the field we can get her, the better off this team will be. We proved that tonight.”