Prašnikar scores 1st goal in Utah Royals' 2-1 loss to San Diego in home opener
The Slovenian forward is the first player from her home country to score a goal in NWSL player since the league was founded in 2012.
Lara Prašnikar will be hard-done to forget her first.
The Utah forward who tallied her first NWSL career goal in the Utah Royals’ 2-1 loss to the San Diego Wave on Sunday in the club’s home opener in Sandy, Utah won’t soon forget it, even with the bitter result.
Prašnikar scored her first goal in the Royals’ new “Swarm” kit when Madison Hammond launched a long ball across the penalty box in the 67th minute, Cloé Lacasse centered it towards Kiana Palacios as a San Diego player stepped in front of her, and the ball landed at Prašnikar’s feet for a one-touch strike that momentarily equalized the two sides.
Prašnikar is the first Slovenian to score a goal in NWSL player.
“It means a lot,” she said after the match. “It’s been a hard way to come here, and to hard first couple of games without a goal. But here I am, and I’m happy to help the team.
“I think I was at the right place at the right time,” Prašnikar added. “I was just happy to get a touch on the ball … I think it was in the perfect moment, when we scored. We could’ve kept on going, but then the red card happened and momentum was lost.”
The goal equalized for Utah, but the lead wouldn’t last as the Royals (0-2, 0 points) eventually dropped 3 points at home in a shorthanded manner.
Dudinha gave the Wave (1-1-0, 3 points) an early lead, taking advantage of a misplayed backwards pass in the 17th minute to strike inside the bottom left corner for the 1-0 advantage.
The Royals (0-2, 0 points) were 0-18 when trailing at halftime since returning to Utah before the 2024 NWSL season, including 0-9 during last year’s 6-13-7 campaign that finished 12th in what was then a 14-team league.
But Utah didn’t quit. Lacasse tried to time a long ball into the box from Kameron Simmonds toward Palacios in the 67th minute.
But when a Wave defender stepped in front of the Mexican international, Prasnikar was open at the top of the box to finish for her first goal since joining the NWSL last year.
Tatumn Milazzo drew a second yellow card with 10 minutes to play that left the Royals shorthanded, and Lia Godfrey put away the go-ahead goal in the 86th minute to help the Wave take full points.
The Royals hit the road again Wednesday to face the Washington Spirit at Audi Field (5 p.m. MT, Victory+) before traveling to NWSL newcomer Boston Legacy FC on Saturday (10 a.m. MT, ESPN2).
Photographers Uriel Bento and Gina Fox were at Sunday’s match for Salt City Soccer. Here are some of their favorite pics.
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