Utah Royals stretch unbeaten run to 5th straight with 2-0 win over Houston Dash
Paige Monaghan scored a goal for the third straight match as Utah Royals FC stretched its unbeaten run to five in a row with a 2-0 win over Houston in a Sunday matinee.
Paige Monaghan didn’t have to pack her scoring boots for a trip across the NWSL Sunday afternoon.
Being back at home for the first time in a month was good enough.
Amid the back drops of the Wasatch mountains and the familiar fans at America First Field, she kept those boots scoring, too.
Monaghan scored a goal for the third-straight game, and Kaleigh Riehl added another as the Utah Royals stayed unbeaten in five matches with a 2-0 home win over Houston in Sandy, Utah.
The Royals out-shot the Dash 15-5, and held Houston without a shot on goal in handing the visitors their first loss since June 21.
“I feel like I’ve just been playing in my flow state, and that’s what has led to goals,” Monaghan said.
“My flow state is when I’m not really thinking much about it,” she added, asked to elaborate. “I’m just playing, and I’m just me.”
Riehl opened the scoring less than five minutes in, finishing a corner kick from Cloé Lacasse for her first goal in a Royals uniform and first in the NWSL since 2022 with the San Diego Wave.
Utah wasn’t done there, though.
After Lacasse was caught offside, Nuria Rábano booted a long ball to Monaghan, who ripped a shot from distance that sailed over Houston goalkeeper Jane Campbell and under the crossbar for the 2-0 advantage in the 45th minute.
It’s the third consecutive match with a goal for Monaghan, the captain of a Royals squad that hasn’t lost since setback to Kansas City back on Aug. 8.
Since then, it’s been mostly draws for Utah, which fell into the cellar of the 14-team league despite the consistent points that included a 2-1 win over Portland on Aug. 29.
“I’m just kind of mad at myself for the first half of the season,” Coenraets said. “Could we have done better in the first half of the season? Probably, without a doubt.
“So the question is how do we keep this momentum into the end of the season, and whatever’s coming next … I’m definitely feeling happy about what is happening right now. But I’m also facing criticism from myself, and trying to figure out what happened during the first half of the season.”
