Head coach Jimmy Coenraets’ squad required a last-gasp penalty in the dying seconds of Friday night’s NWSL contest against the Chicago Red Stars to claim a much-needed 1-0 victory in both sides’ latest domestic outing at America First Field.

Both teams made relatively equal starts to proceedings but the hosts enjoyed the first unexpected sight of goal when forward Ally Sentnor’s direct effort from a left-sided corner kick curled all the way goalwards before thumping off the right post and back out into play before eventually being cleared.

Tragedy struck, however, early on for the Royals when fullback Nuria Rabano was forced to be withdrawn, having to be helped off the pitch, only 10 minutes into the match after suffering a leg injury following a collision with an opponent.

The hosts did begin to gain more of a foothold during the second half and came close a few times to an opener through chances for Dorsey and Zornoza, but the visitors continued to resist at the back. New signing Cece Kizer and Sydney Jones were introduced as substitutes Coenraets’ urged his side on in search of a late winner.

With the clock desperately ticking towards full-time, the Royals were handed a lifeline when midfielder Dana Foederer was adjudged to have been illegally impeded in the penalty area, prompting a closer VAR inspection which led referee John Matto to point to the spot.

USWNT international Sentnor coolly stepped up before rifling her resulting spot kick hard and low into the bottom left-hand corner to seal all three points right at the end and hand the Royals a first win in five opening games of the campaign.

The result lifts URFC (1-1-3, 4 pt, 12th NWSL) up from second-from-bottom and into 12th place in the NWSL standings ahead of a slew of fixtures remaining to close out the contemporary round of matches.

Next up for the Utah Royals is an away clash against the Houston Dash on Friday at Shell Energy Stadium. Kickoff is at 6 p.m. MT.

Real Salt Lake can’t overcome controversial red card, loses to Toronto

Real Salt Lake was unable to recover after allowing a goal on a first-half blunder to Toronto and losing primary playmaker Diego Luna to a controversial 60th-minute ejection, losing 1-o at America First Field in Sandy on Saturday.

RSL has now dropped back-to-back games for the third time this season, but only the 13th occasion in HC Pablo Mastroeni’s 150 games across all competitions since August, 2021. Mastroeni remains one win shy of his 100th career coaching victory at the helm of RSL/Colorado, and will look to attain that benchmark next Saturday at San Diego.

After a defensive breakdown led to a Toronto goal in the 9th minute, Real Salt Lake pushed to even the score with its first shot coming from midfielder Diogo Gonçalves just six minutes later. For the remainder of the first half RSL applied pressure, finishing out the first 45 with eight total shots and keeping the scoreline at 1-0 going into the locker room.

Just eleven minutes into the second half, midfielder Diego Luna was ejected after receiving a red card for what VAR considered to be violent conduct, leaving Real Salt Lake a man down for the remainder of the match.

Mastroeni elected to bring attacker Ari Piol into the game in hope of creating more offensive opportunities. Attacker Zavier Gozo and defender Sam Junqua entered the match in the 75th minute, immediately applying pressure to the full-strength Toronto side.

RSL (3-6-0, 9 points, 11th West / 20th Shield MLS) next hits the road to take on San Diego FC on Saturday to start a three-game road trip. Kickoff is slated for 8:30 p.m. MT.

Utah Warriors rebound with win at San Diego

A try by Zion Going in the 60th minute and some strong defense helped the Utah Warriors secure the 31-18 road win at San Diego Legion on Saturday.

Utah got five tries from five different players and never trailed in the contest. The Warriors led 19-3 at one point but San Diego stayed close enough to be dangerous.

Utah returns home to play at Chicago at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman at 7 p.m. Saturday.