Utah Royals remain in playoff hunt with weekend win over Portland Thorns

PORTLAND, Ore. ( ABC4 ) — The Utah Royals keep their playoff hopes alive for another week with a win against the Portland Thorns. The score was 2-1, with goals from Hannah Betfort and Mina Tanaka. The Thorns scored off of a penalty kick.

The Royals could have been eliminated from the playoff hunt with a loss, but that wasn’t the case.

The Royals came out like a team that wanted to win, putting in a couple of chances early in the game. Mina Tanaka had a chance in the 5th minute that was saved. The Thorns had a couple of chances themselves in the opening minutes, but they were blocked or saved. Mandy Haught kept Portland off the board by making multiple saves throughout the game. The first half ended 0-0.

The scoring happened in the second half. Hannah Betfort scored first in the 46th minute. Ally Sentnor sent the ball forward behind the defense, and Betfort ran onto it. She then chipped the keeper from the 18-yard box and scored. Only three minutes later, Mina Tanaka scored off a header. Portland went down the field quickly after the goal, and in the 50th minute, a foul was committed in the box, giving the Thorns a penalty kick. Olivia Moultrie stepped up and converted the kick for the Thorns.

Each team had a few more chances, but couldn’t score off of them. The game ended 2-1, with the Royals keeping their playoff chances alive for another week. Utah finished the game with 21 shots, nine of them on target while Portland had 13 shots and four on target. The Royals also had 55% of possession.

Utah Royals FC currently sits in 12th place in the standings, seven points outside of the playoff picture with only three games remaining.

The Royals’ next game is at home against Seattle Reign, who are one spot below the Royals in the standings. Kickoff is set for Sunday, Oct. 13, at 3 p.m. Tickets can be found on the team website. If you can’t attend the game, you can watch it on ESPN2 or ESPN+.

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