Three thoughts on Friday’s game between the Utah Royals FC and the Portland Thorns, which ended in a scoreless draw.
Coming into the game, Thorns coach Mark Parsons said just two words when asked what worried him most about the Royals: “Amy Rodriguez.”
He wasn’t wrong. Rodriguez had scored in five of her last six games and led Utah with five goals on the season. She’s become as close to an automatic goal scorer as a soccer player can possibly get.
Parsons’ solution to that problem was to give Rodriguez absolutely no room to operate.