With the top spot in the National Women’s Soccer League table on the line, the Utah Royals’ lack of scoring came back to bite them.
Utah was held scoreless in a 2-0 loss to the Washington Spirit on Saturday at the Maryland Soccerplex. The Spirit now hold the top spot in the NWSL with 16 points, while URFC stands at second place with 13 points.
The Spirit got going in the 23rd minute. The ball got deflected by a Royals defender right into the path of Tori Huster. After a few dribbles down the right side of the field, Huster placed a through ball just outside the box to Ashley Hatch, who got free, shot between to Utah defenders and bounced a goal past Nicole Barnhart for a 1-0 lead.