A once-dormant Utah Royals FC attack has come alive, but defense has lost sharpness in recent skid

SANDY — As Utah Royals FC’s inaugural season unfolded in 2018, it became evident the team was excellent defensively but struggled to create and connect on goal-scoring opportunities, even as United States Women’s National Team forward Christen Press was acquired midseason.

When URFC added star Spanish midfielder Vero Boquete before the 2019 campaign began, it was thought by many that her presence would vault URFC into playoff contention this season, as the roster became more balanced with a strong back line, a more attack-minded midfield and multiple players who can score.

Indeed, URFC has been more dangerous when Press and Boquete have been in the lineup. In the two games before Press left for World Cup duties, URFC averaged 14.5 total shots, 4.5 shots on goal and one goal per game.

In the next six games as Press was gone but Boquete was in the lineup, those averages dipped to 9.5 total shots and 4.2 shots on goal, although URFC still averaged a goal per game. Then Boquete got injured and both players missed the next three contests. In those, URFC averaged just 8.7 shots and 2.3 shots on goal per game and did not score a single goal.

In all through those 11 games, which saw the back line get depleted as Becky Sauerbrunn, Kelley O’Hara, Rachel Corsie and Katie Bowen left at various points for the World Cup, URFC gave up just eight goals total.

Over the last two games as Press has returned (as well as O’Hara, who gets involved in the attack as a defender) and Boquete has gotten back to action (she subbed on late last week), the URFC attack has come alive in a way it never really has before.

Yes, the 12.5 total shots per game is down a bit from earlier in the season, but the club has tallied seven shots on goal in each game, a season high. Tactically speaking, URFC has been committing more players forward in search of goals.

As a result, URFC has scored three goals in the last two games, a number it took the previous six contests to reach.

There’s been a problem, though: URFC has given up four goals over the last two outings (two in each game), and has gone 0-1-1 in the process. An important caveat is that the two games have been against by far the two best goal-scoring teams in the National Women’s Soccer League, the Portland Thorns and North Carolina Courage, but it’s given reason for the team to find better balance between defending and attacking.

URFC sat in sixth in the NWSL table out of nine teams entering Sunday's action, although it was just three points out of a tie for third.

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“I think we can be super dangerous, but you can’t give two goals away every game,” head coach Laura Harvey said after Saturday’s 2-1 loss to the Courage. “You can’t do that, because this league doesn’t allow you to do that and win games, so we have to sort that side of it out, get back to clean sheets and being hard to beat, and if that means we win 1-0, we win 1-0, because it doesn’t matter if we create all these chances if we don’t win games.”

Harvey acknowledged the balance between attacking and defending can be a hard one to strike.

“We need to get back to being hard to beat and not giving up goals, but keep that creating chances,” she said. “It’s a tough coin to keep flipping, because the more hard to beat you become, often that means you don’t create your chances, but the more expansive we want to be — because we can be and we should be — the more at times you put your defenders under pressure.”

As a defensive midfielder, Desiree Scott said it’s her natural preference to not send as many players forward, but she also recognizes the need to score.

“I think the more we are trying to press, get forward, get our chances, we are creating more, but then obviously when we’re pushing numbers forward, that’s going to leave gaps and holes,” she said Saturday, “so I think it’s finding that balance of still being that defensive rock that we know we can be, not getting stretched, while still creating those chances.”