Narumi Miura's Top-Corner Strike Lifts Utah Royals Past Orlando Pride 1-0

Orlando Pride head coach Seb Hines saw a cross that drifted into the corner. The Utah Royals saw a beauty. The scoreboard does not care about intent, and Narumi Miura's 36th-minute strike into the top right corner was the only goal anybody managed on Saturday evening at America First Field.

Utah beat Orlando 1-0 in front of 9,591 fans in Sandy, snapping a two-match losing streak. The Pride finished with three shots and none on target, which means Mandy McGlynn walked off with a clean sheet without being credited with a single save. That is about as comfortable as a one-goal game gets.

Tanaka Knocks, Miura Answers

Utah came out like a team tired of losing. The Royals won a corner in the second minute, and Mina Tanaka forced Anna Moorhouse into a save at the top of the goal in the 14th after Cece Delzer set her up in the middle of the box. Kiana Palacios sent a shot high and wide off the ensuing corner, and Ana Tejada cleared the crossbar from distance in the 23rd.

Tejada was the engine all night, and she was also living dangerously. Back in the lineup after serving a one-game suspension for yellow cards, according to the club, she was booked again in the 32nd minute. Four minutes later she made up for it.

The Turning Point

The winner started with Miyabi Moriya, who fed the ball inside to Tejada, and Tejada found Miura on the left side of the box. Miura took a couple of touches to shake her defender, then swung her left foot and sent the ball into the top right corner. ESPN credited Tejada with the assist. It was Miura's second goal of the season, per the Royals.

Hines did not exactly see a work of art. "The goal is just one of those that is a cross that goes into the corner," he said. Cross or shot, it was the moment the game tilted for good, because Orlando never found a way to tilt it back.

Utah nearly added to it before the break. Moriya fired over after a corner in the 43rd minute, and Tejada had another effort blocked in first-half stoppage time.

Three Changes, Zero Shots on Target

Hines had made four changes to his starting lineup, bringing in Barbra Banda, Seven Castain, Nicole Payne and Luana, on a short week after a Wednesday night home loss to Boston. By the 74th minute all four were off. Castain and Luana went at halftime, along with Oihane Hernández, as Solai Washington, Kerry Abello and Ally Lemos came on together.

The triple change did get Orlando shooting, at least. Abello had attempts blocked in the 52nd and 54th minutes, and Banda had one blocked in the same 54th-minute flurry. That was the Pride's entire attacking output: three shots, all three blocked, none reaching McGlynn.

Utah kept pushing for the second. Tejada and Cloé Lacasse both had shots blocked just before the hour, and Moorhouse saved Tanaka's effort from Miura's cross in the 61st minute, right before Tanaka made way for Paige Cronin. The closest call came in the 66th. Off a corner, Lacasse whipped in a cross and Tatumn Milazzo headed it off the right post from point-blank range. A little more luck and this one is over.

Kameron Simmonds, on for Moriya at the break, took Utah's second yellow card in the 68th minute. Head coach Jimmy Coenraets used his remaining changes in the 74th, and the Royals saw out six minutes of stoppage time without much drama. Orlando's last corner, in the second minute of added time, came and went.

Star Turns

Miura needed exactly one shot, and she put it in the one spot Moorhouse could not reach. Tejada was everywhere: three shots, the assist, three fouls and a yellow card, the full midfield buffet. Tanaka put two of her three shots on target, drew three fouls and gave Orlando's back line a long first hour.

At the back, McGlynn did not have to make a save, and that is a compliment to the people in front of her. Moorhouse made two saves for Orlando and kept the margin at one.

For the Pride, Abello's two blocked shots off the bench led the team, and Banda drew three fouls before she was replaced in the 62nd minute.

Hines kept it honest afterward. "Tough one. A tough defeat. I thought the game was quite even," he said. He also pointed at the schedule: "It is always tough with the turnaround from Wednesday night to coming here and the travel."

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Utah 13, Orlando 3.
• Shots on goal: Utah 3, Orlando 0.
• Possession: Utah 57.2 percent, Orlando 42.8.
• Passing: Utah completed 306 of 397 passes, Orlando 184 of 288.
• Fouls: Utah 17, Orlando 10, with both yellow cards going to the Royals.

What It Means

Utah moves to 8-3-4 with 27 points, which the club said was good for fifth place. The win stopped the bleeding after a 3-2 loss at Chicago Stars FC and a 3-1 home loss to Gotham FC in its previous two matches. Next up is a trip to the North Carolina Courage on Saturday, July 25.

Orlando drops to 6-2-8 with 20 points, and the Royals' release had the Pride ninth. It is two straight 1-0 losses this week for Orlando, which also lost at home to Boston Legacy FC on Wednesday, and the Pride have not scored in either. The club noted this was Orlando's first loss to the Royals since August 2019. The Pride go home to host Chicago Stars FC on Friday, July 24.

Hines knows what has to change. "We need to get back to winning ways, doing the fundamentals, doing the basics, taking the opportunities when they present themselves," he said.

Closing Take

Orlando arrived in Utah on a short week looking for a spark and left without lighting a match. Utah, meanwhile, got exactly what a team on a losing skid needs: one great moment and a full night of Orlando never testing the goalkeeper. Call Miura's goal a cross, call it a shot, call it whatever helps you sleep. The Royals are calling it three points.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by the Orlando Pride on OrlandoCitySC.com; additional details from the Utah Royals on RSL.com.