Cece Delzer Scores Twice, Cloé Lacasse Assists Three as Utah Royals Rout Portland Thorns 5-1

Thirty-four seconds in, the Portland Thorns looked like they had brought a script. Sophia Wilson had already scored, America First Field had gone quiet, and the Utah Royals were chasing.

Then Utah wrote its own ending. Cece Delzer scored twice, Cloé Lacasse assisted three goals, and the Royals stormed back to beat Portland 5-1 on Sunday, the most goals Utah has ever scored in a single match, according to the club. Five unanswered goals, four different scorers, and one very long flight home for the Thorns.

Wilson Strikes Before Anyone Sits Down

Portland's opener was lightning. Pietra Tordin slipped a through ball to Wilson, who ran into the box and finished with her left foot through the legs of Mandy McGlynn, her national team teammate. Portland clocked it at 34 seconds, the fastest goal in the NWSL this season, and the Thorns said it was the second-fastest goal of Wilson's career, behind a 32-second winner at Houston in 2021. The assist was Tordin's league-leading eighth of the season, and Portland noted she is only the 10th player in league history to reach eight in a single season.

For a while, Portland looked comfortable. Renee Lyles forced McGlynn into a save in the 21st minute after a Wilson setup, and Reyna Reyes had a shot blocked in the 28th. Utah's first real pressure came in the 32nd minute, when Delzer had a shot blocked and Mina Tanaka headed just wide.

Delzer Flips the Switch

The hydration break did Utah a world of good. Coming out of it in the 35th minute, Miyabi Moriya won the ball, Tanaka moved it to Kiana Palacios, and Palacios found Delzer in the middle of the box. Mackenzie Arnold came off her line, and Delzer lifted a right-footed finish over her and into the goal. 1-1.

The rest of the half was a slugfest. McGlynn stretched to push away a Wilson shot from distance in the 42nd. Arnold saved a Kaleigh Riehl header in first-half stoppage time, McGlynn stopped Tordin at the other end, and Arnold denied Palacios two minutes later. The teams went to the break level.

The Turning Point

Utah needed exactly two minutes of the second half. Lacasse swung in a cross, Delzer arrived on the run, and her left-footed shot from the middle of the box found the bottom left corner in the 47th minute. Utah said it was the first brace of Delzer's NWSL career and that the assist was Lacasse's 11th goal contribution of the season, a club single-season record.

Portland had one huge chance to answer. In the 60th minute Olivia Moultrie threaded Wilson in, and Wilson's left-footed shot from the left side of the six-yard box slid just wide. Had that gone in, this is a different article. It didn't, and the game tilted hard toward Utah from there.

The Avalanche

Utah coach Jimmy Coenraets made three changes in the 64th and 65th minutes, sending on Ana Tejada, Tatumn Milazzo and Brecken Mozingo. Mozingo needed about three minutes to matter. Lacasse won the ball and fed her, and Mozingo slotted a left-footed finish into the bottom left corner in the 68th minute for her first goal of the season. 3-1.

The fourth was pure flair. In the 79th, Moriya crossed and Palacios, from point-blank range, flicked a backheel into the net. It was the kind of finish that ends up on a highlight reel set to a song nobody over 30 can name.

The fifth was the record. Lacasse delivered a corner in the 89th minute, Kate Del Fava climbed and headed it into the top right corner, and Utah had the most goals in a match in club history. Utah said Lacasse became the eighth player in NWSL history with three assists in a regular-season match.

Wilson kept firing to the end, forcing McGlynn into another save in the 84th and sending a shot high and wide in stoppage time, but the night was long gone for Portland.

Who Ran the Show

Cece Delzer scored twice on four shots before coming off in the 75th minute. She was the hinge of this game, turning a deficit into a lead inside a dozen minutes of game time.

Cloé Lacasse took only one shot and still ran the match. Three assists, three different recipients, and a club record in her pocket.

Kiana Palacios put both of her shots on target, scored the backheel and set up Delzer's equalizer.

Mandy McGlynn made four saves. The only one that beat her came 34 seconds in.

For Portland, Sophia Wilson was the lone bright spot, with five shots, three on target and a goal that the Thorns said was her team-leading eighth of the season, tied for fourth-most in the league. Nina Nijstad also made her first career start and played 70 minutes.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Utah 13, Portland 11; on target, Utah 7, Portland 5.
• Finishing: Utah scored on five of its seven shots on target.
• Possession: Utah 57.2 percent, Portland 42.8.
• Saves: McGlynn 4, Arnold 2.
• Tackles: Utah won 10 of its 15; Portland won 4 of 8.

What It Means

Utah improves to 10-3-5 with 33 points, and the Royals' recap had them third in the league afterward. Utah said it is the first time the club has reached ten wins in a season since 2019, and that the Royals' 31 goals are already the most in any NWSL season in club history, with six coming from corners. It was also a sharp response to a 1-0 home loss to Washington on Wednesday. The teams had drawn 2-2 in Portland on May 30. Next up is a trip to Denver on Saturday.

Portland falls to 8-4-6 with 28 points, sixth per Utah's recap, and is now winless in four: losses at Seattle and Denver, a 2-2 draw with Gotham, and this. The Thorns head east for their first-ever meeting with Boston Legacy FC in Pawtucket, R.I.

Closing Take

Portland scored first and then got run over by a team that seemed to remember, all at once, that it was in a playoff race. Wilson's 34-second goal was the opening scene of a thriller. Utah turned the rest into a highlight package, and Lacasse directed it.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional match details from the Utah Royals' and Portland Thorns' official recaps; neither club's written recap included postgame quotes.