(Photo by Brandon Koodish - Double G Sports) Soccer Game Recap: Sky Blue Falls to Utah Royals at Home by Paola Garcia Cardenas June 5, 2018 Piscataway, NJ (June 2, 2018) – Saturday night was a historic night as Sky Blue FC played the newer NWSL franchise addition Utah Royals, FC at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, NJ. The match marked the first time ever both teams met, as well as the first time for Utah visiting New Jersey. The 2,229 fans in attendance enjoyed a perfect night for soccer, in combination with a colorful sunset. Both teams were coming from losing during NWSL week 9. While Utah Royals was fighting to get back on the win column, Sky Blue was looking, yet again, for their first win of the season. The first half was a back-and-forth game for both teams. Utah Royals quickly puts the score up against Sky Blue 1-0 at the 3rd minute. The play started with Taylor Lytle and Gunnhildur Jonsdottir in the midfield. Jonsdottir drives all the way down the left wing, crosses to the box, and finds Diana Matheson who sneaks behind Sky Blue’s defender, Amanda Frisbie, and is able to connect on a one-touch slide goal for Utah. It only takes Sky Blue a few minutes to recover. On the 10th minute, Amanda Frisbie serves the ball to Katie Johnson on the left side. Johnson crosses the ball to the near post in the box to find Shea Groom. Groom fired a one-touch kick to equalize the match. It is a tie 1-1 at halftime. Sky Blue will see a better second half. Unfortunately, a late own goal (Mandy Freeman) off a cross by Utah Royal’s Katie Stengel at the 85th minute, will leave the NJ team still winless and with no points earned yet at home this season. Match Takeaway Defensive mistakes are costing Sky Blue FC most of their goals against. We have seen it throughout the season, and also during this match. On the first goal, Gibbons’ bad touch just handed the ball to Utah’s midfielder Jonsdottir, and on the cross, Matheson is able to run behind Amanda Frisbie, to put the ball in the net. On the second goal, which is an own goal, Mandy Freeman could not get a good look of Sky Blue’s goal and kicks it right in Sky Blue’s own net, leaving Kailen Sheridan unable to even attempt to stop the kick. Even in the absence of Carli Lloyd and Savannah McCaskill, both on national team duty, we were able to see the potential that midfielders and forwards have. When Sky Blue plays quick touches and brings the ball up, they are capable of scoring. Groom’s goal is clear evidence of that. You can check out the photo gallery for this match here. NWSL Week 11 Sky Blue FC hosts the Washington Spirit on Friday, June 8 for a 7:00pm ET kickoff. If you are planning to attend, Fan Friday will be the theme for the match, as part of Sky Blue’s Theme Nights Series. On the other hand, if you are not going to be at Yurcak Field, the match will be live-streamed on go90. Post Views: 1,038 The following two tabs change content below.BioLatest Posts Paola Garcia Cardenas Paola is DoubleGSports' Technical Director and a sports fan who enjoys writing about women's soccer. Latest posts by Paola Garcia Cardenas (see all) Sky Blue FC 2019 Season Recap - October 27, 2019 It Has Always Been Carli Lloyd’s Moment to Shine - June 20, 2019 Sky Blue Continues NWSL Season Without a Win - June 18, 2019 Sky Blue FC 2019 Season Begins Today - April 13, 2019 Related TopicsNWSLSky Blue FCSoccerUtah Royals FC 2 Comments You must be logged in to post a comment Login Leave a Reply Cancel replyYou must be logged in to post a comment. Newsletter Subscription Can't Miss Posts! Women in Sports: NHL Network Host, Jackie Redmond by Nicholas Durst | posted on March 4, 2019 Lochte, Dressel and Ledecky all Chasing Gold at 2021 Tokyo Olympics by Anthony Paradiso | posted on April 18, 2021 You Know I’m Right, Episode 109: The Athletic’s Marc Carig (Audio/Video) by Nicholas Durst | posted on April 19, 2021 Michael Jordan Could Change the Future of Nascar for the Better by Inesh Chari | posted on March 30, 2021 WNBA Rolling Out Red Carpet For Upcoming 25th Anniversary Season by Jason Cordner | posted on March 16, 2021 More in Soccer You Know I’m Right, Episode 95: Soccer Commentator Tommy Smyth (Audio/Video) On the 95th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... Competition Quickly Rises For Serie A Competition Rises For Serie A: Serie A is a professional Italian Soccer league where... Trinity Rodman Registers for the Womens NWSL Draft Dennis Rodman’s Daughter registers for the NWSL Draft At the age of 18, Trinity... From Inspired to Being an Inspiration: Sports Broadcaster & “The Morning Roast” Host Kate Scott (VIDEO) 95.7 FM “Morning Roast” radio host Kate Scott is a woman of many firsts... USA Gold Medalist Amanda Kessel Returns to the Metropolitan Riveters Metropolitan Riveters to Play for Champions Cup in Sweden