Utah Royals Vs Sky Blue FC: 3 things we learned
By Drew Hubbard
1. Who is going to score for Sky Blue?
As of writing, Sky Blue is the only team to have failed to score in their opening two matches. OL Reign is the only other team yet to find the net.
Against OL Reign, both teams seemed very content to escape with a point and not take any big risks, but Sky Blue still generated quality chances that just needed the finishing touch. It looked like the same gameplan was implemented here, but when the Royals broke through, it forced Sky Blue to open up a bit more. The result, though, was still the same. No goals.
The New Jersey team came into this tournament after a busy offseason that signaled a new era for the club. The Challenge Cup was supposed to be the start of a rebuild. USWNT veteran Carli Lloyd led the team in goals in 2019 with eight and Raquel Rodriguez finished second with three. Lloyd opted out of the tournament and Rodriguez is now in Portland. There is a major goalscoring hole and there are very few solutions to fill it.
Playing against a Utah team that gave up three goals to the Houston Dash looked like a prime chance to get back on the goalscoring track. And yet, for the majority of the match, the attack looked tame, lacking in creativity and ingenuity.
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Newly acquired forward Ifeoma Onumono is promising and a change of position for Purce would help. But for now, the question remains unanswered, and that does not bode well for the team’s chances whatsoever.