Never finding a consistent tempo, the Portland Thorns fell to Utah Royals FC 3-1 in their second NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup match.

Despite coming off an electric performance against Club Tijuana last weekend, the Thorns weren’t able to keep up with a dominant Utah team at America First Field on Saturday. The Royals’ hot start was apparent after they made a close, albeit unsuccessful, shot attempt in just the second minute of the game. It didn’t take long for another opportunity to present itself as Utah’s Hannah Betfort, a former Thorn, netted the first goal of the match about 90 seconds later.

The Royals never looked back from there. Portland, meanwhile, couldn’t seem to figure out a winning formula on either side of the ball.

The second score came in the 21′ when Paige Monaghan connected with Ally Sentnor, who created enough separation from the Thorns’ Becky Sauerbrunn to get a shot off 22 yards from the goal to extend the Royals’ lead to 2-0.

Portland finally got on the board thanks to a goal from Olivia Moultrie in the 66″. It was Moultrie’s first game back after a knee injury kept her out for several weeks.

Though the shot injected a bit of life in an otherwise lackluster Thorns performance, a comeback wasn’t in the cards.

Michele Vasconcelos all but cemented the Royals’ win with a score in the 77th minute. With the score now 3-0 for the Royals, the momentum shifted right back to where it was for the majority of the match.

As many Portland players are off on international duty or out with injuries, coach Rob Gale utilized his younger players in another 3-4-3 formation to begin the game. It had played out well for the team in last weekend’s victory against Club Tijuana but didn’t do the trick this time around.

“We’re in a new formation, obviously it’s going to take a couple games for us to figure out all of our flukes and stuff and I think this game, we definitely have a lot to learn,” the Thorns’ Reyna Reyes told reporters after the match. “After half, we fixed a lot of it ... I think it’s just going to get better and better and we just have to trust the process.”

With the loss, Portland (1-1-0, 3 points) falls to third place in Group A. They sit behind the first-place Seattle Reign (1-0-0, 3 points) and Utah (1-1-0, 3 points) now in second place, while club Tijuana (0-1-0, 0 points) remains in fourth place.

After three group stage matches for each team, the top four will advance to the semifinals, scheduled for the week of Aug. 4. The championship match is set for the weekend of Oct. 25-27.

The Summer Cup brings together two of the top women’s soccer leagues in the world. All 14 NWSL clubs participating alongside the six LIGA MX Femenil teams with the most points achieved in LIGA MX Femenil Clausura and Apertura during 2023 – Tigres UANL, Club América, Chivas de Guadalajara, Rayadas de Monterrey, Pachuca and Tijuana.

Next up: The Portland Thorns come home to face rivals Seattle Reign FC in their third group stage match at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 31.