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SANDY \u2014 The Utah Royals\u2019 home winning streak<\/a> rolled on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n Kiana Palacios scored her first goal for Utah Royals FC, and Mina Tanaka<\/a> notched her fourth goal via second-half penalty kick to help the Royals extend their club-record unbeaten streak<\/a> to nine matches with a 2-1 win over expansion club Denver Summit FC in front of an announced crowd of 19,274 tickets distributed Saturday afternoon at America First Field.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s the franchise-record fourth consecutive home win for Utah, which improved to 7-2-2 to tie the Portland Thorns with 23 points atop the 16-team NWSL. The Thorns and Royals play next Saturday, May 30 before a CBA-mandated month-long break during the FIFA men\u2019s World Cup.<\/p>\n But before setting up the top-of-the-table showdown, Utah had to take care of business in the first edition of the Rocky Mountain rivalry formally branded as the \u201cContinental Divide.\u201d<\/p>\n Palacios picked a heckuva time to score her first NWSL goal. <\/span><\/p>\n The Mexican international<\/a> who scored 83 goals in 162 appearances with Club Am\u00e9rica from 2021-26 scored her first since joining Utah prior to the start of the season.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI knew it was getting there; it was knocking,\u201d Palacios said. \u201cThere was no need to put frustration or pressure on top of me. Just keep going out there, finding the net \u2014 and one day, it will go in.\u201d<\/p>\n After initially losing possession in the final third, Clo\u00e9 Lacasse<\/a> toe-poked the ball directly in front of Palacios in the 20th minute for a right-footed finish that gave Utah a 1-0 lead.<\/span><\/p>\n That Lacasse forced the turnover off the press is fitting, as the Canadian international with three goals and two assists has been among the Royals\u2019 more dynamic players at pressing an opponent\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n Pressured applied, goal secured pic.twitter.com\/wK4Q4TQzYA<\/a><\/p>\n\n