HERRIMAN, Utah (Wednesday, July 26, 2023) – Real Monarchs (6-10-2, 21 points, 12th in West) resume MLS NEXT Pro regular season competition against Houston Dynamo 2 (7-8-3, 26 points, 8th in West) this Friday, July 28 with kickoff set for 8:00 p.m. MT. During the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Invitational Real Monarchs defeated Crystal Palace U21 2-1, while losing 1-0 against TSG Hoffenheim U23. Meanwhile the Dynamo are unbeaten in their last two, claiming a 2-1 victory over rivals North Texas SC on Sunday, July 16 and drawing 1-1 with Minnesota United 2 the following week.
The Monarchs were unable to claim victory against TSG Hoffenheim in their last match due to a weather delay that forced the match to conclude in the 65th minute. Hoffenheim took the early advantage in the 13th minute when TSG’s Adam Mulele found the back of the net, slotting a screaming penalty kick past goalkeeper Fernando Delgado.The German side had been awarded the penalty kick after Delgado rushed off his line to make a stop, but instead tackled Andu Kelati while diving for the ball resulting in a yellow card. At the 30 minute mark the Monarchs began to regain confidence, breaking through Hoffenheim’s backline multiple times with the help of Darón Iskenderian and Zavier Gozo. Real Monarchs traded several looks before halftime with Hoffenhiem, but neither were able to slot in a goal, entering halftime down 1-0. In the second half the Monarchs created several close chances missing by mere inches but they would be unable to mount a comeback after the match was abandoned due to severe lightning in the area.
Real Monarchs vs Houston Dynamo 2 Preview
Real Monarchs will be looking to claim a win against Houston Dynamo 2 having never won a match against the south Texas team in MLS NEXT Pro competition. Last time these two sides met was earlier this season on Sunday, May 14 in Houston where the Monarchs fell 3-0. On May 14 the Monarchs allowed Houston 25 clean shots at goal, the most shots allowed in a single game since the team's inception.
Real Monarchs have been outscored by seven goals all-time when up against the Dynamo in MLS NEXT Pro. This year the Monarchs have garnered the second worst goal differential in the league during the 2023 campaign with a mark of -17 and have allowed 36 chances into the back of the net. After having a successful showing in the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Invitational against Crystal Palace the Monarchs will look to repeat what they did after the 2022 Invitational and go undefeated in their remaining matches at Zions Bank Stadium.
Up Next: On Sunday, August 8 Real Monarchs will travel to St. Louis to take on St. Louis CITY 2 at CITYPARK. In the previous meeting between these two teams Real Monarchs lost 4-1 despite an impressive effort from forward Iskenderian. After the short trip to the gateway of the West the Monarchs will return to the Beehive State to face San Jose Earthquakes II on August 9th. Tickets to all Real Monarchs home matches including the game against San Jose can be found at https://www.rsl.com/monarchs/tickets/. If viewing matches remotely, Real Monarchs games can be streamed either via Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass or through https://www.mlsnextpro.com/.
