SANDY, Utah (Sunday, July 6, 2025) - Real Monarchs (5-5-3 , 8th in the West) fall 3-1 to St. Louis CITY 2 (11-4-1, 1st in the West) at America First Field in the Matchweek 17 finale.
Head Coach Mark Lowry made six changes to his side from last week’s 3-2 road win over Whitecaps FC 2. Kobi Henry, Philip Quinton, and Bode Hidalgo replaced Zack Farnsworth, Gio Calderon, and Wes Charpie, respectively. Real Salt Lake’s Lachlan Brook, Jesús Barea, and Ari Piol also entered the starting eleven, replacing Owen Anderson, Brayan Sandoval, and Grayson Carter. All but Henry were on Real Salt Lake’s gameday roster in last night’s 3-2 win over St. Louis CITY SC, with Piol appearing in second-half stoppage time.
The visitors opened up the scoring in the 26th minute after a build-up down the Monarchs’ left side eventually switching to the right flank. A St. Louis CITY 2 winger attacked Hidalgo in a 1v1 situation before sending a low cross through the box, where Brendan McSorley slotted it home.
In the 30th minute, Real Monarchs’ pressure paid off as Piol applied high pressure and picked off a pass from a CITY 2 defender inside the 18-yard box. Piol then slipped a pass back to Barea, positioned near the penalty spot, who powered a right-footed shot into the upper half of the goal past the St. Louis goalkeeper, bringing the home side level just four minutes after conceding.
Following the two goals, both sides created chances to take the lead, but the match went into halftime level at one goal apiece.
The Monarchs came out pressing for the go-ahead goal early in the second half. In the 47th minute, Marquez received the ball in the middle of the pitch and played it out wide to Ruben Mesalles. Mesalles delivered a one-time pass on the ground to Barea at the top of the 18-yard box. Barea cut inside and got a shot off, but it was comfortably saved by the goalkeeper.
In the 66th minute, the ball was sprayed out to Mesalles, who played a pass to an underlapping Anderson. Anderson split two defenders near the corner of the six-yard box before having his low-driven shot blocked. Barea attempted a half-volley on the rebound just above the penalty spot, but the effort went wide left of the target.
The visiting side regained the lead in the 77th minute through Emil Jaaskelainen. After a blocked shot fell kindly to a CITY 2 player near the six-yard box, Jaaskelainen opened up his hips and calmly passed the ball across the line.
St. Louis added to the lead in the 82nd minute courtesy of Matteo Kidd. After regaining possession in the middle third, CITY 2 launched a quick counterattack, switching the field to find Kidd open on the right side. Kidd’s low-driven shot found the back of the net, extending the advantage.
The Real Monarchs shift focus to Minnesota United FC 2 next week competing at National Sports Center on July 13. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. MT, streaming on MLS Next Pro.
SLC 1 : 3 STL
GOAL-SCORING SUMMARY:
STL: Brendan McSorley (Myhri Joyner) 26’: Strong build-up play outside the penalty area allowed St. Louis CITY 2 to advance down the right side of the Monarchs’ defense, where a low-driven cross was delivered through a congested six-yard box. McSorley made the first contact and directed the ball past Kerkvliet for the opening goal.
SLC: Jesus Barea (Ari Piol) 30’: Ari Piol snatched the ball off the defender’s heels, then quickly turned to deliver a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Jesús Barea. Barea let the ball roll across his body before unleashing a powerful right-footed finish into the back of the net.
STL: Emil Jaaskelainen (Tyson Pearce) 77’: The initial shoot blocked by Kobi Henry, rebounded back out to St. Louis’ Pearce out on the Monarch’s right side, firing in a low ball deflected into the net by Jaaskelainen.
STL: Matteo Kidd (Brendan McSorley) 82’: Monarch’s dispossessed of the ball near the mid field which opened it up for a counterattack through McSorley to ping a long pass across the pitch to the feet of Kidd for a near post finish.
LINEUPS:
Real Monarchs (4-2-3-1): Max Kerkvliet; Bode Hidalgo, Kobi Henry, Philip Quinton, Ruben Mesallas (Tommy Silva 76’); Aiden Hezarkhani, Luca Moisa (Antonio Riquelme 85’), Omar Marquez (Liam O’Gara 76’), Jesus Barea ©, Lachlan Brook (Owen Anderson 62’); Ariath Piol (Ousman Touray 62’)
Subs not used: Gio Calderon, Izzy Amparo, Wes Charpie, Will Mackay
St Louis CITY 2 (4-2-3-1): Christian Olivares; Miguel Perez (Kai Jaeger 90’), Cameron Cilley, Gabriel Mikina ©, Joseph Zalinsky (Tyson Pearce 58’); Brendan McSorley, Seth Antwi, Wan Kuzain, Caden Glover, Mykhi Joyner (Matteo Kidd 72’); Emil Jaaskelainen (Edin Clark 90’)
Subs not used: Colin Welsh, John DiMaria, Emiliano Chavez, Nicholas Schramm, Lorenzo Cornelius
Stats Summary: SLC / STL
Shots: 13 / 19
Shots on Goal: 4 / 3
Corner Kicks: 3 / 8
Fouls: 15 / 4
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
STL: Miguel Perez (Yellow Card - 52’)
