Wednesday, May 28th marked the first time in two matches that the Real Monarchs played in Zion Bank Stadium after a run of play at American First Field. The hosts entered the midweek match sitting in 13th place of the Western Conference, having earned ten points from the first seven contests. Real Monarchs dropped points last time out against Colorado Rapids 2 courtesy of a last minute penalty.
A stunning performance from RSL man Tyler Wolff in his first start with the Monarchs since April 23, almost a month since his last MLS NEXT Pro appearance. Wolff contributed to all four of Real Monarchs’ goals in the 4-1 victory over Portland Timbers 2, assisting two and adding a brace of his own. Used off the bench in his last five appearances with Real Salt Lake in between appearances for SLC, Wolff provided the Monarchs with a much-needed spark..
Real Monarchs came out of the gate with high intensity, scoring in the 6’ off a throw-in, into the feet of Jesus Barea, who took it cleanly in tight pressure before turning to drop the ball off to Wolff making a run down the right side. Wolf created separation between himself and the Portland defender before firing the ball across the box to an onrushing Ruben Mesalles crashing the far post for a left footed tap-in finish. The goal was Mesalles’ second in two games, scoring his first goal for the club in Colorado. This marked Wolff’s first assist of the 2025 season.
Everyone on the home side got involved in the second goal of the match starting from a slow rolling ball into Max Kerkvliet’s area for him to claim and distribute quickly with a long throw. The Monarchs had terrific ball work allowing them to slice cleanly through the Portland defense with ease as they looked to build for another attack. The breakthrough would come courtesy of a cross from Owen Anderson on the left side, whipping the ball into the penalty area for Wolf to attack and bury the ball into the net near post.
A third goal for the Real Monarchs came from a looping ball distributed by captain Griffin Dillon over the heads of the Timbers 2 defense directly to the feet of Wolff who received the service in stride, carrying forward for a one-on-one against a rushing goalkeeper. Wolff kept a cool, composed head, chipping the ball beautifully up and over the keeper and into an open net.
To cap off an incredible night, just when it looked like Portland was gaining momentum back with a dangerous corner in added time, a clearance fell to Wolff who turned to find a running Ousman Touray in acres of space playing a perfectly weighted ball to a rapid Touray with only the opposing goalkeeper to beat for the last kick of the game notching his second assist of his 90 minute shift.
What’s Next for Real Monarchs?
The Claret-and-Cobalt travel to take on Ventura County this Sunday, June 1, at William Rolland Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 8:00 PM MT and will be streamed on mlsnextpro.com.
