REAL MONARCHS SLC CLOSE PRESEASON WITH 1-0 WIN OVER UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY
DF Kalen Ryden Scores on His First Outing with the Club; Utah Side Looks Ahead to Regular-Season Opener at Tulsa on March 24
HERRIMAN, Utah (Friday March 16, 2018) – Real Monarchs SLC closed its 2018 preseason with a 1-0 victory over Utah Valley University at the Zions Bank Training Center in Herriman on Friday afternoon. The Monarchs secured victory through DF Kalen Ryden who scored early in the first half on the very same day he was announced as the Monarchs newest player.
The Monarchs started the game quickly, immediately pressing the Wolverine goal in search of an opener. The opener came in the 12th minute when Ryden sprung down the left sideline and played a low cross to MF Josh Heard who’s shot took a deflection before glancing off of the cross bar. After a small scramble in front of goal, Ryden followed up the attempt and tucked the ball home on his debut with the club.
In the second half, the Monarchs again played on the front foot, pressing for the game’s second goal. A staunch Monarchs defense paired with skilled possession made it tough for the Wolverines to hold the ball and create a chance on goal. GK Connor Sparrow had little to do in the match as UVU found it hard to create anything of significance in the attacking half.
Head Coach Mark Briggs played his starting eleven players for 76 minutes before he began to make his substitutions to continue searching for the game’s second goal.
With preseason concluded, the Monarchs will now open its 2018 United Soccer League Regular-Season slate next Saturday, March 24 at Tulsa Roughnecks FC. The match is set to kick off at 6:00 p.m. MT from ONEOK Field in Tulsa.
REAL MONARCHS SLC 1-0 UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY
FRIDAY MARCH 16, 2018
HERRIMAN, UTAH
Goals by Period1 2 F
Real Monarchs SLC 1 0 1
Utah Valley University 0 0 0
Scoring Summary:
SLC: Kalen Ryden (Josh Heard) 12’
Lineup:
Real Monarchs SLC: Connor Sparrow; Andrew Brody, Nick Besler, Michael Gallagher (James Moberg, 76’), Kalen Ryden; Justin Portillo, Charlie Adams (Karsten Hanlin, 81’), Jose Hernandez, Maikel Chang (Sebastian Velasquez, 85’), Josh Heard (Masta Kacher, 76’); Chandler Hoffman (Ricky Lopez-Espin, 76’)
