Herriman, Utah (Friday, July 1, 2022) – Real Monarchs (1-11-2 5 points) toppled Portland Timbers 2 4-0 in their first-ever win and clean sheet in the MLS Next Pro. Tyrone Mondi netted his second brace of the season, along with goals from Real Salt Lake Homegrowns Axel Kei and Chris Garcia.
In the second meeting between the two Western Conference rivals, the Monarchs got off to a blazing start, breaking the game open in the 8th minute. RSL Homegrown Chris Garcia found fellow Homegrown Axel Kei on a curling cross inside the box, who fired a right-footed volley past the diving goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
Real Monarchs doubled its lead minutes later in the 13th minute when Bode Hidalgo blasted a point-blank shot at Timbers2 goalkeeper Hunter Sulte who made a finger-tip save that rebounded to Midfielder Tyrone Mondi. Mondi collected the spill and tapped the ball into an empty net.
Timbers2 nearly cut into the lead in the 20th minute when Midfielder Selmir Miscic fired a right-footed shot from outside the box, but goalkeeper Gavin Beavers was able to make the diving save. As the half progressed, the Monarchs continued to dominate the possession battle and created several dangerous chances before heading into the halftime break leading 2-0.
Coming out of the halftime break, Real Monarchs kept things rolling and struck again in the 57th minute when midfielder Pedro Fonseca played a through ball to Chris Garcia inside the box. Garcia collected the ball and laid it off to Mondi on his right who tapped the ball into the back of the net, securing his second brace of the season.
In the 63rd minute, Garcia put the nail in the coffin when he made a deep run down the middle of the pitch and sent a bouncing shot into the bottom right corner of the net to earn his first goal in MLS NEXT Pro. In the 73rd minute, defender Bobby Pierre was shown a second yellow card on a questionable foul just outside the box, forcing Real Monarchs to finish the remainder of the match with 10 men. Both teams continued to battle in the remaining moments of the game, but ultimately the Monarchs walked away with the 4-0 victory.
UP NEXT: Real Monarchs will next travel to the Lone Star state to take on Houston Dynamo 2 on Sunday, July 10 at 6:00 p.m. MT, before returning to Zions Bank Stadium to take on Western Conference foe Sporting Kansas City II on Saturday, July 16 at 7:00 p.m. MT. Tickets can be purchased at rsl.com/monarchs/tickets/.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:
RM: Axel Kei (Chris Garcia) 8th minute: Garcia whipped a ball to Kei at the top of the six-yard box whose right-footed volley beat Timbers2 goalkeeper Hunter Sulte into the bottom right corner of the net.
RM: Tyrone Mondi 13th minute: After Bode Hidalgo's right-footed bomb was batted away by Sulte, Mondi collected the rebound and tapped it into the back of the net.
RM: Tyrone Mondi (Chris Garcia) 58th minute: After Fonseca played the ball through the defense, Garcia touched the ball past the keeper to an open Mondi for a simple tap-in.
RM: Chris Garcia 63rd minute: Finally joining the scoring party, Garcia took on his defender one-on-one and powered a right-footed shot inside the far post and into the side netting.
NOTES:
-The last time the Monarchs and Timbers2 met, the Monarchs drew 1-1 in Portland before falling in the penalty shootout 4-2.
-After making an appearance against St Louis City last week, forward Pedro Fonseca returned to the starting lineup after suffering an injury against Houston Dynamo 2 on May 25th.
- Midfielder Chris Kablan returned to the starting lineup after suffering an injury during Real Salt Lake training.
-Izzy Amparo and Jude Wellings were unavailable for tonight's match as they were competing in the MLS Next Showcase in Texas. The RSL Academy U-15 team plays in the MLS NEXT Cup Tournament finals on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. MT. The game is streaming live on https://www.mlssoccer.com/mlsnext/.
Match: Real Monarchs vs Portland Timbers 2
Date: July 1, 2022
Venue: Zions Bank Stadium
Weather: Sunny and 85
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Real Monarchs 2 2 4
Portland Timbers 2 0 0 0
RM: Axel Kei (Chris Garcia) 8’
RM: Tyrone Mondi 13’
RM: Tyrone Mondi (Chris Garcia) 58’
RM: Chris Garcia 63’
Lineups:
Real Monarchs (3-5-2): Gavin Beavers; Jaziel Orozco, Bobby Pierre, Chris Kablan; Bode Hidalgo, Golden Mafwenta (Leo Torres 88’), Pedro Fonseca, Tyrone Mondi
(Abokye Bikyeombe 85’), Aziz Kayondo; Chris Garcia (Terron Williams 84’), Axel Kei (Yekeson Subah 78’)
Subs not used: Blake Kelly, Benjamin Rodriguez,
Portland Timbers 2 (4-3-3): Hunter Sulte; Dylan Akau, Carlos Vivas, Julian Bravo, Dawson McCartney; Victor Griffith, Johan Hinestroza(Gerardo Duran 74’), Blake Bodily; Diego Elizalde (Volodymyr Kubarakov 74’), Tega Ikoba (Jamin Gogo Peters 59’), Selmir Miscic (Ismaila Jome 59’)
Subs not used: Justin vom Steeg, Cole Cruthers, Sean McDowd,
Stats Summary: RM/ POR
Shots: 14/9
Shots on goal: 7/1
Saves: 1/4
Corner Kicks: 9/4
Fouls: 11/3
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
RM: Bobby Pierre (caution) 27’
POR: Victor Griffith (caution) 44’
RM: Aziz Kayondo (caution) 66’
RM: Bobby Pierre (caution) 73’
RM: Bobby Pierre (ejection) 73’
RM: Chris Garcia (caution) 84’
RM: Jaziel Orozco (caution) 87’
POR: Dylan Akau (caution) 87’
RM: Bode Davis (caution) 90+3’
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Karen Callado
Assistant Referees: Artyom Arustamyan, Robbie Kosinski
4th Official: Jordan Downs
