SANDY, Utah(Thursday, March 23, 2017) – During the final week of preparation for the Real Monarchs’ 2017 USL campaign (the club's third) Salt Lake City native and veteran MLS centerback Taylor Peay has signed a contract to bring the club’s USL roster to 20 players, General Manager Elliot Fall announced today.
Peay becomes the sixth player added to Head Coach Mike Petke’s side in recent weeks, in advance of Saturday's trip to the Pacific Northwest for the USL season opener at Portland Timbers 2. A graduate of Brighton High School in Salt Lake City, Peay attended the University of Washington before being selected 26th overall in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft by Portland. Peay appeared in seven MLS games with the Timbers, while appearing in another 23 USL contests with "T2."
Two months after being drafted, the 6-foot-3, 195-lb. centerback was loaned out to USL Pro club Orange County Blues FC. During his college career with the Huskies, Peay also gained experience with summer games in the USL Premier Development League with Ogden Outlaws, Seattle Sounders FC U-23 and the North Sound SeaWolves.
During his four-year career at the University of Washington from 2010-13 (70 games / 56 starts), Peay scored his first collegiate goal for the Huskies in a 4-1 upset win over the Portland Pilots, highlighting a year during which he was one of two freshmen to appear in all 17 matches for the Huskies. In his sophomore year, Peay made 11 appearances and helped the Huskies record nine clean sheets. In 2012, he made 20 appearances and finished the year with one goal. In his final season with the Huskies, Peay was a preseason NSCAA First-Team All-America selection, making 22 appearances and scoring six goals (including a hat trick in a 4-1 victory over Santa Clara) while leading Washington to its first Pac-12 title since 2000, as well as its first trip to the "Elite Eight."
"Peay's addition is the latest find as we balance the Monarchs' roster construction between professional experience and also the promise of potential," said Fall. "We have talent which needs development as professionals and we still have experienced guys on the cusp of becoming MLS contributors."
Real Monarchs SLC – which now boasts four players (Peay, Skyler Milne, Chase Minter, Andrew Brody) with either Utah high school / college ties, or RSL Academy experience, along with five players on the 20-man roster with MLS experience (Peay, Sebastian Velasquez, Emilio Orozco, Chandler Hoffman & Nick Besler) – also has three Washington Husky alums with the addition of Peay (James Moberg, Michael Gallagher), as well as three former Timbers (Peay, Gallagher and Besler). RSL GM Craig Waibel and Sports Science Director Henry Ruggiero also have Univ. of Washington ties in their illustrious careers.
REAL MONARCHS 2017 PRESEASON RESULTS
Preseason Segment #1 – Sandy/Provo, UT
Saturday, Feb. 25 – Monarchs 3 : 0 BYU – (Milne, Minter, Brody)
Friday, March 3 – Monarchs 2 : 0 BYU – (Besler, Brody)
Preseason Segment #2 – Southern California
Wednesday, March 8 – Monarchs 2 : 1 Ventura County Fusion – (Minter, Adams)
Saturday, March 11 – Monarchs 3 : 2 LA Galaxy II – (Haber, Minter, Holness)
Wednesday, March 15 – Monarchs 1 : 3 Orange County SC (own goal)
Sat., March 25 – Monarchs @ Portland Timbers 2 – 8:30 p.m. MT – 2017 USL Opening Weekend
Sat., April 1 – Monarchs v. Phoenix Rising FC – 4:00 p.m. MT @ Rio Tinto Stadium
Petke’s current 2017 roster of 20 players includes a group of eight players along with several members of the USL club’s technical staff – including Petke and Assistants Mark Briggs and Matt Glaeser – who spent the Arizona portion of preseason with RSL. The Monarchs staff now includes new assistant coach Jamison Olave, the former MLS Best XI member and Defender of the Year w/ RSL and New York Red Bulls, also an RSL analyst on the club’s Spanish-language radio broadcasts on 102.3 FM.
The Monarchs 2017 USL regular-season schedule kicks off Saturday and concludes October 14; please visit www.RSL.com/Monarchs for dates, times, opponents and ticket information for the club’s third USL campaign, which kicks off at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday, April 1, at 4:00 p.m. MT against regional rival Phoenix Rising FC.
Season Tickets for both Real Salt Lake and Real Monarchs' 2017 campaigns are now on sale; please visit www.RSL.com/tickets/royaltyor call 844.Real.Tix for more information, including “Crown Club” discounts for those who pledge loyalty to both Claret-and-Cobalt professional sides. The Rio Tinto Stadium box office is open Mon.-Fri., 10a-6p; more information can be found online at www.RSL.com/Tickets. Current or interested RSL Royalty Season Ticket Members can purchase extra tickets at preferred pricing or gain assistance via the Fan Relations Hotline at 801-727-2702.
Coming in late Summer, 2017, the Real Monarchs / RSL training center opens in Herriman, Utah, approximately 20 minutes southwest of Rio Tinto Stadium. The $60 million facility will serve as the daily training home beginning in 2018 for both of the club's professional teams – RSL (MLS) and Real Monarchs (USL) – while centralizing the club's U-18, U-16 and future U-14 development academy youth selections. The Herriman facility will provide adjacencies for an on-site charter school opening this Fall, with STEM disciplines (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) for nearly 300 boys and girls.
In mid-November in North Logan, Utah, RSL Owner Dell Loy Hansen broke ground on the first of a half-dozen regional training centers across Utah and Arizona to be built in the next 2-3 years. Each $5 million RTC houses a classroom, as well as an indoor and outdoor field, dedicated to fulfilling a curriculum dedicated to the club's vision and mission for youth soccer training and education, and the continued development of both recreational and competitive pre-Academy (ages 7-12) initiatives across Utah and Arizona
