CARSON, Calif. (Saturday, September 7, 2019) – Real Monarchs SLC (10-9-7, 37 points) fell 3-1 on the road at Dignity Health Sports Park against LA Galaxy II on Saturday night.
RSL man MF Justin Portillo notched the lone Monarchs goal while GK Andrew Putna made four massive saves to help limit the damage from the seven LA Galaxy II shots on target on the night.
The contest started quickly in favor of Los Dos as the home side picked up two goals within the opening 15 minutes. Jose Hernández scored the first when a poor clearance in front of the net landed at his feet for a chance before the hosts found its second goal in the 15th minute when Tomas Hilliard-Arce headed the ball home from a corner kick opportunity. FW Kyle Coffee found a chance for Real Monarchs just after the 30th minute when he found space and a shot that went just wide of the far post and again meeting a cross from DF Noah Powder that would miss the mark.
The pace slowed down shortly after the whistle to start the second half as the Monarchs began to take control of the game. It would be Los Dos that extended its lead in the 68th minute through Iván Gutierrez who placed his shot just under Putna’s arm from a tight angle. Real Monarchs found its goal to pull back the scoring through Portillo in the 88th minute when he took one touch to curl a left-footed shot into the top corner of the far post. In the end, Real Monarchs could not find another as it fell 3-1 away from home.
UP NEXT: Real Monarchs SLC returns to Utah to host Portland Timbers FC 2 at Zions Bank Stadium. The contest is scheduled for next Saturday, September 14 where the afternoon kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. MT.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
LA: Jose Hernández, 10th minute: In an attacking run from LA Galaxy II, Kai Koreniuk whipped in a low cross towards the middle of the park that DF Kalen Ryden was there to greet. The ball, unfortunately, took a bounce off Ryden’s foot and to the feet of Hernández, who was quick to capitalize and get Los Dos on the scoreboard early.
LA: Tomas Hilliard-Arce (Geoffrey Acheampong), 15th minute: After some heroics from GK Andrew Putna, LA Galaxy II were awarded a corner opportunity that Acheampong served in to the box. Hilliard-Arce was able to break away from the crowd and flick the header in for a quick second goal.
LA: Iván Gutierrez (Augustine Williams), 68th minute: Gutierrez made his mark on the match less than a minute after coming on when he latched on to pass from Williams. Gutierrez took his run to the end line where he took his shot at a tight angle that bounced under Putna’s arm and into the back of the net.
SLC: Justin Portillo (Luis Arriaga), 88th minute: On the right flank, FW Damian German pushed a pass towards the middle to Arriaga, who took one touch to redirect the ball to the feet of Portillo. With time and space, Portillo took a touch to ready his shot and curled a left footed shot into the top left corner to put the Monarchs on the board late.
KEY SAVES AND DEFENSIVE STOPS
SLC: Andrew Putna, 14th minute: LA Galaxy II FW Kai Koreniuk looked to add to his team-leading goal count with a quick shot near the 6-yard line in front of the Monarchs goal. Putna was quick to drop and get his body in the way to prevent what could have been another quick Los Dos goal.
NOTES:
- DF James Moberg (head concussion) and MF Ricardo Avila (ankle) were both out of action due to injury while FW Douglas Martinez was out due to yellow card accumulation.
- The Monarchs moved to 1-3-1 at Dignity Health Sports Park with the loss, having failed to pick up a win at Dignity Health Sports Park since May 2017.
- The loss sees Real Monarchs without a win in its last five games, moving its last five record to 0-2-3.
Match: Real Monarchs SLC at LA Galaxy II
Date: September 7, 2019
Venue: Dignity Health Sports Park; Carson, California
Attendance: 1,082
Weather: 80 degrees and sunny
Scoring Summary 1 2 F
Real Monarchs SLC 0 1 1
LA Galaxy II 2 1 3
LA: Jose Hernández, 10’
LA: Tomas Hilliard-Arce (Geoffrey Acheampong), 15’
LA: Iván Gutierrez (Augustine Williams), 68’
SLC: Justin Portillo (Luis Arriaga), 88’
Lineups:
Real Monarchs SLC (4-2-3-1): Andrew Putna; Kalen Ryden, Noah Powder, Steve Jasso, Erik Holt; Justin Portillo, Maikel Chang (Luis Palma, 71’), Jack Blake (Damian German, 80’), Kyle Coffee; Julian Vázquez, Jordan Pena (Luis Arriaga, 46’)
Subs not used: Sam Brown, Evan Finney, Konrad Plewa, Cristian Calix
LA Galaxy II (4-3-3): Eric López; Justin Fiddes, Nate Shultz (John Requejo, 74’), Tomas Hilliard-Arce, Omar Ontiveros; Geoffrey Acheampong (Jorge Hernández,68’), Carlos Harvey, José Hernández; Kai Koreniuk (Iván Gutiérrez, 68’), Mohammed Kamara, Augustine Williams
Subs not used: Adrián Vera, Abdallah Shaibu, Armel-Don Tchilao, Abraham Romero
Stats Summary: SLC/LA
Shots: 7 / 10
Shots on Goal: 2 / 7
Saves: 4 / 1
Corner Kicks: 0 / 8
Fouls: 14 / 17
Offside: 1 / 3
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
SLC – Steve Jasso (Caution) 8’
LA – Jose Hernández (Caution) 34’
LA – Omar Ontiveros (Caution) 35’
SLC – Justin Portillo (Caution) 45’
LA – Nate Shultz (Caution) 51’
LA – Kai Koreniuk (Caution) 53’
SLC – Noah Powder (Caution) 75’
SLC – Erik Holt (Caution) 87’
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Alejandro Mariscal
Assistant Referees: Diego Blas, Adam Sanchez
4th Official: Denis Vargas
