SANDY, Utah (Tuesday, July 25, 2017) – Real Monarchs SLC (14-2-2, 44 points, 1st West / 1st Overall in USL) continue their midseason “Texas Two-Step” 2017 campaign on the road this week, concluding Wednesday night at Rio Grande Valley (6:00 p.m. MT, ESPN3.com).
Saturday, the Monarchs rode a late-game equalizer from DF Max Lachowecki at Western Conference elite San Antonio to earn a 2-2 draw in a game that saw the Monarchs climb back from both 1-0 and 2-1 deficits. Monarchs FW Chandler Hoffman converted a penalty midway through the first half for his 12th goal of the season – moving into sole possession of third place in the USL Golden Boot race, two shy of the lead – for his fourth goal in the last three games. Lachowecki’s 86th-minute goal to rescue a point for the Monarchs was his second goal in as many games, becoming the 11th different SLC player to score multiple goals this season.
Head Coach Mark Briggs’ team hopes to improve on its 5-2-2 road mark as the Monarchs seek to snap the club’s three-game road winless run prior a return to Rio Tinto Stadium on Monday, July 31, with a 7:00 p.m. MT kickoff against Tulsa and the perfect 9-0-0 home mark this season (Visit www.RSL.com/Monarchs for ticketing details).
How to Follow Real Monarchs @ Rio Grande Valley – Wed., July 26, 2017
- Coverage Begins: 6:00 p.m. MT
- Webstream: ESPN3.com
- English Radio: n/a
- Spanish Radio: n/a
- Online: The @RealMonarchs Twitter feed provides updates
Game Guide for Wednesday’s Monarchs @ Rio Grande Valley game Available
The link to the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Wednesday night’s contest between Real Monarchs and Rio Grande Valley is available at this link later this afternoon. If you have any problems obtaining the document, would prefer to receive it as an attachment, or are seeking more information on the match, please contact Trey Fitz-Gerald in the RSL Communications Department via email at tfitz@RSL.com
Now in the club’s third season, the Monarchs are re-writing their own record books every time out. This season’s 14-2-2 mark exceeds last year’s 10-win total, and the 42 goals scored in 2017 surpasses the attacking output for all 30 games a year ago. This year’s +23 goal differential brings the Monarchs’ all-time goal +/- into positive territory at +3, while the 4-1 victory on July 8 gave the Monarchs an all-time 31-29-16 record (just over .500), despite not qualifying for the USL Cup Playoffs in either of the club’s first two campaigns.
A year ago, the 10th and final win was not reached until September 17, while the inaugural 2015 season saw just seven total wins. In its first two seasons, Real Monarchs SLC had totaled just six wins combined in April, May and June, prior to 12 in the same span this season.
Led by FW Chandler Hoffman (12 goals, 3rd USL) and MF Sebastian Velasquez(6 goals, 6 assists, t-2 USL) in the first 18 games this season, the Monarchs have scored multiple goals in 13 of its 14 victories, making the club the highest scoring team in the USL for most of the year (prior to recent outbursts by Charleston, 6-1 over Toronto, and Reno, 9-0 over LA Galaxy II), with 42 goals through 18 matches. In addition to boasting 11 players with multiple goals and 15 total goalscorers so far this season, Hoffman, Velasquez and MF Charlie Adams (five assists) rank 2-3-4 amongst USL playmakers in the key attacking statistic.
Monarchs catalyst Velasquez has been named an USL Team of the Week honoree five times overall this year. Also receiving the weekly distinction this year have been FW Chandler Hoffman, MF Chase Minter, DF James Moberg, M/F Daniel Haber, MF Nick Besler and GK Connor Sparrow.
Until acceding to the bench in the second half of the 4-1 win vs. Seattle, Monarchs Captain Nick Besler had played every single one of the club’s minutes this season (now at 1,575), while five others – MF Andrew Brody (1414), DF Max Lachowecki (1435), FW Chandler Hoffman (1456), and DF James Moberg(1403) – have each played 1,400 or more of a possible 1,620 minutes thus far this year. M/F Daniel Haber joins Hoffman, Besler, Brody, Moberg and Lachowecki amongst Monarchs to have appeared in a minimum of 17 league contests this USL season. A total of 35 different players have seen action for the Monarchs this season, including 14 RSL players and two Monarchs no longer on the club’s USL roster.
Coming in late Summer, 2017, the Zions Bank Real Academy opens in Herriman, Utah, approximately 20 minutes southwest of Rio Tinto Stadium. The $72 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. Including the 5,000-seat Zions Bank Stadium as well as the Zions Bank Training Center, the Herriman campus will provide adjacencies for an on-site charter school opening this Fall, with STEM disciplines.
