Kansas City, Missouri (Friday, August 18, 2017) – Real Monarchs SLC (16-3-4, 52 pts) inched closer to a postseason berth with a dominating first-half performance against the Swope Park Rangers on Friday night in Kansas City. However, the Rangers came back to earn a 2-2 draw, as the Monarchs extended the club’s lead atop the USL Western Conference and moved one step closer to the USL club’s first playoff appearance.
FW Daniel Haber scored his fifth goal of the season and DF Kyle Curinga added another to bolt out to a 2-0 first-half lead at Children’s Mercy Victory Field. Haber’s goal came after MF Sebastian Velasquez was taken down just outside the box. Velasquez and Haber lined up over the ball and it was Haber who smashed it over the wall and inside the left post for his fifth goal of the season, staking the Monarchs to a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute. Curinga followed it up by heading home a cross from FW Andrew Brody for his second goal of the season to make it 2-0 in the 25th minute.
Swope Park pulled one back through halftime substitute Nansel Selbol in the 60th minute, as he ripped a shot through traffic that bound past GK Matt VanOekel to make it 2-1. Finally, the Rangers equalized in the 82nd minute through another halftime substitute, as Kharlton Belmar hammered in a cross from Tyler Pasher to equalize.
UP NEXT: Real Monarchs SLC returns home to defend its 10-0-1 record at Rio Tinto Stadium, hosting Rio Grande Valley FC on Friday, August 25. The Monarchs will look for the season sweep after posting a 2-1 road win on July 26.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:
RM – Daniel Haber, 8th minute: On a free kick from 25 yards out, Haber blistered his shot over the wall and past the Swope Park goalkeeper for his fifth goal of the season.
RM – Kyle Curinga (Andrew Brody), 25th minute: After Brody recycled the attack on a missed corner kick opportunity, he played the ball back into the box for Curinga, who snapped a header inside the near post for his second goal of the season.
SP – Nansel Selbol (Kharlton Belmar), 60th minute: On a piece of individual brilliance, Selbol danced with the ball in a clump of Monarchs defenders before shooting through traffic to skip the ball past Matt VanOekel.
SP – Kharlton Belmar (Tyler Pasher), 82nd minute: Nansel Selbol led Tyler Pasher on an overlap up the left side and the defender sent a picture-perfect ball along the edge of the six-yard box
KEY SAVES AND DEFENSIVE STOPS:
RM – Matt VanOekel, 44th minute: On the fourth corner of the match for Swope Park Rangers, the ball skipped across to the far post where Lebogang Moloto headed towad the near post, but VanOekel was there to make the easy save on the only shot on target he faced in the first half.
SP – Kyle Curinga, 59th minute: Mark Gonzalez got into the box and got his shot past Matt VanOekel, but Curinga was defending the goal line and made the last-ditch clearance to keep the home side off the board momentarily.
NOTES:
- The Monarchs are now 6-3-3 on the road this season.
- FW Danny Cruz made his Monarchs debut after signing last week, entering the match in teh 72nd minute. He played the first half of the season with the San Francisco Deltas of the NASL.
- The Monarchs had three players in on loan from Real Salt Lake. GK Matt VanOekel made his return from an ankle injury and started for the Monarchs while DF Justin Schmidt and MF Jose Hernandez were both on the bench.
Match: Real Monarchs at Swope Park Rangers
Date: August 18, 2017
Venue: Children’s Mercy Victory Field; Kansas City, Missouri
Attendance: 936
Weather: 79 and Cloudy
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Swope Park Rangers 0 2 2
Real Monarchs SLC 2 0 2
Lineups:
Real Monarchs (4-2-3-1): Matt VanOekel; Kyle Curinga, James Moberg, Taylor Peay, Max Lachowecki; Nick Besler, Charlie Adams (Jose Hernandez 63‘); Andrew Brody, Sebastian Velasquez, Daniel Haber (Skyler Milne 84‘); Chandler Hoffman (Danny Cruz 72‘).
Subs not used: Connor Sparrow, Justin Schmidt, Emilio Orozco, Karsten Hanlin.
Swope Park Rangers (4-2-3-1): Adrian Zendejas; Colton Storm, Oumar Ballo, Liam Doyle, Tyler Pasher; Felipe Hernandez (Nansel Selbol 46’), Wan Kuzain, Christian Duke; Robert Mirosavic (Kharlton Belmar 46’), Lebogang Moloto, Mark Gonzalez (Cameron Iwasa 84’).
Subs not used: Darrin MacLeod, Dakota Barnathan, Amer Didic, Parker Maher.
Stats Summary: RM / SP
Shots: 5 / 19
Shots on Goal: 3 / 6
Saves: 3 / 1
Corner Kicks: 4 / 12
Fouls: 5 / 16
Offside: 0 / 4
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
SP: Lebogang Moloto (Caution) 67’
RM: Kyle Curinga (Caution) 88’
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Malik Badawi
Assistant Referees: John Krill, Austin Saunders
4th Official: Daniel Ortega
