REAL MONARCHS SLC TRAVEL TO RENO 1868 FC, JUST FIVE POINTS AWAY FROM USL REGULAR-SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP
Club Looks to Earn First Silverware of the Season & Improve 7-4-4 Road Record;
HC Mark Briggs’ USL Frontrunners Lead League w/ 18 Wins, 60 Points, 53 Goals & More;
Match Closes Out Road Portion of 2017, Preceding Back-to-Back Saturdays at Rio Tinto Stadium Oct. 7 & 14 to end 2017 Regular Season
SANDY, Utah (Friday, September 29, 2017) – Real Monarchs SLC (18-5-6, 60 points, USL #1 / West #1) return to the pitch for a quick turnaround match against Reno 1868 FC after Wednesday’s 2-0 triumph over Sacramento Republic FC. The Monarchs sit five points away from claiming the USL regular season championship, pending results elsewhere.
The Monarchs and Reno 1868 FC have met twice already this season, with the Monarchs claiming victory in both matches by a combined 7-4 scoreline, including a wild 5-3 win over the Nevada side at Rio Tinto Stadium in April. The mid-June matchup between the sides gave rise to another close match that saw the Monarchs hold on via goals from MF Andrew Brody and DF Taylor Peay, as Reno hit the post twice in second-half stoppage time.
Saturday’s match provides the opportunity for the Monarchs to claim the first USL silverware of the season as well as the first trophy in team history. The Monarchs can clinch the USL Regular Season Championship with a win on Saturday, should Louisville, Swope Park and San Antonio all loss or draw in their respective matches. Saturday’s visit to Reno 1868 also holds critical USL Western Conference implications as Reno look to close the gap to just two points in the West standings, withholding the possibility of silverware from the Monarchs for at least another week.
Tied with Louisville with the second-best road record in the USL, the Monarchs enter its final road test of 2017 with a 7-4-4 record away from Rio Tinto Stadium, outscoring opponents 21-17 in 15 matches. Having already booked its place alongside the Monarchs in the USL playoffs, Reno comes into Saturday’s match on the back of a 6-1 drubbing of Portland Timbers 2 at Greater Nevada Field. The home side also boasts a league best goal differential of +36, a number the Monarchs will look to reduce.
After the Monarchs matchup with Reno, the team will then return home for the final two Saturdays of the 2017 USL regular-season at Rio Tinto Stadium against Vancouver Whitecaps 2 and LA Galaxy II on Oct. 7 and 14 before the USL Playoffs commence.
How to Follow Real Monarchs SLC @ Reno 1868 FC – Sat., Sept. 30, 2017
• Coverage Begins: 8:00 p.m. MT
• Local Stream:Here!
• English Radio: n/a
• Spanish Radio: n/a
• Online: The @RealMonarchs Twitter feed provides updates
Game Notes for Saturday’s Monarchs @ Reno game Available Online
The link to the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Monarchs SLC and Reno is available HERE. 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 Taran Meyer in the RSL Communications Department via email at tmeyer@RSL.com.
Elsewhere in the Claret-and-Cobalt pyramid, Real Salt Lake won 2-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday over the visiting Seattle Sounders FC, ending the defending MLS Cup champions’ 13-game unbeaten run. The victory – which extended RSL’s mark under former Monarchs Head Coach Mike Petke to 12-11-3 on the MLS season – improved RSL’s record since July 1 to an impressive 7-2-3 (24 points), a stretch which includes four consecutive home wins at Rio Tinto Stadium and seven straight unbeaten in Sandy. This week, RSL travels to Southern California for a Saturday evening match at LA Galaxy at StubHub Center, where a record-breaking 6-2 RSL win kicked off the current run of form, which has vaulted RSL into fifth place in the Western Conference, where it now faces a month-long battle with San Jose, Houston and Dallas in the race for the final two postseason berths.
Opening last month, the Zions Bank Real Academy training campus arrives in Herriman, Utah, approximately 20 minutes southwest of Rio Tinto Stadium. The $72 million facility – which includes five grass “TORO Fields” (sod installation began earlier this August) – will soon 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, under the supervision of Academy Director Martin Vasquez. The Herriman facility will provide adjacencies for an on-site charter school with STEM disciplines (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) for nearly 200 boys and girls.
Opening in mid-October in North Logan, Utah, after breaking ground a year ago, RSL Owner Dell Loy Hansen will dedicate the first of a half-dozen regional training centers across Utah and Arizona to be built in the next 24-36 months. Each $5 million RTC houses a classroom, as well as an indoor and outdoor field, dedicated to fulfilling a curriculum consistent with 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.
