The Real Monarchs took to the road for two difficult matches in Week 28, first visiting Sacramento Republic FC for a midweek matchup followed by a tilt at Reno 1868 FC at the weekend. Winning 2-0 in Sacramento and 3-0 in Reno put the Monarchs within a single point of claiming the USL Regular Season Championship and home field advantage throughout the entirety of the playoffs.
Several key players contributed to the shutout victories and in-turn earned spots on the USL Team of the Week for Week 28. GK Andrew Putna’s two penalty-kick save performance led the way on the first team as he also received 28 percent of the vote for Player of the Week, placing him second in voting behind Oklahoma City Energy’s Jose Angulo. FWs Chandler Hoffman and Juan Ignacio Mare earned honorable mention after each scoring a goal apiece in each match last week.
Joining the Real Monarchs Players on the Team of the Week were defenders Mark O’Ojong (San Antonio FC), Sean Reynolds (Louisville City FC) and Emrah Klimenta (Sacramento Republic FC); midfielders Taeseong Kim (Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC), Liam Fraser (Toronto FC II), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Phoenix Rising FC) and Kevin Schindler (FC Cincinnati); forwards Kharlton Belmar (Swope Park Rangers), Ropapa Mensah (Harrisburg City Islanders) and Jose Angulo (Oklahoma City Energy).
Bench: Mitch Hildebrandt (CIN), Agustin Cazarez (SAC), Hadji Barry (ORL), Shaan Hundal (TOR), Chandler Hoffman (SLC), Juan Mare (SLC), Seku Conneh (BST)
Tickets for the Monarchs upcoming match against Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 on Saturday can be purchased by clicking the Team of the Week Photo below:
