HERRIMAN, Utah (Friday, July 12, 2019) – Real Monarchs SLC (8-6-3, 27 points) claimed an emphatic 5-0 victory over the Tacoma Defiance at Zions Bank Stadium on Friday night, extending its win streak to five for its second consecutive shutout.
FW Douglas Martinez recorded the club’s first-ever hattrick while MF Jack Blake made his return from injury with a goal and FW Maikel Chang notched his eighth goal of the year in the win. GK Andrew Putna secured the shutout in goal for the Monarchs.
The Monarchs took control of the match quickly, burying its first goal in the 8th minute as Chang sent a shot that rebounded off the underside of the crossbar and over the goal line. Real Monarchs continued to be a threat to Tacoma over the first half as the Utah side opened spaces and fired shots that went just wide. The aggressive pressure paid off however as DF Stanley Okumu lobbed a ball from the backline to Martinez who used his speed to get around the Tacoma defense and bury an opportunity into the far post.
Real Monarchs didn’t slow down after the break as Martinez rifled a one touch shot in the 67th minute into the net, followed by a thunderous shot in the 76th minute to complete the hattrick. Blake made his triumphant return to the pitch after 11 weeks away due to an injury and made his captain’s contribution by putting the final stamp on the victory, scoring the team’s fifth goal of the evening to finalize the scoring at 5-0.
UP NEXT: Real Monarchs SLC goes back on the road for the start of a two game-stretch when it plays El Paso Locomotive next week. The match-up is scheduled for Saturday, July 20 where kickoff from Southwest University Park is set for 7:30 p.m. MT.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
SLC: Maikel Chang (Masta Kacher), 8th minute – Around a crowded penalty area on the right side of the pitch, Kacher was able to lay the ball off to Chang, who broke open a space at the corner of the penalty area. Chang took his opportunity to fire a shot that bounced off the underside of the crossbar and over the goal line for the Monarchs first goal.
SLC: Douglas Martinez (Stanley Okumu), 36th minute – As Martinez started his run, Stanley Okumu lobbed a ball forward from the Monarchs back line. Martinez latched on to the ball and took it down the pitch before burying his shot into the far post to double the Monarchs lead.
SLC: Douglas Martinez, 67th minute – Julian Vasquez took a quick run down the middle of the park, setting up his shot but was shutout by the Defiance backline. The ball got away and took a bounce to the side where Martinez took one touch to send the ball bouncing off the far post and in.
SLC: Douglas Martinez, 76th minute: Martinez capitalized on the mistake of the Defiance defense as a ball passed backwards took a heavy bounce off defender’s foot. Martinez was quick to capitalize and rifled a shot past GK Trey Muse for the club’s first hat-trick.
SLC: Jack Blake (Lionel Etoundi), 83rd minute: Coming on as a late sub, Blake picked up the forward pass with some space in the middle of the park. As the Defiance backline came in to shut him out, Blake dribbled past and placed his shot into the back the net to make his defiant impact in his return.
KEY SAVES AND DEFENSIVE STOPS
TAC: Trey Muse, 20th minute: With dangerous play around the Tacoma goal, Luke Mulholland cut the pass in towards a wide-open Luis Arriaga, who quickly fired off a shot that looked to be the Monarchs second goal. Trey Muse came up big however and got a ball in the way to deflect it out to a defender who cleared it out of the park.
NOTES:
- DF Stanley Okumu made his returns to the Monarchs from international duty, playing his first match since late May.
- MF Jack Blake made his return to the pitch after picking up an injury in early May, subbing in at the 70th minute for Jordan Pena.
- FW Douglas Martinez netted the first-ever club hat-trick after picking up goals at the 36’, 67’ and the 76’.
Match: Real Monarchs SLC vs Tacoma Defiance
Date: July 12, 2019
Venue: Zions Bank Stadium; Herriman, Utah
Attendance: 1919
Weather: 87 degrees and partly cloudy
Scoring Summary 1 2 F
Real Monarchs SLC 2 3 5
Tacoma Defiance 0 0 0
SLC – Maikel Chang (Masta Kacher), 8’
SLC – Douglas Martinez (Stanley Okumu), 36’
SLC – Douglas Martinez, 67’
SLC – Douglas Martinez 76’
SLC – Jack Blake (Lionel Etoundi), 84’
Lineups:
Real Monarchs SLC (4-2-3-1): Andrew Putna; James Moberg, Noah Powder, Konrad Plewa, Stanley Okumu; Luke Mulholland, Luis Arriaga, Maikel Chang, Masta Kacher (Juilian Vasquez, 46’), Jordan Pena (Jack Blake, 73’); Douglas Martinez (Lionel Etoundi, 76’)
Subs not used: Evan Finney, Kalen Ryden, Steve Jasso, Luis Palma
Tacoma Defiance (4-4-1-1): Trey Muse; Jonathan Campbell, Aleks Berkolds (Nick Hinds, 62’), Denso Ulysse, Ever Rubio (Joel Rydstrand, 46’); Sam Rogers, Josh Atencio, Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez, Antonee Burke-Gilroy (Marlon Vargas 72’), Handwalla Bwana; Alec Diaz
Subs not used: Sam Fowler, Danny Robles
Stats Summary: SLC/TAC
Shots: 22 / 8
Shots on Goal: 11 / 3
Saves: 3 / 6
Corner Kicks: 6 / 2
Fouls: 9 / 3
Offside: 0 / 1
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
SLC – Douglas Martinez (Caution) 62’
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Michael Radchuk
Assistant Referees: Joshua Haimes, Karsten Gillwald
4th Official: Casey Harward
