HERRIMAN, Utah (Thursday, May 19, 2022) – Real Monarchs (0-5-2, 2 points, 11th in West) return home to face North Texas SC (5-1-2, 18 points, 2nd in West) on Friday, May 20 at 7:00 p.m. MT for the Club’s annual Pride Night.
Friday’s match, as well as all Real Monarchs matches this season, will be streamed live via www.MLSnextPro.com. Additionally, the match has been selected as the MLS NEXT Pro Game of the Week, which provides an enhanced broadcast.
Real Monarchs vs North Texas SC
Zions Bank Stadium; Herriman, Utah
Friday, May 20 at 7:00 p.m. MT
Game Notes for Friday’s RM vs NTX game Available Online
The Adobe PDF version of the 2022 MLS NEXT Pro Game Guide in advance of Friday’s contest between Real Monarchs and North Texas SC can be found here. Media members looking to receive the document as an attachment or have further questions are asked to please contact Meg Van Dyk in RSL Communications via email at meg.vandyk@rsl.com
2022 Records: Real Monarchs (0-5-2, 2 points); North Texas SC (5-1-2, 18 points)
Head-to-Head: This will be the first matchup between the two sides. North Texas SC joins MLS NEXT Pro from USL’s League 1, while Real Monarchs joined the new league from USL Championship. The Lone Star side went 34-17-21 in League 1 since their inaugural season in 2019.
MLS NEXT Flex
Real Monarchs will welcome back a handful of players after playing in the MLS NEXT Flex competition with the Real Salt Lake Academy U17 and U15 teams in Maryland. The U17s went 2-1-0 (win-loss-draw) with five goals from Axel Kei, while the U15s were one of only five teams in their age group to go undefeated in the three-game competition, earning automatic qualification to this summer’s MLS NEXT Cup.
Yellow Card Mania
Friday’s matchup pits the two teams with the most yellow cards in MLS NEXT Pro against one another. North Texas SC leads the league with 26 cautions received, while the Monarchs are in second with 22 yellow cards. Midfielder Christian Nydegger, the team’s leader in cautions, is set to make his return against North Texas after missing the previous match against Tacoma Defiance for a suspension received during the match against Sporting Kansas City II on May 8.
Two-Game Homestand Against Lone Star Leaders
Friday’s match against North Texas SC is the first of two Real Monarchs home games against Lone Star teams. The Monarchs will host league-leading Houston Dynamo 2 on Wednesday, May 25. The two Texas sides are at the top of the Western Conference in MLS NEXT Pro with only one point separating the teams.
Home Debuts
Newly signed Benjamin Rodriguez and Aziz Kayondo could both make their home debuts against North Texas SC. Rodriguez came off the bench in his MLS NEXT Pro debut against Tacoma Defiance, while Kayondo earned his second consecutive start since joining the organization.
