TUKWILA, Washington (March 27, 2022) – Real Monarchs (0-1-0, points) fell 4-0 to Tacoma Defiance in their MLS NEXT Pro season opener, a pitting of the league’s youngest and oldest squads of the weekend, with the latter taking the victory.
The match began slow for both sides, as they looked to find their respective grooves in the first game of the season. But it was Tacoma who was able to finally take the lead in the 40th minute when Dylan Teves passed the ball ahead to Alphonso Ocampo-Chavez whose header went off the hands of GK Gavin Beavers and into the goal. Tacoma held onto their 1-0 lead heading into the halftime break.
Coming out of the halftime break, Dylan Teves added to the lead with a goal of his own in the 49th minute when Reed Baker-Whiting passed the ball back from the end line to Teves at the penalty spot who placed it just inside the far post to double the lead. Despite a valiant effort by second-half substitutes MF Leo Torres and MF Jude Wellings to get Real Monarchs on the board, Tacoma’s backline held strong, with goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland making three saves to preserve the clean sheet. As the match winded down, the Defiance scored twice, in quick succession, once in the 86th minute off an Ocampo-Chavez header and the other in the second minute of stoppage time from Samuel Adeniran to seal the win, giving Tacoma the 4-0 victory.
UP NEXT: Real Monarchs will return home for their season’s home-opener against Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 on April 2nd at 5:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at www.rsl.com/monarchs/tickets.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:
TAC: Alphonso Ocampo-Chavez, 40th minute: Dylan Teves serviced the ball forward to Ocampo-Chavez whose header was just out of reach for Monarchs Goalkeeper Gavin Beavers.
TAC: Dylan Teves, 49th minute: Reed Baker-Whiting dribbled the ball to the end line before passing it back to Dylan Teves at the penalty spot who slotted it inside the far post for the goal.
TAC: Alphonso Ocampo-Chavez, 86th minute: Randy Mendoza crossed the ball into the box and found Ocampo-Chavez alone at the top of the six-yard box, scoring a snap-down header under the arms of Beavers.
TAC: Samuel Adeniran, 90+2nd minute: Samuel Adeniran broke free from the Monarchs defense and to find himself one-on-one with Beavers, taking a step to the right he slipped the ball inside the near post.
NOTES:
- The Monarchs roster had an average age of 18.7 years old, the youngest roster in MLS NEXT Pro for the opening weekend. Meanwhile, Tacoma had the oldest roster in the league with an MLS affiliate, with an average age of 21.3 years old.
- The Monarchs had 11 players under the age of 18 appear in the game against the Defiance.
- Seven players earned their professional debuts, including Izzy Amparo, Pedro Fonseca, Alex Lopez, Pierre Reedy, Luis Rivera, Marcus Vasquez and Terron Williams.
- Of the 15 players that saw the pitch, 11 of them come from the RSL Academy, including five currently in the system.
Match: Real Monarchs at Tacoma Defiance
Date: March 27, 2022
Venue: Starfire Sports Complex
Weather: Sunny and 58 degrees
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Real Monarchs: 0 0 0
Tacoma Defiance: 1 3 4
TAC: Alphonso Ocampo-Chavez, 40’
TAC: Dylan Teves, 49’
TAC: Alphonso Ocampo-Chavez, 86’
TAC: Samuel Adeniran, 90+2’
Lineups:
Real Monarchs (4-2-3-1): Gavin Beavers, Marcus Vazquez, Bobby Pierre, Alex Lopez, Pierre Reedy (Luis Rivera 78’), Christian Nydegger, Julio Benitez (Jude Wellings 67’), Pedro Fonseca, Terron Williams, Yekeson Subah (Izahi Amparo 78’), Jack Imperato (Leo Torres 67’)
Subs not used: Abokye Bikyeombe, Ethan Zamora,
Tacoma Defiance (4-2-3-1): Stefan Cleveland, Joe Hafferty, Abdoulaye Cissoko, Hal Uderitz, Randy Mendoza, Danny Leyva, Joshua Atencio (Marlon Vargas 60’), Samuel Adeniran, Dylan Teves, Reed Baker-Whiting (Juan Alvarez 81’), Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez (Valentin Sabella 88’)
Subs not used: Eric Kinzner, Snyder Brunell, Travian Sousa, Wallis Lapsley, Achille Robin, Wyatt Nelson
Stats Summary: RM / TAC
Shots: 7 / 16
Shots on Goal: 3 / 9
Saves: 5 / 4
Corner Kicks: 5 / 2
Fouls: 16 / 22
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
RM: Christian Nydegger (caution) 31’
TAC: Samuel Adeniran (caution) 54’
TAC: Joshua Atencio (caution) 58’
TAC: Hal Uderitz (caution) 63’
RM: Pedro Fonseca (caution) 74’
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Adorae Monroy
Assistant Referees: Christian Clerc, Cephas Quartson
Fourth Official: Christopher Calderon
