HERRIMAN, Utah (Thursday, April 7, 2022) – Real Monarchs (0-1-1, 1 point, 9th in West) are set to host Minnesota United 2 (0-2-0, 11th in West) at Zions Bank Stadium on Friday, April 8 with kickoff set for 8:00 p.m. MT, as the team looks to earn their first win in the newly-formed MLS NEXT Pro.
Pregame festivities, including an Easter Eggstravaganza, will begin at 7:15 p.m. MT inside Zions Bank Training Facility with entry through the high school. Single game tickets this season are only five dollars and are available for purchase at rsl.com/monarchs/tickets/ or 844.REAL.TIX.
Friday’s match, as well as all Real Monarchs matches this season, will be streamed live via www.MLSnextPro.com.
Real Monarchs vs Minnesota United 2Zions Bank Stadium, Herriman, Utah
Friday, April 8 at 8:00 p.m. MT
Game Notes for Friday’s RM vs MNUFC2 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 Minnesota United 2 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 (0-1-1, 1 point); Minnesota United 2 (0-2-0, 0 points)
Head-to-Head: Real Monarchs and Minnesota United 2 have not previously faced one another.
AYE AYE CAPTAIN
Real Monarchs scored its first two goals of the season against Whitecaps 2, both from penalty kicks and both scored by captain Pedro Fonseca. The first penalty was awarded after b was taken down by the goalkeeper inside the 18-yard-box, while the second was given after Christian Nydegger was clipped by an opposing defender.
At the University of Louisville Fonseca scored 15 goals and tallied 16 assists, and now he leads the Monarchs with his two goals. He also leads Real Monarchs in key passes with five and give shots.
YOU’VE BEEN MISSED
Defenders Pierre Reedy and Bobby Pierre earned call-ups to Real Salt Lake under extreme hardship short-term contracts due to injuries within the first team. Reedy made his RSL and Major League Soccer debut in the 83rd minute as a substitute for Maikel Chang. In just seven minutes he recorded four interceptions, tied for the second most with Marcelo Silva and Tate Schmitt. Meanwhile, Bobby Pierre traveled with the team to Colorado, but did not appear.
PLAY THE KIDS
In the opening week of the inaugural season of MLS NEXT Pro competition, Real Monarchs fielded the youngest starting lineup in the league with an average age of 18.7 years old. The Monarchs also featured 11 players 18-years-old or younger against the Tacoma Defiance, the youngest being RSL academy product Luis Rivera who made his professional debut at 14 years, 3 months and 26 days. Rivera is the second-youngest player in the entire Real Salt Lake organization, recent RSL Homegrown signing Axel Kei being the only player younger.
Against Whitecaps 2 that number grew as RSL Academy defender Ethan Zamora made his debut as the starting right back. Youth will continue to be a staple for the Monarchs as they currently have the youngest roster in MLS NEXT Pro with an average age of 17, three years younger than the league average at 20.08 years old.
