SANDY, Utah (Sunday, June 2 2024) - Real Monarchs (2-7-1, 8pts, 13th in West) walk away with a 4-0 victory over Austin FC II (2-4-3, 10pts,11th in West) with two goals scored in the first half and two in the second half.
Both teams started slow and steady coming onto the field. They were patient and took their time with each touch. Each play began with the backline before the defenders looked to connect along the touchline. The Monarch’s had the majority of possession to start and had a shot ripped from the top of the box by Bertin Jacquesson to give them their first real chance in front of the net. This shot went soaring over the crossbar, but provided the players with their first glimpse of the victory to come.
The first goal of the game came from the Monarchs side in the 22nd minute. The play began from a cross from Tommy Silva on the far side of the field. Silva found Jacquesson alone on the opposite touchline which allowed the Monarchs to get organized in the Austin box. Jacquesson made a short pass to Noel Caliskan on the near goal post who was then able to connect with an incoming Matthew Bell. Bell put the ball low and hard past goalkeeper Aaron Cervantes from the six-yard-box. The combination yielded Caliskan’s team-leading fourth assist of the year and tied Bell for the most goals among Monarchs with his second of the 2024 campaign.
In the 36th minute, Real Monarchs furthered their lead with an impressive goal from Fidel Barajas. Jacquesson assisted on this goal as well, finding Barajas on the far touchline, with only one defender in front of him. Barajas took a few touches to shake his defender and ripped a shot from the top of the box. The ball hit the crossbar at just the right angle for the ball to go straight down into the net, providing the Monarchs some insurance on the game.
Austin FC 2 had a few minor breakaways towards their final third but couldn’t capitalize due to Omar Alba, Keller Storlie, and Fernando Delgado handling the attacks. The half ended with Monarchs holding the advantage and feeling energized to widen the goal differential.
The second half began as the first half ended: Monarchs in possession and creating chances. They had a few personnel changes to start the half. The fresh legs made a significant difference as they looked towards the goal again. Damien Barker John had a few notable shots and play contributions whereas Daron Iskenderian found the first goal of the second half.
The play began with Jacquesson dribbling towards the goal line, parallel to the 18-yard-box, and fighting off his defender Anthony De Anda. Jacquesson just barely escaped De Anda with a fake near the end line and sent it low and hard across the box to an oncoming Iskenderian. Iskenderian, with his defender close on his heels, made a sliding touch to find the back of the net, avoiding Cervantes entirely, in the 57th minute of play.
The final finish of the game came shortly after from a scramble in the Austin box. Izzy Amparo took possession of the ball from an attempted clearance from Austin. Amparo took a touch to get past his defender before firing it into the gloves of the diving Cervantes. Cervantes got just enough on the shot to send it back out to the six-yard-box but Bell was there, waiting for the rebound. Bell took advantage of Cervantes’ grounded position and made a quick tap to the near corner to finish off the play. This was Bell’s second goal of the game, and awarded him the position of Monarchs’ current top scorer.
After the fourth goal from the Monarchs’ side, they focused on settling the game down, taking their time and being intentional with their passes. For the final 20 minutes they were able to keep the ball off the feet of Austin and walked away with a 4-0 win and 3 points on the day.
SLC 4 : 0 ATX
GOAL-SCORING SUMMARY:
SLC: Matthew Bell (Noel Caliskan) 22’: As Silva’s cross from the left wing sailed over a crowded ATX2 box in the 22nd minute, it settled on the feet of Jacquesson for a reset of the play on the right side of the attacking third. Spotting the darting run of Caliskan, he played a clever ball into the box that Caliskan ran onto, shielding it from his defender with physical play before passing to Matthew Bell in the center of the box for the point-blank finish.
SLC: Fidel Barajas (Bertin Jacquesson) 36’: With Jacquesson holding up play on the right side of the Austin zone, he calmly laid off for Barajas running parallel to goal. Feinting right before juking back to the left, the 18-year-old winger curled a perfectly-struck ball around his marker and over the helpless glove of Anthony De Anda, his attempt connecting with the woodwork and going bar-down into the back of the net.
SLC: Daron Iskenderian (Bertin Jacquesson) 57’: Receiving a ball from the back line over the top Jacquesson wins a 50/50 header over ATX defender then proceeds to drive the ball up the right side of the field into the 18. With one touch Jacquesson baited ATX defender thinking he was cutting inside before Jacquesson cut back outside driving to the six and played a ball finding Iskenderian near the far post for a tap-in.
SLC: Matthew Bell (Unassisted) 69’: Recovering from an overhit cross, Tommy Silva receives the ball on the top left corner of the box, playes a ball to Izzy Amparo who took one touch before firing a shot near the far post. After getting a hand on the ball ATX keeper deflects the ball back into play where Bell cleans up the mess with a tap in finish.
LINEUPS:
Real Monarchs (4-4-2): Fernando Delgado; Omar Alba (Bobby Pierre, 45), Keller Storlie ©, Zack Farnsworth, Tommy Silva; Bertin Jacquesson, Jude Wellings (Izahi Amparo, 63), Noel Caliskan, Fidel Barajas (Damien Barker John, 45); Aiden Hezarkhani (Daron Iskenderian, 45), Matt Bell (Beni Redzic, 73)
Subs not used: Ilijah Paul, Sean Petrie,, Sebastian Joffre, Bennett Ewing
Austin FC2 (4-3-3): Aaron Cervantes; Anthony De Anda, Salvatore Mazzaferro, Gavin Wolff, Rubén Bonachera; Ervin Torres (Bryan Arellano, 79), Steeve Louis Jean, Bobosi Byaruhanga; Micah Burton (Anthony Garcia, 87), Sebastien Pineau, Bryant Farkarlun
Subs not used: Marcus Alstrup, Joah Reyna, Luke Spadafora, Mason Miller
Stats Summary: SLC / ATX
Shots: 17 / 1
Shots on Goal: 8 / 0
Saves: 0 / 4
Corner Kicks: 6 / 3
Fouls: 10 / 14
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
SLC: Bobby Pierre (Yellow Card, 54), Matthew Bell (Yellow Card, 64)
ATX: Sebastien Pineau (Yellow Card, 39), Anthony De Anda (Yellow Card, 68)
