HERRIMAN, Utah (Thursday, September 14, 2023) – Real Monarchs (8-12-6, 31 points, 11th in West) welcomes Tacoma Defiance (13-5-8, 52 points, 3rd in West) to Zions Bank Stadium for the final home match of the season on Friday, September 15 (8:00p MT; tickets available at https://www.rsl.com/monarchs/tickets/). After facing the Defiance at home Real Monarchs will travel to Providence Park to face Portland Timbers (10-15-1, 31 points, 10th in West) for their final match and completion of their second season in MLS NEXT Pro on September 24 (3:00p MT).
The Real Monarchs have lost only one match out of their last five, the loss coming against Colorado Rapids 2 last weekend when beaten on the road 2-0. The 2-0 road loss sealed the Monarchs elimination from playoff contention and any hope at making their first MLS NEXT Pro Playoff appearance. Real Monarchs look to remain unbeaten in their two final matches to close out their second MLS NEXT Pro season and claim a win over Tacoma Defiance this year. Tacoma holds a controlling record against the Monarchs in five all time MLS NEXT Pro meetings, this year the Defiance have beaten the Real Monarchs twice.
Tacoma and Real Monarchs last met in May 2023, where Tacoma was triumphant 2-1 making a late comeback in the 87th minute. In the five meetings between these two sides the Monarchs have only claimed victory against Tacoma Defiance once, that win coming at Zions Bank Stadium in 2022. Home victories have eluded the Monarchs this season as they have attained a 2W-7L-4D record when playing at Zions Bank Stadium. In their final home match of 2023 the Monarchs will look to both improve their home record and repeat the success they found against Tacoma last year at home.
