HERRIMAN, Utah (Friday, May 6, 2022) – Real Monarchs (0-3-2, 2 points, 11th in West) are back on the road to face Sporting Kansas City II (1-4-1, 4 points, 9th in West) at Rock Chalk Park on Sunday, May 8 with kickoff set for 12:00 p.m. MT, as the team looks to earn their first win in the newly-formed MLS NEXT Pro.
Sunday’s match, as well as all Real Monarchs matches this season, will be streamed live via www.MLSnextPro.com.**
Real Monarchs vs Sporting Kansas City II
Rock Chalk Park, Lawrence, Kansas
Sunday, May 8 at 12:00 p.m. MT
Game Notes for Friday’s RM vs SKC II game Available OnlineThe Adobe PDF version of the 2022 MLS NEXT Pro Game Guide in advance of Sunday’s contest between Real Monarchs and Sporting Kansas City II 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 (0-3-2, 2 points); Sporting Kansas City II (1-4-1, 4 points)
Head-to-Head: Prior to joining MLS NEXT Pro, Real Monarchs and Sporting Kansas City II each played in the USL Championship, with the Monarchs posting a 3-1-1 record all-time against the club formerly known as Swope Park Rangers. Most recently, the Monarchs fell to Swope Park Rangers, 3-2, in a 2018 USL regular-season match despite a brace from Monarchs’ forward Chandler Hoffman.
THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE
After stints with the U.S. Youth National Teams, goalkeeper Gavin Beavers and defender Luis Rivera will return to the Monarchs, missing the two previous matches. Beavers, in his first national team call-up, was in Carson, California as part of newly-appointed Head Coach Marko Mitrovic’s U-19 Youth National Team training camp. Meanwhile, Rivera was a part of the U-15 Youth National Team side in the Torneo delle Nazioni. Rivera started and played all 90 minutes in three matches for the Stars-and-Stripes, including a 3-2 win over Belgium, only sitting out the first match. RSL homegrown midfielder Jude Wellings has also recently been called to the U.S. U-17 Youth National Team camp as part of the UEFA Development Tournament in Castelo, Portugal where he played 20 minutes in the team's 1-0 loss to Italy.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Real Monarchs added two new additions to the backline last week in Ugandan defender Aziz Kayondo and Zambian defender Golden Mafwenta. Kayondo comes from Ugandan club Vipers SC, while Mafwenta comes to Utah by way of Czech Republic club MFK Vyskov. Both players have made appearances for their respective national teams with Kayondo appearing in a World Cup Qualifier against Rwanda. Meanwhile, Mafwenta recently started in a 2-0 victory over Tanzania in the African Nations Championship. Mafwenta made his first start for the Monarchs last week against St. Louis City 2. As a center-back, Mafwenta was dominant in the backline, winning two tackles and seven duels in his MLS NEXT Pro debut.
THE UTAH NATIVE
Real Monarchs will be facing former RSL Homegrown Julian Vazquez in Sunday's match against Sporting Kansas City II. Vazquez signed his first professional contract with Real Salt Lake on October 7, 2018 and featured in Real Monarch lineups the following two seasons. Hailing from Brigham City, the Utah native made 20 appearances and scored two goals for Real Monarchs before leaving the club in 2020. Vazquez has started in every match for SKC II this season, tallying two assists, 499 minutes and nine shots thus far.
