Real Monarchs 0 vs. 1 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2
June 15, 2023; Swangard Stadium; Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Real Monarchs (4-8-1, 14 points); Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 (7-4-3, 26 points)
Telling Stats: Real Monarchs suffer 1-0 loss in Canada due to second half goal. The Monarchs have lost 3 of their last 4 road matches and have now been shutout in 7 of their 13 games on the season, only being able to pick up 4 of 18 available points in their last 6 games. They continue to maintain the worst goal differential (-14) in MLS NEXT pro.
What You Missed: The Monarchs were relieved to not concede early after a giveaway in the first minute of play in their defensive half and were bailed out by a mistake by the Whitecaps attackers. On their first attack of the night Gennaro Nigro got off a powerful shot after a great set up pass from Gilberto Garcia, which was deflected out for the first corner of the game. The Monarchs once again were put to the test, however Blake Kelly came soaring off his line to get the stop in the ninth minute. Then in the 11th minute the Monarchs had a handful of opportunities at goal that caused commotion for the Whitecaps 2 backline yet, play was called dead with an offsides call. Play after slowed down quite a bit with no real opportunities at goal until a swinging ball in by Whitecaps Greco-Taylor had Kelly coming off his line once again to punch the ball away from danger. Kelly faced a daring Levonte Johnson in the 44th minute after a quick counter and was able to get down low to block the shot easily making sure the Monarchs went into the half 0-0. As the second half got underway the Monarchs immediately put pressure on the Whitecaps making it clear they were wanting to stay in this game however they were caught on a counter attack in the 56th minute that had Levonte Johnson behind the Monarchs back line striding towards goal after a lofted pass and he took a chip shot to put Whitecaps 2 up 1-0. The Monarchs were on their heels defensively thereafter and were lucky to not be down 2-0 after a skied shot one on one with Kelly by Vancouver in the 81st. The Monarchs lose the match 1-0.
What’s Next?: Real Monarchs return home to Zions Bank Stadium to face off against St. Louis CITY2 in just the third ever meeting between the two sides on Sunday, June 18 at 8:00 p.m. MT where the Monarchs will try to get their first ever win against CITY2 and look to improve their 1-4-1 home record for the season.
