REAL MONARCHS SLC BEATS PORTLAND TIMBERS 2
4-2 IN HOME OPENER AT RIO TINTO STADIUM
DF Kalen Ryden Notches Two Goals in First Start for the Club;
DF Nick Besler and MF Sebastian Velasquez Earn First Goals of 2018;
Monarchs move to 3-0-1 All-Time in USL Home Opening Matches Since 2015
SANDY, Utah (Saturday, March 31, 2018) – Real Monarchs SLC (2-0-0, 6 points, T-West 3) topped Western Conference rival Portland Timbers 2 on Saturday afternoon, 4-2 as three different players notch goals in front of 2,514 at Rio Tinto Stadium.
The match began at a blistering pace with the Monarchs finding two goals inside the first seven minutes through DFs Nick Besler and KalenRyden. All three goals in the second half came from set pieces as the Monarchs as Besler’s goal and Ryden’s first resulted from corner kicks from MF Justin Portillo. Ryden found his second goal when Portillo’s free kick from midfield again found his run at the back post where he headed home easily.
Portland pulled a goal back three minutes after the Monarchs third when Jeremy Ebobisse chipped home a rebound from his header just before to bring the score at halftime to 3-1.
The second half began much like the first ended with T2 getting another goal through Victor Arboleda in the 53rd minute. In the 66th minute MF Sebastian Velasquez earned his first goal of the 2018 season when his quick footwork created space for him to fire a shot past the goalkeeper for the Monarchs 4th goal of the afternoon.
UP NEXT:
The Monarchs will return to the road for a matchup with Phoenix Rising FC on April 7
th
with kickoff set for 8:00 p.m. MT from Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:
SLC:Nick Besler (Pablo Ruiz), 3rd minute – Early in the match the Monarchs earned a corner kick which midfielder Pablo Ruiz struck into the area. Defender Nick Besler met the corner kick with a glancing header that easily found the back of the net past T2 goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh.
SLC: Kalen Ryden (Justin Portillo), 7th minute – Again from a set piece the Monarchs found a goal when Monarchs midfielder Justin Portillo’s corner kick found the head of defender Kalen Ryden who put away his first goal in a Monarchs uniform.
SLC: Kalen Ryden (Justin Portillo), 32nd minute: Another set piece opportunity in midfield was swung in by Justin Portillo towards the back post. Again the cross found Ryden’s head who easily headed home his second goal of the match to the far post.
POR: Jeremy Ebobisse, 35th minute – After his first headed attempt was saved by Monarchs goalkeeper Andrew Putna, his follow-up was clipped home into the far corner of the net to steal one back for Timbers 2.
POR: Victor Arboleda (Andre Lewis), 59th minute – A clipped ball from Portland’s half drew out Monarchs goalkeeper Andrew Putna away from his area. Arboleda did well to read the chance and chip the ball over Putna and finish the opportunity.
SLC: Sebastian Velasquez (Josh Heard), 66th minute – A ball played into space at the top of the area found the feet of Velasquez who’s quick footwork beat two defenders as his shot flew past the goalkeeper for his first of the year.
KEY SAVES AND DEFENSIVE STOPS:
POR: Kendall McIntosh, 22nd minute – Monarchs MF Justin Portillo read the ball and time his run to perfection at the top of the area as he ran onto the ball and fired a first time shot towards the near corner. The shot skipped through the crowd in front of goal and looked destined for the back of the net but McIntosh’s outstretched arm parried the ball to safety.
SLC: Andrew Putna, 38th minute – A turnover in midfield gave way to Portland striker Jeremy Ebobisse who was in on goal. Putna did well to cut down the angle to deny the break-away effort.
POR: Kendall McIntosh, 53rd minute – Another set piece played in by Pablo Ruiz found the head of Michael Gallagher who’s snap header was saved well by McIntosh who parried away the header to deny a fourth Monarchs goal.
NOTES:
- Kalen Ryden and Masta Kacher made their first starts for the Monarchs as Kacher made his first appearance of his Monarchs career. Ryden scored two goals in his first start with the club as his headed efforts found the back of the net in the first half.
- Prior to kickoff against T2, teams and fans paid their respects to former Real Monarchs Assistant Coach Liam Miller with a round of applause. Miller was also remembered by fans in the eighth minute of play with a moment of silence in his honor. Miller passed away in early-February after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.
- The Monarchs moved to 3-0-1 in home openers since 2015 with the 4-2 over Timbers 2.
Match: Real Monarchs SLC vs Portland Timbers 2
Date: March 31, 2018
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah
Attendance: 2,514
Weather: Sunny and 70 degrees
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Real Monarchs SLC 3 3 4
Timber 2 1 2 2
SLC – Nick Besler (Pablo Ruiz) 3’
SLC – Kalen Ryden (Justin Portillo) 7’
SLC – Kalen Ryden (Justin Portillo) 32’
POR – Jeremy Ebobisse 35’
POR – Victor Arbeloa (Andre Lewis) 59’
SLC – Sebastian Velasquez (Josh Heard) 66’
Lineups:
Real Monarchs SLC (4-3-3): Andrew Putna; Andrew Brody, Nick Besler, Michael Gallagher, Kalen Ryden; Justin Portillo, Pablo Ruiz (Charlie Adams, 79’), Sebastian Velasquez (Jose Hernandez, 78’); Maikel Chang, Chandler Hoffman, Masta Kacher (Josh Heard, 63’)
Subs not used: Jake Leeker, James Moberg, Juan Ignacio Mare, Ricky Lopez-Espin
Portland Timbers 2: (4-4-2): Kendall McIntosh; Harold Hanson (Marvin Loria, 79’), Josh Phillips, Modou Jadama, Jimmy Mulligan; Victor Arbeloa, Carlos Anguiano, Andre Lewis, Devyn Jambga (Renzo Zambrano, 45’); Foster Langsdorf (Augustine Williams, 45’), Jeremy Ebobisse
Subs not used: Alex Mangles, Lamar Batista, Christian Enriquez, Lucas Cini
Stats Summary: SLC / POR
Shots: 17 / 10
Shots on Goal: 10 / 5
Saves: 3 / 6
Corner Kicks: 7 / 4
Fouls: 9 / 9
Offside: 1 / 3
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
POR – Modou Jadama (caution) 31’
SLC – Michael Gallagher (caution) 54’
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Brad Jensen
Assistant Referees: TJ Zablocki, Daniel Spicer-Escalante
4th Official: Karsten Gillwald
