On Tuesday, Real Salt Lake played its second of four matches in the Group Stage of CONCACAF Champions League and did so with a somewhat youthful lineup. With five players making their first CCL starts and 10 players mixing into the starting lineup that did not start in a 3-1 over the weekend against the Houston Dynamo, it was an opportunity for players to get experience in a challenging environment.
In year’s past, some of those players would have been entering the match relatively cold with limited match-experience entering an important competition for RSL. Now, with a partnership with the USL that includes an affiliate club in Real Monarchs SLC, those players have matches under their belt that not only have helped keep them sharp, but also have helped develop players.
The Monarchs just wrapped up their first season on Saturday with a 2-0 win over Arizona United SC, finishing the club’s inaugural season with a 7-13-8 record. And while the final place in the standings didn’t fit the expectations the club had entering the season, the developments that have occurred on the field and the lessons learned in the first season are immeasurable.
“A team takes a while to build. And what I think we did this year that was very important was start building a core of players that you’re wanting to instill a culture of how you want to train, how you want the locker room, how you want to travel and what’s demanded of you,” Monarchs Head Coach Freddy Juarez said. “Hopefully we’ve laid down the foundation this year where next year it’s in the right direction and we can have better results for the fans and for the club.”
All told, four players who started for RSL in Champions League action on Tuesday saw playing time for the Monarchs at one time or another this season. In total, 11 players from RSL’s roster went on loan to the Monarchs either as an opportunity for playing time or to come back from injuries. And 10 players from RSL’s Arizona Academy suited up at various points.
The development in place, using the Monarchs to bridge the gap between the club’s highly successful U-18 Academy team and Real Salt Lake at the MLS level, meant massive amounts of game experience for players with aspirations of one day starring for RSL.
18-year-old Academy products Justen Glad and Sebastian Saucedo each got seven matches with the USL side. Another player with Academy experience, Phanuel Kavita, played 18 matches, making it that much easier for him to jump into the first team when he was called upon to face the Columbus Crew back on June 27 for his first MLS start. Boyd Okwuonu is behind stalwart Tony Beltran at right back, but played over 1,000 minutes with the Monarchs this season.
Meanwhile, 22-year-old goalkeeper Lalo Fernandez got his first professional playing time after three years without a match with RSL, playing 18 matches for the Monarchs, posting a 5-8-5 record, four shutouts and a 1.61 goals against average.
“Every single one of our players took a step forward, in my opinion,” Juarez said. “We want to continue to develop players for the first team and give them that experience so they can be impact players for Jeff Cassar and the first team. It’s about the club and we have to develop guys that can go and help with the first team. As far as the club wants from the Monarchs, we’ve got to develop winners too.”
Among the other standouts for the Monarchs were Max Rauhofer, who led the team with nine goals; Emery Welshman, who came on strong late in the second half of the season to notch six goals and two assists; midfielder and captain Lucas Baldin also notched five goals and three assists.
The maturation of players like Welshman, Alec Sundly and Darian Copeland stood out, in particular, to Juarez.
However, the former RSL-Arizona Academy coach saw progress in his own coaching as well. That evolution helped the Monarchs pull out of a tough season to grind out five straight wins to close out the season.
“I wanted to treat the players more like pros. I wanted to treat them different than how I treated an Academy player and I think that was a mistake,” he said. “They still need to be taught and they’re still learning the game at this stage in their career. When we got back to basics and did what worked for me at the academy you saw growth.”
Next year, the Monarchs will return to USL play, but will do so with a much more keen eye toward what it takes to be successful in the league.
