SANDY, Utah (Friday, July 7, 2017) – Real Monarchs SLC (13-2-1, 40 points, 1st West / 1st Overall in USL) continue their 2017 campaign Saturday night at home against visiting Seattle Sounders 2. The 7:00 p.m. MT kickoff at Rio Tinto Stadium gives Monarchs’ Head Coach Mark Briggs’ team a chance to earn back-to-back wins at home this week, following Wednesday’s 3-1 victory over OKC Energy FC. That win snapped the club’s sudden two-game road winless run, and extended the Monarchs’ active home winning streak to 9 games, while continuing the club’s perfect 8-0-0 home mark this season.
On Wednesday, the Monarchs raced to an early lead with an 8th-minute laser from MF Karsten Hanlin, but entered the halftime break tied 1-1 after OKC’s Alex Dixon headed home a rebound of a saved shot off the crossbar. Coming on as a second-half sub was Monarchs’ FW Chandler Hoffman – the USL’s 3rd-leading scorer – who tallied two goals just six minutes apart to break the game open.
Hoffman’s ninth and 10th goals of the season – through just 16 matches – make the Birmingham, Ala. native and UCLA grad the Real Monarchs’ new single-season goalscoring leader, breaking the 2015 mark held by Uruguayan FW Max Rauhofer. Hoffman has now scored 41 career USL goals in 70 games.
In its last home game, back on June 19, the Monarchs set a new USL record with its ninth consecutive victory, a 2-1 win over visiting Reno 1868 at Rio Tinto Stadium. First-half goals from RSL Academy product Andrew Brody and Salt Lake native Taylor Peay were both assisted by midfield catalyst Sebastian Velasquez, who moved into the 2017 USL assist lead with six. GK Lalo Fernandez came up with several key saves in the second half en route to his fifth win of the year, backstopping a defense that had outscored opponents 18-5 in the 764 minutes prior to Saturday’s 0-2 loss at Tulsa.
How to Follow Real Monarchs v. Sounders 2 – Sat., July 8, 2017
- Coverage Begins: 7:00 p.m. MT
- Webstream: RSL.com or USLsoccer.com
- English Radio: ESPN700 AM w/ Taran Meyer & Chad Barrett
- Spanish Radio: 1600 AM / 102.3 FM w/ Nelson Moran
- Online: The @RealMonarchs Twitter feed provides updates
Game Guide for Saturday’s Monarchs v. Sounders 2 game Available Online
The link to the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Saturday night’s contest between Real Monarchs and Seattle Sounders 2 is available by clicking HERE.
Now in the club’s third season, the Monarchs are re-writing their own record books every time out. This season’s 13-2-1 mark exceeds last year’s 10-win total, and the 36 goals scored in 2017 surpasses the attacking output for all 30 games a year ago. This year’s +20 goal differential brings the Monarchs’ all-time goal +/- perfectly even, while Wednesday’s 3-1 victory gives the Monarchs an all-time 30-29-15 record (just over .500), despite not qualifying for the USL Cup Playoffs in either of the club’s first two campaigns.
A year ago, the 10th and final win was not reached until September 17, while the inaugural 2015 season saw just seven total wins. In its first two seasons, Real Monarchs SLC had totaled just six wins combined in April, May and June, prior to 12 in the same span this season.
Led by FW Chandler Hoffman (10 goals, 3rd USL) and MF Sebastian Velasquez (6 goals, 6 assists, t-2 USL) in the first 16 games this season, the Monarchs have scored multiple goals in 12 of its 13 victories, making the club the highest scoring team in the USL for most of the year (prior to recent outbursts by Charleston, 6-1 over Toronto, and Reno, 9-0 over LA Galaxy II), with 36 goals through 16 matches. With Brody and Peay scoring on June 19, the Monarchs now boast eight players with multiple goals, including 13 total goalscorers so far this season. Velasquez and MF Charlie Adams (five assists) rank 2-3 amongst USL playmakers in the key attacking statistic.
Monarchs catalyst Velasquez has been named an USL Team of the Week honoree four times in the last seven weeks and five times overall this year. Also receiving the weekly distinction this year have been Monarchs MF Chase Minter, DF James Moberg, M/F Daniel Haber, MF Nick Besler and GK Connor Sparrow.
Only Monarchs Captain Nick Besler has played every single one of the club’s 1,440 minutes this season, while five others – MF Andrew Brody (1393), DF Max Lachowecki (1344), FW Chandler Hoffman (1304), MF Sebastian Velasquez (1135) and DF James Moberg (1223) – have each played 1,200 or more minutes. M/F Daniel Haber joins Hoffman, Besler, Brody, Moberg and Lachowecki amongst Monarchs to have appeared in all 16 league contests this USL season.
The Monarchs hope to close this week’s two-game Rio Tinto Stadium stint (3-1 W over OKC Energy FC on Wednesday, and Saturday, July 8 vs. Seattle Sounders 2) with a 10-game HOME win streak, dating back to last season, an active run which currently ranks third-best in the USL’s all-time record book:
USL Home Winning Streaks (incl. playoffs)
13 games: Orlando City SC (2014)
11 games: Rochester Rhinos (2015-16)
9 games: Real Monarchs (2016-present)
8 games: Swope Park Rangers (2016-17)
