SANDY, Utah (Thursday, September 8, 2016) - Real Monarchs SLC (9-11-6, 32 pts, West #11) look to capitalize on recent home form in its penultimate Rio Tinto Stadium contest of 2016, needing a win Friday night over visiting Orange County Blues to vault itself into postseason contention (7:00 p.m. MT kickoff). Head Coach Freddy Juarez' team boasts an unbeaten 3-0-2 mark in its last five matches to pull itself into the logjam at the bottom of the Western Conference, where five teams within three points of each other battle for the final two playoff seeds. A victory Friday night would enable the Monarchs to leapfrog Seattle, San Antonio and Orange County, while matching Swope Park in the seventh spot with 36 points. Fans can call 844.Real.Tix or visit www.RSL.com/Monarchs to purchase tickets for Friday's critical contest.
Last Saturday at home, the Monarchs - in perhaps the club's best 90' performance in its nearly two full seasons - rebounded from an early deficit against visiting Tulsa, but a remarkable strike from FW Ricardo Velazco equalized in the 37th minute. Velazco nearly added to his team-leading eight goals with a pair of near-misses in the 68th minute, hitting a left-footed shot off the post and on the return ball from the left side pushing a header just beyond the opposite post. In stoppage time, Tulsa goalkeeper Jake Feener kept it level when he got his glove to a well-placed rocket from the boot of FW Amet Ramirez.
When the Monarchs fell behind in the ninth minute, it was the first time the club had trailed in a match since losing to Seattle 1-4 back on August 1, a streak spanning 369 minutes. Several players joined the side on loan from Real Salt Lake, including GK Lalo Fernandez, DF Boyd Okwuonu, DF Chris Schuler, DF Phanuel Kavita, MF Sunday Stephen, MF Danilo Acosta and FW Pedro Baez.
In addition to Velazco's attacking firepower, the Monarchs have seen FW Maikon Orellana and DF Emilio Orozco each bag game-winning goals to lift the Monarchs to victory the previous two matches prior to the Tulsa draw. In addition, the defense has allowed just two goals in the last five games entering Friday, which marks the second-to-last home game of 2016, as San Antonio visits next Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 8:00 p.m. - before closing out the regular season with a pair of road contests at Arizona and at LA Galaxy II. The USL playoffs kick off the weekend of Friday, September 30.
Last month, the Monarchs announced the signing of Mexican MF Jesus Leal, pending receipt of his ITC and P-1 visa. The former Club America midfielder is the third addition to the club this month after previously signing internationals MF Charlie Adams (England) and FW Amet Ramirez (Panama). Leal, 23, comes to the Monarchs from Club America, where he made his professional debut and appeared in the CONCACAF Champions League in 2013. After making four league appearances in Liga MX, he went on loan to second division club Cimarrones de Sonora, where he scored his first professional goal.
The Rio Tinto Stadium box office is open Mon.-Fri., 10a-6p; more information can be found online at www.RSL.com/Monarchs/Schedule or via the Fan Relations Hotline at 801-727-2702.
How to Follow Real Monarchs v. OC Blues
• Coverage Begins: 7:00 p.m. MT
• Web Stream: www.RSL.com/Monarchs // www.USLsoccer.com
• English TV: n/a
• English Radio: ESPN700 AM w/ Landon Southwick and Carla Swensen-Haslam
• Spanish Radio: 1600 AM / 102.3 FM
• Online: The @RealMonarchs Twitter feed provides updates
