SANDY, Utah (Friday, June 8, 2017) – Real Monarchs SLC (10-1-0, 30 points, 1st West / 1st Overall in USL) continue their 2017 campaign this weekend with a Saturday contest against Portland Timbers 2. The 7:00 p.m. MT kickoff gives Head Coach Mark Briggs’ team a chance to extend its active seven-game win streak – a new record for the third-year club and just one away from matching the all-time USL record set by Orlando – and improve on the club’s perfect 5-0-0 mark at Rio Tinto Stadium this season.
A special “4 for $40” ticket package is available for this Monarchs game; the Rio Tinto Stadium box office is open Mon.-Fri., 10a-6p; more information can be found online at www.RSL.com/Tickets. Current or interested RSL Royalty Season Ticket Members can purchase extra tickets at preferred pricing or gain assistance via the Fan Relations Hotline at 801-727-2702.
Last weekend, the Monarchs saw what proved to be the game-winning goal from FW Chandler Hoffman just 55 seconds into the game at Orange County, while GK Connor Sparrow stopped a penalty kick to preserve the clean sheet in the 1-0 win. The PK save was Sparrow’s second of the young season, while the shutout was his third and the team’s fourth of 2017.
Now in the club’s third season, the Monarchs are re-writing their own record books every time out. A year ago, the 10th 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 10 – and counting – this season.
How to Follow Real Monarchs v. Portland Timbers 2 – Sat., June 10, 2017
- Coverage Begins: 7:00 p.m. MT
- Webstream: RSL.com or USLsoccer.com
- English Radio: ESPN700 AM w/ Bill Riley, Landon Southwick and Carla Haslam
- Spanish Radio: 1600 AM / 102.3 FM
- Online: The @RealMonarchs Twitter feed provides updates
Game Guide for Saturday’s Monarchs v. Portland 2 game Available Online
The link to the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Monarchs and Portland Timbers 2 is available at this link. If you have any problems obtaining the document, would prefer to receive it as an attachment, or are seeking more information on the match, please contact Trey Fitz-Gerald in the RSL Communications Department via email at tfitz@RSL.com.
Led by FW Chandler Hoffman (7 goals) and MF Sebastian Velasquez (6 goals) in the first 11 games this season, the Monarchs scored multiple goals in each of its nine victories prior to last Saturday’s 1-0 win, making the club the highest scoring team in the USL, with 28 goals through 11 matches. The Monarchs boasts six players with multiple goals, including 12 total goalscorers so far this season. On the other side, the defense led by GKs Connor Sparrow and Lalo Fernandez and three defenders that have played every one of 990 total minutes this season (DF James Moberg, DF Max Lachowecki as well as Besler) have allowed just three goals in the last 494 minutes played.
With a win on Saturday at home, the Monarchs would match Orlando City’s USL-record eight-game winning streak, set in 2014. The Monarchs are currently one of four USL teams to have won seven consecutive games:
USL Winning Streaks (regular season)
8 games: Orlando City SC (2014)
7 games: Real Monarchs (active; April 22 – present)
7 games: Swope Park Rangers (2016-17)
7 games: Orlando City SC (2011-12)
7 games: New York Red Bulls II (2016)
The Monarchs enter Saturday on a six-game HOME win streak at Rio Tinto Stadium, dating back to last season, an active run which currently ranks fourth-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)
8 games: Swope Park Rangers (2016-17)
6 games: Real Monarchs (2016-present)
Coming in late Summer, 2017, the Zions Bank Real Academy opens in Herriman, Utah, approximately 20 minutes southwest of Rio Tinto Stadium. The $60 million facility will serve as the daily training home beginning in 2018 for both of the club's professional teams – RSL (MLS) and Real Monarchs (USL) – while centralizing the club's U-18, U-16 and future U-14 development academy youth selections. Including the 5,000-seat Zions Bank Stadium as well as the Zions Bank Training Center, the Herriman campus will provide adjacencies for an on-site charter school opening this Fall, with STEM disciplines (Science / Technology / Engineering / Math) for nearly 300 boys and girls. View the latest feature video on the Zions Bank Real Academy here.
In mid-November in North Logan, Utah, RSL Owner Dell Loy Hansen broke ground on the first of a half-dozen regional training centers across Utah and Arizona to be built in the next 2-3 years. Each $5 million RTC houses a classroom, as well as an indoor and outdoor field, dedicated to fulfilling a curriculum consistent with the club's vision and mission for youth soccer training and education, and the continued development of both recreational and competitive pre-Academy (ages 7-12) initiatives across Utah and Arizona.
