SANDY, Utah (Tuesday, September 13, 2016) - Real Monarchs SLC (9-12-6, 32 pts, West #11) look to rebound from Friday night's 10-man, 0-2 home loss to Orange County and capture a critical three points in its final Rio Tinto Stadium contest of 2016, needing a win Wednesday night over visiting San Antonio to pull itself back into postseason contention (8:00 p.m. MT kickoff). Head Coach Freddy Juarez' team has posted a recent 3-1-2 mark in its last six matches to pull itself into the logjam at the bottom of the Western Conference, where six teams within six points of each other battle for the final two playoff seeds. A victory Wednesday night would enable the Monarchs to leapfrog Seattle and San Antonio while pulling within one point of Orange County, which currently occupies the eighth and final postseason berth in the Western Conference. Saturday, the Monarchs travel to Arizona before closing out the regular-season campaign on Sat., Sept. 24 at LA Galaxy II, needing results in both road games after Wednesday to keep the playoff dream alive. The USL playoffs kick off the weekend of Friday, September 30.
Fans can call 844.Real.Tix or visit www.RSL.com/Monarchs to purchase tickets for Wednesday's critical contest.
On Friday night at home, the Monarchs fought valiantly to overcome a 12th-minute red card to DF Emilio Orozco, who was adjudged to have denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity with what might have been an exquisite tackle just outside the area. Despite the man disadvantage, it took 51 minutes after Orozco's dismissal for Orange County to break through, as Trevin Caesar pulled into the Blues' scoring lead by knocking home the eventual game-winner after a slew of outstanding saves by Monarchs GK Eric Osswald. Former Monarchs FW Max Rauhofer came off the Blues' bench to slam home the insurance goal in the 79th minute for the final 0-2 margin, denying the Monarchs a great opportunity to move into playoff position, while simultaneously snapping the club's five-game unbeaten run.
Back on Saturday, Sept. 3 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. In addition to Velazco's attacking firepower, the Monarchs have seen FW Maikon Orellana and 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 had allowed just two goals in the last five games.
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.
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 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. San Antonio FC
• Coverage Begins: 8:00 p.m. MT
• Web Stream: www.ESPN3.com // www.RSL.com/Monarchs // www.USLsoccer.com
• English TV: n/a
• English Radio: ESPN700 AM w/ Bill Riley and Landon Southwick
• Spanish Radio: 1600 AM / 102.3 FM
• Online: The @RealMonarchs Twitter feed provides updates
