REAL MONARCHS SLC LOOK TO CLINCH TOP OVERALL SEED & USL REGULAR SEASON TITLE SATURDAY AT RIO TINTO STADIUM
Club Looks to Earn First-Ever Trophy & Improve 11-1-2 Home Record;
HC Mark Briggs’ USL Frontrunners Lead League w/ 19 Wins, 63 Points, 56 Goals & More;
Rare Opportunity for Claret/Cobalt to Claim Trophy on Home Soil;
Win or Draw Guarantees Home-Field Advantage on Road to USL Cup
SANDY, Utah (Friday, October 6, 2017) – Real Monarchs SLC (19-5-6, 63 points, USL #1 / West #1) return home Saturday to host Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 at Rio Tinto Stadium for a 7:00 p.m. MT kickoff. A win or a draw guarantees the team the 2017 USL Regular Season Championship and the top overall seed and home-field advantage throughout the USL Cup Playoffs.
Saturday’s match provides the opportunity for the Monarchs to claim its first-ever trophy in the club’s three-year team history. The Monarchs and Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 (5-17-8, 23 points, West #14) have met once previously in 2017, a game that saw DF Taylor Peay and MF Nick Besler each notch goals in the 2-1 win at McLeod Athletic Park in Vancouver back on May 28. Out of playoff contention, Whitecaps FC 2 come into the match having lost four of its last five matches, being outscored 10-2 during that time. The Whitecaps have won only two matches away from home, holding a 2-9-4 mark, a record the Monarchs will look to exploit.
The Monarchs boast a league best 11-1-2 home record, outscoring opponents 32-12 this season as the Rio Tinto Stadium pitch will be a welcome sight after two road wins last week. Head Coach Mark Briggs’ team saw the Monarchs take the full six points away from Sacramento and Reno in two shutout road matches – where USL Golden Boot candidate Chandler Hoffman and FW Juan Ignacio Mare scored a goal in each game – while GK Andrew Putna saved a penalty kick in each match to earn himself a place on the most recent USL Team of the Week.
How to Follow Real Monarchs SLC vs Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 – Sat., Oct. 7, 2017
• Coverage Begins: 7:00 p.m. MT
• Local Stream:www.RSL.com w/ Landon Southwick and Taran Meyer
• English Radio: n/a
• Spanish Radio: n/a
• Online: The @RealMonarchs Twitter feed provides updates
Game Notes for Saturday’s Monarchs v Vancouver game Available Online
The link to the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Monarchs SLC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 is available HERE. 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 Taran Meyer in the RSL Communications Department via email at tmeyer@RSL.com.
Elsewhere in the Claret-and-Cobalt pyramid, Real Salt Lake drew 1-1 at StubHub Center on Saturday with the Los Angeles Galaxy, courtesy of a game tying goal in the 95th minute from captain MF Kyle Beckerman to secure a point on the road and keep RSL’s playoff hopes alive. The draw – which extended RSL’s mark under former Monarchs Head Coach Mike Petke to 12-11-4 on the MLS season – improved RSL’s record since July 1 to an impressive 7-2-4 (25 points), a stretch which includes four consecutive home wins at Rio Tinto Stadium and seven straight unbeaten in Sandy. This week, RSL has a bye week due to international competition, but will return to MLS Regular Season play on Oct. 15 when it travels to Denver to face Rocky Mountain Rival Colorado Rapids for the third time this season. RSL currently occupies the sixth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with two matches remaining as it looks to secure a playoff spot for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons.
Opening last month, the Zions Bank Real Academy training campus arrives in Herriman, Utah, approximately 20 minutes southwest of Rio Tinto Stadium. The $72 million facility – which includes five grass “TORO Fields” (sod installation began earlier this August) – will soon 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, under the supervision of Academy Director Martin Vasquez. The Herriman facility will provide adjacencies for an on-site charter school with STEM disciplines (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) for nearly 200 boys and girls.
Opening in mid-November in North Logan, Utah, after breaking ground a year ago, RSL Owner Dell Loy Hansen will dedicate the first of a half-dozen regional training centers across Utah and Arizona to be built in the next 24-36 months. 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.
