REAL MONARCHS SLC DRAWS 1-1 WITH SACRAMENTO REPUBLIC FC
Jack Blake Notches First Monarchs Goal of 2019 in Draw; Seven Players Make Monarchs Debut; Utah Club Open Home Slate March 16 at Zions Bank Stadium
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Saturday, March 9, 2019) – Real Monarchs SLC (0-0-1, 1 point)kicked off its fifth campaign in the USL Championship against Sacramento Republic FC, playing to a 1-1 draw at Papa Murphy’s Park. The Monarchs found its goal through MF Jack Blake who also wore the captain’s armband for the club for the first time.
GK David Ochoa came up big throughout the match, making four saves to keep a high-pressure Sacramento team at bay.
The Monarchs defense was put to the test through much of the first half, as the Indomitable Club began strong. Early in the first half, Sacramento forward Stefano Bonomo found a break away, getting through the Salt Lake backline with a pass to Villyan Bijev, which 18-year-old goalkeeperOchoa met to keep out of the net. Blake opened up the scoring for the Monarchs in 2019, after a miss timed tackle at the top of the penalty area earned him a penalty kick, which he coolly converted by tucking it into the bottom right corner.
The second half saw the Monarchs kick off strong keeping momentum it found at the end of the first half. FW Lionel Abate Etoundi nearly doubled the lead in the 78th minute using quick speed to get one-on-one with Josh Cohen who came up big to deny the goal. The pendulum begun to swing the other way in the dying moments of the game, allowing Republic FC to take advantage and pick up the equalizer after Sam Werner made his quick run down the right side of the pitch, finding Charalampos Chantzpolous in the center of the box. Chantzpolous snuck one in to ultimately end the game level at 1-1.
UP NEXT: The Monarchs return to Herriman and Zions Bank Stadium on Saturday, March 16, when it hosts expansion side El Paso Locomotive FC in its home opener.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:
SLC: Jack Blake (Penalty), 35th minute: After being awarded a penalty for a miss timed tackle courtesy of Sacramento Republic FC midfielder Drew Skundrich, Jack Blake stepped up to the spot and coolly put away the first goal for the Monarchs in the 2019 by tucking it into the bottom right corner.
SAC: Charalampos Chantzopolous (Sam Werner), 81st minute: With only a couple minutes on the pitch, Sam Werner made his impression on the match when he took a quick run down the right side of the patch before cutting in and finding Chantzpoulos at the center of the box, who put away the equalizer in the dying moments of the second half.
KEY SAVES AND DEFENSIVE STOPS
SLC: David Ochoa, 60th minute: A quick touch found the ball over the Monarchs backline and with Cameron Iwasa, who quickly took his opportunity for a shot at the equalizer. David Ochoa denied the opportunity by making himself big in the box and brought the ball down with a massive save.
SLC: David Ochoa, 70th minute: Villyan Bijev quickly turned and took a fast shot at the top of the box, which Ochoa easily answered with a stop to keep the Monarchs with the goal lead.
NOTES:
- Jack Blake made the first punch on the 2019 Monarchs scoring ticket, putting away a penalty in the 35th minute.
- The match saw seven new players dawn the Monarchs jersey for the first time as Donny Toia, Erik Holt, Ricardo Avila, Luis Palma, Douglas Martinez and Lionel Abate Etoundi made their debuts in the match.
- The match signals the start of Real Monarchs’ fifth campaign the 2019 USL Championship.
Match: Real Monarchs SLC at Sacramento Republic FC
Date: March 9, 2019
Venue: Papa Murphy’s Park; Sacramento, California
Attendance:
Weather: 50 degrees and cloudy
Scoring Summary 1 2 F
Real Monarchs SLC 1 0 1
Sacramento Republic FC 0 1 1
SLC: Jack Blake (Penalty) 35’
SAC: Charalampos Chantzopoulos 81’
Lineups:
Real Monarchs SLC (4-2-3-1): David Ochoa; Erik Holt, Andrew Brody, Donny Toia, Kalen Ryden; Pablo Ruiz (Stanley Okumu, 81’), Jack Blake, Ricardo Avila, Maikel Change, Luis Palma (Masta Kacher, 86’); Douglas Martinez (Lionel Abate Etoundi, 69’)
Subs not used: Evan Finney, Jordan Pena, James Moberg, Josh Heard
Sacramento Republic FC (4-2-3-1): Josh Cohen; Elliot Hord (Mitchell Taintor, 65’), Shannon Gomez (Sam Werner, 78’), Dekel Keinan, Charalampos Chantzopoulos; Villyan Bigev (Hayden Partain, 92’), Ray Saari, Cameron Iwasa, Tyler Blackwood, Drew Skundrich; Stefano Bonomo;
Subs not used: Rafael Diaz, Mario Penagos, Matthew Mahoney, Jaime Villareal
Stats Summary: SLC/SAC
Shots: 11 / 12
Shots on Goal: 4 / 5
Saves: 2 / 6
Corner Kicks: 2 / 4
Fouls: 14 / 11
Offside: 0 / 1
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
SAC – Cameron Iwasa (caution) 11’
SLC – Maikel Chang (caution) 25’
SLC – Ricardo Avila (caution) 80’
SLC – Masta Kacher (caution) 94’
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Farhad Dadkho
Assistant Referees: Stephen McGonagle, Bhavik Dutt
4th Official: Turan Ozdemir
