SANDY, Utah (Tuesday, September 26, 2017) – Real Monarchs SLC (17-5-6, 57 points, USL #1 / West #1) return to the pitch Wednesday night at Sacramento for a nationally-available (www.ESPN3.com / WATCH ESPN app) midweek matchup from Papa Murphy’s Park, with kickoff slated for 8:30 pm MT.
For the first time in 2017, Head Coach Mark Briggs’ side comes into the match on a four-game winless skid, as the club looks to return to winning ways after a scoreless draw with Orange County SC last Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium. Despite the active four-game winless streak, the Monarchs remain in first place overall in the USL and remain in control for the third-year club’s first-ever USL Regular Season Championship, sitting two points clear at the summit of the West standings ahead of Reno 1868 FC (with four matches remaining) and above Louisville City FC in the East.
In the first meeting of the season between the Monarchs and Republic FC, the Monarchs walked away from Rio Tinto Stadium with a 2-0 win, as goals from MFs Sebastian Velasquez and Daniel Haber supported a sublime shutout effort from GK Connor Sparrow.
The Monarchs enter Wednesday with a 6-4-4 road record, outscoring opponents 19-17 in 14 matches. Wednesday’s trip to Sacramento Republic FC – where a Monarchs-laden RSL side fell in mid-June in U.S. Open Cup play – precedes Saturday’s USL showdown at Reno 1868, with both matches critical in the race for Western Conference and USL supremacy. Following this two-game road trip, the Monarchs then return home for the final two Saturdays of the 2017 USL regular-season at Rio Tinto Stadium against Vancouver Whitecaps 2 and LA Galaxy II on Oct. 7 and 14.
How to Follow Real Monarchs SLC @ Sacramento Republic FC – Wed., Sept. 27, 2017
• Coverage Begins: 8:30 p.m. MT
• Local Stream:www.RSL.com or ESPN3
• English Radio: n/a
• Spanish Radio: n/a
• Online: The @RealMonarchs Twitter feed provides updates
Game Notes for Saturday’s Monarchs @ Sacramento game Available Online
The link to the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Wednesday’s contest between Real Monarchs SLC and Sacramento Republic FC 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 won 2-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday over the visiting Seattle Sounders FC, ending the defending MLS Cup champions’ 13-game unbeaten run. The victory – which extended RSL’s mark under former Monarchs Head Coach Mike Petke to 12-11-3 on the MLS season – improved RSL’s record since July 1 to an impressive 7-2-3 (24 points), a stretch which includes four consecutive home wins at Rio Tinto Stadium and seven straight unbeaten in Sandy. This week, RSL travels to Southern California for a Saturday evening match at LA Galaxy at StubHub Center, where a record-breaking 6-2 RSL win kicked off the current run of form, which has vaulted RSL into fifth place in the Western Conference, where it now faces a month-long battle with San Jose, Houston and Dallas in the race for the final two postseason berths.
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-October 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.
