SANDY, UT - Earlier tonight at the Inaugural Real Monarchs launch event, which included the unveiling of uniforms and player-by-player introductions, club President Rob Zarkos and Head Coach Freddy Juarez announced that Provo, Utah native and former BYU player Garrett Losee emerged from a pool of 160+ local candidates to secure a USL contract for the club's inaugural season.
"Very excited to show off in the coming days and weeks for our fans and for everyone in the USL how nine months of hard work to get to this point have come to fruition," said Monarchs President Zarkos. "We are constantly seeking to build a winning mentality throughout the organization, obviously these guys had that at the academy in Arizona and we've had it at RSL for nearly a decade."
The Monarchs will take the field for the first time this week, traveling to road exhibitions against local colleges. Saturday at 3:00 p.m. MT, the USL club heads north to face Weber State, while Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. MT, the Monarchs head south to face Utah Valley University.
The roster will feature a mix of RSL-AZ academy products coached by Juarez in Casa Grande, AZ (MF Coco Navarro, FW Eti Tavares, MF Ricardo Velasco); former teammates at New Mexico of RSL FW Devon Sandoval (DF Riley McGovern, GK Victor Rodriguez); internationals DF Marvin Baumgartner (El Salvadoran by way of Switzerland) and MF Lennon Celestino (Brazil); college standout FW Leon Brown (Notre Dame) and DF Darian Copeland (Alabama-Birmingham); and recent RSL preseason trialists, MF Lucas Baldin (South Florida), FW Emery Welshman (formerly of Toronto FC) and MF Alec Sundly (formerly of New England Revolution).
Joining the Monarchs for 2015 is local product Garrett Losee, whom RSL faced in the recent Desert Diamond Cup with FC Tucson between his invited and open trials in Utah with the Monarchs. Losee, born in Provo, attended BYU for two seasons before serving an LDS mission, then completing his college eligibility at Cal-State Fullerton, the same program which produced former RSL man and current color analyst Brian Dunseth.
"Losee is a good technical player, he's quick, willing to compete and an intelligent decision-maker," said Monarchs Head Coach Juarez. "He's got good pace, a knack for goal and the ability to take people on 1v1."
"I'm very grateful to RSL and the Monarchs family for giving me the opportunity to fulfill my dream to play professional soccer," said Losee. "I'm excited to have the chance to practice and play in front of residents of the Beehive State, as Utah has given me so much."
