Real Monarchs

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Real Monarchs
Full nameReal Monarchs SLC
Founded2014 (10 years ago) (2014)
StadiumZions Bank Stadium (Herriman, Utah)
Capacity5,000
Owner
PresidentJacob Haueter
Head Coach Mark Lowry
LeagueMLS Next Pro
202312th, Western Conference
Playoffs: Did not qualify
WebsiteClub website
Current season

Real Monarchs is a professional soccer club playing in the MLS Next Pro, a third division league of American soccer. The team is an affiliate of the Major League Soccer (MLS) club Real Salt Lake. Real Monarchs are based in the Real Salt Lake training facility in Herriman, Utah, playing out of Zions Bank Stadium.[1][2] As with Real Salt Lake, the club is owned by David Blitzer and Ryan Smith.

In 2017, Real Monarchs won the USL Regular Season Championship, the equivalent in the second division of the Supporters Shield. In 2019, Real Monarchs won their first outright USL Championship, defeating two-time champions Louisville City FC 3–1 at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium, Louisville, Kentucky. The Monarchs are the second MLS reserve team, after New York Red Bulls II to win the second division title, and the first to do so as USL Championship Western Conference champion.

History[edit]

RSL Academy coach Freddy Juarez was named Head Coach on December 23, 2014.[3] The Monarchs played the LA Galaxy II to a scoreless draw in their USL debut on March 22, 2015 in Carson, California.[4]

At the end of the 2016 season, Freddy Juarez was promoted to be an assistant coach for the Monarchs' parent team, Real Salt Lake and Mike Petke was brought in as his replacement along with Mark Briggs and Jamison Olave as his assistants. On March 29, 2017, Petke was promoted to Real Salt Lake's head coach following the dismissal of Jeff Cassar, and Briggs was announced as his replacement.

On June 19, 2017, the Real Monarchs broke the All-Time USL Record with nine consecutive victories by beating Reno 1868 2–1 at Rio Tinto Stadium.

The club won their first ever trophy on October 7, 2017, claiming the USL's regular season title with a 1–1 draw against Whitecaps FC 2.

The 2018 Season finished with a first round playoff exit after Head Coach Mark Briggs was replaced by interim coach Jamison Olave.

Prior to the 2019 season, Martin Vasquez was named head coach. Vasquez resigned from the head coaching position on July 1, 2019. Jamison Olave took over once again as interim coach.

On July 13, 2019, Douglas Martinez Jr. recorded the club's first ever hat trick in a 5-0 win over Tacoma Defiance at Zions Bank Stadium.

On November 9, 2019, Monarchs won the 2019 Western Conference Championship and advanced to the USL Championship finals for the first time in club's history by defeating the El Paso Locomotive FC 2–1 in extra time. On November 17, Real Monarchs won their first USL Championship, defeating two-time champions Louisville City FC 3–1 at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium. The Monarchs were the second MLS reserve team, after New York Red Bulls II to win the second division title.

MLS Next Pro[edit]

The club announced on December 6, 2021, that it was joining the inaugural 21-team MLS Next Pro season starting in 2022.[5]

Stadium[edit]

In 2018, Real Monarchs began playing home matches at Zions Bank Stadium, a 5,000-seat soccer-specific stadium in Herriman. The stadium is adjacent to the training facilities and academy for Real Salt Lake.

Real Monarchs played their first three seasons at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, the 20,000-seat home of Real Salt Lake.

Players and staff[edit]

Current roster[edit]

As of May 20, 2023[6]
No. Pos. Player Nation
12 FW Matthew Bell ([A])  Jamaica
23 FW Ilijah Paul ([A])  United States
32 DF Zackery Farnsworth ([A])  United States
33 DF Tommy Silva ([A])  United States
34 MF Luca Moisa ([A])  United States
38 MF Jude Wellings ([A])  United States
40 FW Omar Marquez  United States
41 MF Darón Iskenderian  Armenia
42 DF Keller Storlie  United States
44 DF Bobby Pierre  United States
45 FW Beni Redzic  Bosnia and Herzegovina
47 FW Damien Barker John  United States
49 MF Griffin Dillon  United States
50 MF Lionel Dijro  Ivory Coast
51 DF Omar Alba  Panama
52 MF Sean Petrie  United States
53 DF Juan Villa  United States
54 GK Marzuq Puckerin  United States
57 GK Fernando Delgado ([A])  United States
65 FW Benjamin Rodriguez  Uruguay
70 FW Sebastian Joffre  Bolivia
71 FW Kristian Kelley  United States
77 MF Owen Anderson ([B])  United States
81 GK Derrek Chan  United States
88 MF Izzy Ampura  United States
91 DF Gennaro Nigro  United States
92 MF Noel Caliskan  Germany
  1. ^
    Signed to first team contract with Real Salt Lake.
  2. ^

Technical & coaching staff[edit]

Title Name
General manager Vacant
Assistant General manager Tony Beltran
Head coach Mark Lowry
Assistant coach Vacant
Assistant coach Vacant
Goalkeeping coach Nick Rimando
Video analyst Preston Gayton
Strength and Conditioning Coach Ryan Thamm
Head athletic trainer Kyle "Simi" Simkovich
Head team physician Stephen Kirk
Team administrator
Logistics coordinator Kasia Kampf
Kit man Randy Butts

Last updated: March 11, 2021
Source: Real Monarchs

Head coaches[edit]

As of October 4, 2020[7]
Real Monarchs Coaching Stats
Coach Nation Start End Games Win Loss Tie Win %
Freddy Juarez United States December 23, 2014 December 6, 2016 60 18 28 14 30.00%
Mike Petke United States December 22, 2016 March 29, 2017 1 1 0 0 100%
Mark Briggs England March 29, 2017 August 23, 2018 56 35 11 10 62.50%
Jámison Olave (interim) Colombia August 23, 2018 January 21, 2019 11 3 7 1 27.27%
Martín Vásquez United States January 21, 2019 July 1, 2019 15 6 6 3 40.00%
Jámison Olave (interim) Colombia July 1, 2019 November 20, 2019 23 14 4 5 60.87%
Jámison Olave Colombia November 20, 2019 present 100 25 66 9 29.50%

Honors[edit]

All-time top goalscorers[edit]

  • Players in bold are still active with Real Monarchs; includes all competitive matches.
  • Includes regular season and playoffs.
As of November 12, 2019
Rank Player Nation Years Goals
1 Chandler Hoffman United States 2017–2018 29
2 Maikel Chang Cuba 2018–present 18
3 Douglas Martinez Honduras 2019–2021 17
4 Sebastián Velásquez Colombia 2017–2018 16
5 Jack Blake England 2018–2020 13
6 Kalen Ryden United States 2018–2020 9
Ricardo Velazco United States 2015–2017 9
Max Rauhofer Uruguay 2015 9
9 Charlie Adams England 2016–2018 8
10 Daniel Haber Canada 2017 7

Record[edit]

'Year-by-year'

Year Division League Regular season W–L–T Playoffs U.S. Open Cup Avg. attendance
2015 3 USL 7–13–8
12th, Western
Did not qualify Third Round 4,968
2016 3 USL 10–14–6
11th, Western
Did not qualify Not eligible (MLS reserve team) 2,528
2017 2 USL 19–5–6
1st, Western
Conference Quarter-finals Not eligible (MLS reserve team) 2,195
2018 2 USL 19–12–3
4th, Western
Conference Quarter-finals Not eligible (MLS reserve team) 1,731
2019 2 USLC 16–10–8
4th, Western
Champions Not eligible (MLS reserve team) 1,983
2020 2 USLC 3–11–2
14th, Western
4th, Group C
Did not qualify Not eligible (MLS reserve team) N/A
2021 2 USLC 5–20–7
14th, Western
Did not qualify Not eligible (MLS reserve team) N/A
2022 3 MLSNP 6–14–4
10th, Western
Did not qualify Not eligible (MLS reserve team) N/A
2023 3 MLSNP 8–15–5
12th, Western
Did not qualify Not eligible (MLS reserve team) N/A

Broadcasting[edit]

Starting in 2022, every Real Monarchs match is available via stream through MLS Next Pro on their website. In 2023, in conjunction with Major League Soccer, select matches are available via MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.[8][9][10][11]

Supporters[edit]

The Wasatch Legion is the official Supporters Group for the Monarchs. The group stands behind the North Goal at Zions Bank Stadium.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Real Salt Lake announce that new USL PRO team will be called Real Monarchs". MLSsoccer.com. September 10, 2014. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  2. ^ "Zions Bank Real Academy new home for Real Salt Lake development pyramid". Real Monarchs. May 24, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  3. ^ "Freddy Juarez named coach of new Real Monarchs". Christopher Kamrani. Salt Lake Tribune. December 23, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  4. ^ "In inaugural USL match, Monarchs draw 0–0 with Galaxy II". Salt Lake Tribune. March 22, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  5. ^ "MLS NEXT Pro Unveils 21 Clubs for Inaugural Season". fcdallas.
  6. ^ "Roster". Real Salt Lake. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  7. ^ "Freddy Juarez appointed inaugural Real Monarchs head coach". Real Salt Lake.
  8. ^ Watkins, Steven (July 7, 2018). "Sports on the air for July 8–14". DeseretNews.com. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  9. ^ Montgomery, Matt (April 23, 2015). "Remaining Real Monarchs home matches to be on KMYU". RSL Soapbox. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  10. ^ "Utah Royals FC Unveils Inaugural Season Broadcast Options". March 22, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  11. ^ "Real Salt Lake launches innovative local streaming partnership with KSL". February 12, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2018.

External links[edit]