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USL Real Monarchs

Real Monarchs Look to Keep Playoff Hopes Alive Saturday Night at Rival Arizona

September 16, 2016 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Real Monarchs News Release


SANDY, Utah- Real Monarchs SLC (10-12-6, 35 pts, West #9) look to capitalize on momentum created from Wednesday's 2-0 win over fellow contender San Antonio FC in its home reg. season finale and capture the full three points tomorrow night at rival Arizona United SC (8:30 p.m. MT kickoff). Head Coach Freddy Juarez' team has posted a recent 4-1-2 mark in its last seven matches to pull itself into the Western Conference race, where six teams within five points of each other battle for the final two playoff seeds.

Wednesday's victory enabled the Monarchs to leapfrog Seattle and San Antonio while pulling within one point of Orange County, which currently occupies the eighth and final postseason berth in the West. Saturday at 6:30 p.m. MT, Orange County hosts Rio Grande Valley to supply the Monarchs with two hours of scoreboard watching prior to its kickoff in Arizona. The Monarchs close out the regular-season campaign on Sat., Sept. 24 at LA Galaxy II, needing results in both road games to fuel the playoff dream. The USL postseason kicks off the weekend of Friday, September 30.

Wednesday night at Rio Tinto Stadium, newly-arrived MF Charlie Adams and FW Pedro Baez each scored their first goals of the USL campaign to take a scoreless halftime deadlock to a 2-0 decision for the home side. Adams' opportunistic goal came off of a deflection from another recent roster addition, Mexican MF Jesus Leal. The ball slipped from Leal to Adams, who was able to place the ball into the far corner. But Adams wasn't done for the night with his attacking contributions, as just eight minutes later, the Englishman split the San Antonio defense with a long ball to Paraguayan Baez, who slipped the ball past the visiting 'keeper for the 82nd minute insurance goal.

Monarchs GK Lalo Fernandez was back in action Wednesday night, with yet another shutout, giving him his eighth clean sheet of the season. Fernandez had 3 saves on the night, and now has 81 saves on the year, ranking him third among save leaders in the USL.

Last month, the Monarchs announced the signing of Mexican MF Jesus Leal, pending receipt of his ITC and P-1 visa. The former Club America midfielder is the third addition to the club this month after previously signing internationals Adams (England) and FW Amet Ramirez (Panama). Leal, 23, comes to the Monarchs from Club America, where he made his professional debut and appeared in the CONCACAF Champions League in 2013. After making four league appearances in Liga MX, he went on loan to second division club Cimarrones de Sonora, where he scored his first professional goal.

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