Real Monarchs
 | |||
| Full name | Real Monarchs SLC | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2014 | ||
| Stadium | Zions Bank Stadium (Herriman, Utah) | ||
| Capacity | 5,000 | ||
| Owner | |||
| President | Jacob Haueter | ||
| Head Coach | Mark Lowry | ||
| League | MLS Next Pro | ||
| 2023 | 12th, Western Conference Playoffs: Did not qualify | ||
| Website | https://www.realmonarchs.com/ | ||
|
| |||
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 July 18, 2024[6]
- ^ Signed to first team contract with Real Salt Lake.
- ^ Real Salt Lake Academy player.
Out on loan
[edit]| No. | Pos. | Player | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 47 | MF | Damien Barker John (at Phoenix Rising FC) |  United States
|
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]
| Coach | Nation | Start | End | Games | Win | Loss | Tie | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freddy Juarez |
|
December 23, 2014 | December 6, 2016 | 60 | 18 | 28 | 14 | 30.00% |
| Mike Petke |
|
December 22, 2016 | March 29, 2017 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Mark Briggs | 
|
March 29, 2017 | August 23, 2018 | 56 | 35 | 11 | 10 | 62.50% |
| Jámison Olave (interim) | 
|
August 23, 2018 | January 21, 2019 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 27.27% |
| Martín Vásquez |
|
January 21, 2019 | July 1, 2019 | 15 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 40.00% |
| Jámison Olave (interim) |
|
July 1, 2019 | November 20, 2019 | 23 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 60.87% |
| Jámison Olave |
|
November 20, 2019 | present | 100 | 25 | 66 | 9 | 29.50% |
Honors
[edit]- USL Championship Cup
- Winners: 2019
- USL Regular Season
- Winners: 2017
- Western Conference
- Four Corners Cup
- Winners: 2019
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 |
|
2017–2018 | 29 |
| 2 | Maikel Chang | 
|
2018–present | 18 |
| 3 | Douglas Martinez | 
|
2019–2021 | 17 |
| 4 | Sebastián Velásquez |
|
2017–2018 | 16 |
| 5 | Jack Blake |
|
2018–2020 | 13 |
| 6 | Kalen Ryden |
|
2018–2020 | 9 |
| Ricardo Velazco |
|
2015–2017 | 9 | |
| Max Rauhofer | 
|
2015 | 9 | |
| 9 | Charlie Adams |
|
2016–2018 | 8 |
| 10 | Daniel Haber | 
|
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]- ^ "Real Salt Lake announce that new USL PRO team will be called Real Monarchs". MLSsoccer.com. September 10, 2014. Archived from the original on September 11, 2014. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
- ^ "Zions Bank Real Academy new home for Real Salt Lake development pyramid". Real Monarchs. May 24, 2017. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
- ^ "Freddy Juarez named coach of new Real Monarchs". Christopher Kamrani. Salt Lake Tribune. December 23, 2014. Archived from the original on June 13, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
- ^ "In inaugural USL match, Monarchs draw 0–0 with Galaxy II". Salt Lake Tribune. March 22, 2015. Archived from the original on March 25, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
- ^ "MLS NEXT Pro Unveils 21 Clubs for Inaugural Season". fcdallas. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
- ^ "Roster". Real Salt Lake. Archived from the original on March 29, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
- ^ "Freddy Juarez appointed inaugural Real Monarchs head coach". Real Salt Lake. Archived from the original on March 20, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
- ^ Watkins, Steven (July 7, 2018). "Sports on the air for July 8–14". DeseretNews.com. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
- ^ Montgomery, Matt (April 23, 2015). "Remaining Real Monarchs home matches to be on KMYU". RSL Soapbox. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
- ^ "Utah Royals FC Unveils Inaugural Season Broadcast Options". March 22, 2018. Archived from the original on April 14, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
- ^ "Real Salt Lake launches innovative local streaming partnership with KSL". February 12, 2018. Archived from the original on March 4, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
