TACOMA, Wash. – The Seattle Sounders FC brain trust, including General Manager and President of Soccer Garth Lagerwey and Head Coach Brian Schmetzer, may have come away from Wednesday night’s game pleased with some of what they saw from Seattle Sounders FC 2 at Cheney Stadium.

Facing an experienced Real Monarchs SLC side the hosts put in a positive display that saw them compete strongly with the defending USL Regular Season champion. In the end, though, S2 was unable to produce where it counted most in a 3-1 loss that saw the side’s losing streak reach four games.

“I thought we were still in the game at one-all, even at 2-1,” said S2 Head Coach John Hutchinson. “We had a good chance; I think Azriel [Gonzalez] broke the line and was one-on-one with the goalkeeper and he pulled a good save off. We were a bit naive with their second goal. Teves fouled a guy at midfield and that play breaks down completely. But, it’s where we have to teach them and learn how to play the game the right way.”

That quality and experience was what proved the difference for the Monarchs, who moved into first place in the Western Conference with their fourth consecutive win to start the season. After David Estrada’s third goal of the season in the 19th minute got S2 back on level terms, though, Seattle was unable to build on the positive passages of play it put together, failing to register another shot before the halftime break.

After the Monarchs regained their edge to start the second half, S2 managed only two shots on goal after Masta Kacher’s tally in the 65th minute that put the visitors back on top to the frustration of the hosts.

“I think [Real Monarchs] is a quality team, one of the top teams in USL in my opinion,” said Estrada. “But I think it’s not a team we should be losing to, even given the rotations that we had. I think we can match up with any team. But right now, it’s just about staying positive and, obviously, not a lot of positives come from this game. We just have to work together as a team. The only way we’re going to get out of this is together.”

READ MORE: Kacher Makes Second Impression Count for Real

Seattle will have to quickly put Wednesday’s result in the rear-view mirror as it prepares to return to action on Saturday night at Cheney Stadium against Rio Grande Valley FC. With the Toros still looking for their first win of the season after falling to Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC last Saturday, the opportunity could be there for a turnaround.

While the side is likely to feature another rotation in its starting lineup, with S2 having taken only one win to show from the club’s first five games victory is certainly the priority for Hutchinson.

“We want to get some results,” said Hutchinson. “Don’t get me wrong: we need to start winning games. All that comes. We’re looking forward to Saturday. The boys will all come back in and, hopefully, we can start getting those positive results like we did in the first week.”