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Monarchs Power Through vs. Rangers

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 05/10/18, 1:28AM EDT

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Real claims second consecutive victory to move top of Western Conference


Photo courtesy Real Monarchs SLC

HERRIMAN, Utah – Real Monarchs SLC rallied from an early deficit to sweep to a 4-1 victory against the Swope Park Rangers on Wednesday night at Zions Bank Stadium to end the Rangers’ five-game undefeated streak. The Rangers struck in the eighth minute as Kharlton Belmar scored his eighth goal of the season after a good through-ball by Hadji Barry released the USL’s leading scorer in behind the Monarchs’ back line. Real almost hit back immediately as Josh Heard got into space in the right channel, only to shoot low past the left post, but in the 24th minute Sebastian Velasquez cut into the penalty area and his chipped shot deflected off Kalen Ryden and into the net as SPR goalkeeper Adrian Zendejas was left stranded. The Monarchs had a chance two-on-one to take the lead soon after but Velazquez’s shot was blocked away to safety by SPR defender Amer Didic, while Richard Ledezma had a low shot saved by Zendejas eight minutes before halftime, but Ryden added his second in the 44th minute with a powerful back-post header from Justin Portillo’s corner kick from the left to put the hosts ahead at the break. The Monarchs added a third 10 minutes into the second half as a near-post flick by Aaron Herrera set up Juan Mare for his second goal in as many games, and five minutes later a miscommunication between SPR’s Brad Evans and Zendejas resulted in an own goal to give Real a three-goal lead. The Rangers tried to get back into the game in the final half-hour but got few clear looks at goal as the Monarchs closed out a second consecutive victory to move to the top of the Western Conference.

Scoring:
8’ – SPR – Kharlton Belmar (Hadji Barry)
24’ – SLC – Kalen Ryden (Sebastian Velasquez)
44’ – SLC – Kalen Ryden (Justin Portillo)
55’ – SLC – Juan Mare (Aaron Herrera)
60’ – SLC – Brad Evans (own goal)

Three Things That Matter:

  • 1. The Monarchs moved to the top of the Western Conference standings with a victory that might not have been quite as emphatic as the final score might indicate but was still a performance of a side that had gotten used to its new surroundings at Zions Bank Stadium. After conceding an early goal, Real took firm control of the game as it was far more penetrative in its attacking moves to create good opportunities that it put away sharply. The Monarchs are now 3-0-1 at home this season and looking in very good shape in the defense of their USL regular season championship.

  • 2. Swope Park got off to an ideal start thanks to Kharlton Belmar’s eighth goal of the season, a finish that highlighted how sharp the Rangers can be in attack, but from then on very little went right for the visitors as they conceded as many goals as they had throughout the five-game undefeated streak that was snapped on Wednesday night. An own goal by veteran defender Brad Evans proved the capper for the visitors in their heaviest defeat since the penultimate game of the 2017 regular season against OKC Energy FC.

  • 3. Wednesday was a good one for the Monarchs’ Richard Ledezma and Swope Park’s Wilson Harris, both of whom made their first starts for their respective sides after being named as teammates in the latest U.S. U20 Men’s National Team that will head to Honduras next week for a pair of exhibitions earlier in the day. On the day, Ledezma had the slightly sharper performance of the two as he finished with one shot on target in two efforts overall, but hopefully both will head into camp with confidence after a major moment in their young careers.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match

Kalen Ryden, Real Monarchs SLC  Ryden scored both first-half goals to lead the Monarchs' comeback from an early deficit while putting in a solid display defensively for the side.

Upcoming Games:

Real Monarchs SLC vs. Fresno FC – May 12, 3 p.m. ET, Zions Bank Stadium

Swope Park Rangers at Rio Grande Valley FC – May 19, 8:30 p.m. ET, H-E-B Park

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