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Herriman Journal

Real Monarchs welcome European soccer teams to Utah

Aug 02, 2022 03:28PM ● By Justin Adams

Last month, the Herriman-based professional soccer team Real Monarchs hosted the first ever MLS NEXT PRO Invitational. The series of games featured two other teams from the MLS Next Pro League, the Colorado Rapids 2 and Toronto FC 2, as well as two teams from Europe, Chelsea FC’s U-21’s and Wolves U-21's (U-21 standing for under 21 years old).  

This wasn’t even the first, or even the second event, hosted by the RSL organization this year. First, Rio Tinto Stadium hosted two teams from Liga MX, Mexico’s top domestic league, for an exhibition match on June 15. Then on June 28, the U.S. Women’s National Team defeated Colombia 2-0 in an International Friendly match.   

“Now our expert staff have the opportunity to show off our exquisite facilities to entities and individuals from the U.S., Canada and England for the first-ever MLS NEXT PRO Invitational, and we could not be prouder to provide this opportunity for our fans, as well as the participant Leagues and Clubs,” said Real Salt Lake President John Kimball.

The series of games kicked off on July 19 when the Real Monarchs took on the Chelsea U-21’s at Rio Tinto Stadium. For those not familiar with European soccer (or as they call it, football), Chelsea is one of the top teams in England, as well as Europe as a whole. In 2021, they won the Champions League, a tournament which pits the best club teams of Europe against one another. So going up against their developmental squad would be a good test for the Real Monarchs.

At first it seemed like the Monarchs might be at a large disadvantage against their English opponent, as they conceded a goal in the very first moments of the game. But they refused to be intimidated by the logo on their jerseys, as they fought back to tie the game 1-1, and once again after conceding another goal, for a final score of 2-2. (Under the rules of the Invitational, the teams also had a penalty shootout, which the Monarchs won.)

“We weren’t worried, we weren’t, like, ‘Oh, this is Chelsea, and we’re the Monarchs,’ we just went out there and played with them. We had a great time, we all had a ton of fun. It was a good game,” said Monarchs goalkeeper Gavin Beavers.

“With respect to Chelsea, we didn’t care who it was we were playing. We just knew we had to compete and perform. We fought for every single ball and were so locked in. I just couldn’t be more proud of all our guys,” added defender Jaziel Orozco. 

The favorable result against one of the most recognizable soccer brands in the world has given the Monarchs a boost of confidence as they head into the final stretch of their season. 

“It’s very good for us. We have an established team now that there are 18 to 20 players on our roster that we’ve been training with. Whenever you have time to train and build confidence in each other the results start to show and that has helped us so much. We are playing well and scoring goals and it’s just a great moment to be in,” said Midfielder Pedro Fonseca.

The Monarchs have four remaining home games at Zions Bank Stadium, on Aug. 5 and 26 and Sep. 3 and 18. λ

NeuroHealth

 

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