Edwardsville, Illinois (Saturday, June 25, 2022) – Real Monarchs (0-11-2, 2 points) were held scoreless at St. Louis City 2 (9-2-2, 30 points), suffering a 2-0 defeat at Ralph Korte Stadium.
In the second-ever meeting between the two sides, Real Monarchs started out on the front foot, nearly scoring in the seventh minute when midfielder Tyrone Mondi hit a cross towards Real Salt Lake Homegrown Axel Kei who headed a shot toward the bottom-left corner but the goalkeeper was able to make the save. In the ensuing moments, Kei and defender Aziz Kayondo fired two more shots on net but both were blocked by goalkeeper Michael Creek.
St. Louis City 2 responded right away, scoring in the 10th minute when defender Kwame Awuah found Kyle Hiebert who fired a low left-footed shot into the bottom-right corner to take the early lead. St. Louis doubled its tally shortly after when midfielder Max Schneider won the ball after a defensive breakdown from Real Monarchs and found fellow midfielder Akil Watts sitting at the top of the box. Watts curled his shot over Monarchs Goalkeeper Gavin Beavers into the top-left corner to extend its lead.
Coming out of the halftime break, the Monarchs had an early opportunity in the 51st minute when Mondi slotted a ball through to Chris Garcia but the midfielder’s right-footed shot was blocked. Despite having multiple chances to score in the second-half, Real Monarchs failed to find the back of the net, ending the match 2-0 in favor of the home side.
UP NEXT: Real Monarchs will return to Zions Bank Stadium on Friday, July 1 at 7:00 p.m. MT to take on Western Conference foe Timbers 2 for the “Christmas in July” celebration. This will be the second of three meetings between the two sides. Tickets can be purchased at rsl.com/monarchs/tickets/.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:
Kyle Hiebert (Kwame Awuah) 10th Minute: Awuah crossed a ball back into the center of the box where he found Hiebert who was able to squeeze his shot between goalkeeper Gavin Beavers and the right post to open the scoring.
Akil Watts (Max Schneider) 29th Minute: After a defensive breakdown from Real Monarchs, Schneider won the ball and found Watts at the top of the box. Watts hit a curling ball to the top-left corner that bounced off the post and over the line for the second goal of the match.
NOTES:
- Real Salt Lake Homegrown Erik Holt returned to the Monarchs Starting XI as he continues to recover from an injury he suffered against Sporting Kansas City on March 26.
-Defender Aziz Kayondo returned to the starting lineup after making appearances for the Ugandan National team in qualifying matches for AFCON.
Match: Real Monarchs vs St. Louis City 2
Date: June 25, 2022
Venue: Ralph Korte Stadium
Weather: 87 and cloudy
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Real Monarchs 0 0 0
St. Louis City 2 2 0 2
Lineups:
Real Monarchs (3-5-2): Gavin Beavers, Jaziel Orozco, Erik Holt, Bobby Pierre, Bode Hidalgo, Aziz Kayondo, Golden Mafwenta (Pedro Fonseca, 63’), Christian Nydegger, Chris Garcia, Tyrone Mondi (Leo Torres, 85’), Axel Kei (Jack Imperato, 76’)
Subs not used: Javier Zaragoza, Terron Williams, Benjamin Rodriguez
St. Louis City 2 (4-4-2): Michael Creek, Kwame Awuah, Kyle Hiebert, Joshua Yaro, Benjamin Di Rosa, Celio Pompeu (Sergio Rivas,87’), Max Schneider, Akil Watts, Karson Gibbs (Dida Armstrong 59’), Josh Dolling, Wan Kuzain (Alex Palazzolo, 81’)
Subs not used: Ian McGrane, Ezra Armstrong, Jack Wagner
Stats Summary: STL2 / RM
Shots: 18 / 16
Shots on Goal: 8 / 5
Saves: 5 / 6
Corner Kicks: 7 / 5
Fouls: 11 / 5
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
STL: Michael Creek (caution) 66’
RM: Christian Nydegger (caution) 83’
RM: Bode Hidalgo (caution) 83’
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Thomas Snyder
Assistant Referees: Christopher Slane, Michael O’Reilly
4th Official: Velimir Stefanovic
