Real Monarchs rescue late draw against Whitecaps 2

Twice, Real Monarchs went down against Vancouver Whitecaps 2, and twice, Real Monarchs came back to rescue a draw.

The first conceded goal came at the 13th minute, with Caleb Clarke, on loan from the first team, netting the goal to put Vancouver up 1-0. A few defensive mishaps in that first half meant Monarchs were unable to really get a strong grasp on the game, but there were some chances that came and went.

But it took only minutes after the second half kicked off for Max Rauhofer to score his fifth goal for the club in only seven games — it was a superb finish that can be partly attributed to a goalkeeping mistake, but largely attributed to an excellent knock-down header of Sebastian Saucedo's cross by Maikon Orellana.

But minutes before the 90th minute mark, Vancouver Whitecaps scored again, regaining control after Andre Lewis, also on loan, was left unmarked to finish past Lalo Fernandez — again, the defense was unable to really make their mark on the play.

And from there, it became an all-out attack for Real Monarchs, whose desperation for a win had been downgraded to desperation for a draw — and admittedly, it seemed unlikely.

But some excellent runs from Garrett Losee, Sebastian Saucedo, Eti Tavares and Riley McGovern left Monarchs eating up space out wide, and eventually, one of the crosses sent in found a target.

Saucedo, attacking down the right flank, sent in a low, curling cross right across the face of the goalkeeper, and at the end of it — just at the far post — was a sliding Lucas Baldin, who finished surprisingly well considering he was on the ground.