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The Monarchs moved to shore up a weak spot from the 2018 season by signing journeyman left back Noah Powder and forward Douglas Martínez for the 2019 USL Championship season.
A 20-year-old native of Edison, NJ, Noah Powder came up through the Red Bulls Academy and began training with the New York Red bulls during the 2015 season. After making over 20 appearances with Red Bull II in USL, Powder signed his first profession contract with the USL side in July of 2017. Powder left Red Bulls II by mutual agreement at the end of the 2017 season as he attempted to find a spot overseas, but returned to USL with Orange County SC for the 2018 USL season.
At Orange County, Noah made 22 appearances for a total of 1636 minutes and started both the matches against Real Monarchs SLC. By the second half of the season he was seeing most of his minutes as a left midfielder and coming off the bench. Powder has good pace and likes to make runs up the sideline, however he was also caught out defensively by the speed of other USL sides.
With the move of Kalen Ryden to his more preferred role in central defense in the middle of the 2018 sea, the Monarchs struggled to find a regular left back and it is hoped that Powder can provide some minutes and competition at that spot.
General Manager Dan Egner has this to say about Noah:
“Noah was one of the top left backs in the USL last season and having over fifty USL matches under his belt at twenty years old is massive. Left back is a tough position to fill, and we couldn’t be happier to bring Noah in to fill that role for us. Noah has set goals that he is determined to reach, and we hope to continue Noah’s development and help him reach those goals.”
A native Honduran, Douglas Martínez already has four years of professional experience with C.D.S. Vida in the Liga Nacional and had a 16 match loan to Red Bulls II in USL during the 2017 season. While he has never had over 1000 minutes in appearances during a single season, he has been a fixture on the bench for the top flight Honduran club and must bee looking for a position to find minutes on the field.
General Manage Dan Egner on Douglas:
“Douglas comes to the club with quite a bit of experience, both at the club level and the international level. He has shown quite well during his time with the Honduran youth national teams and is no stranger to the USL. We think Douglas is one of the most prolific forwards in CONCACAF for his age group and we look forward to watching him develop and mature as a player with the Monarchs.”
With these signings the Monarchs roster now stands at 14 players as follows:
Goalkeepers: (0)
Defenders: Andrew Brody, James Moberg, Stanley Okumu, Konrad Plewa, Kalen Ryden, Noah Powder (6)
Midfielders: Jack Blake, Maikel Chang, Josh Heard, Masta Kacher, Justin Portillo, Damian German (6)
Forwards: Lionel Abate Eoundi, Douglas Martínez (2)
it is anticipated that the USL roster will grow to between 16-18 players by the start of the 2019 season and that a number of Real Salt Lake and RSL Academy players will also see time with the team.