Monarchs race to 4-1 victory over Tulsa

The Monarchs extended their home record this season to 8-2-1 and won their fifth straight home match in a comprehensive 4-1 victory over Tulsa Roughnecks FC. The victory leaves the Monarchs with 34 points and in fourth place in the Western Conference standings. They remain far removed from the top three sides, but on top of a pack of 9 teams all contended for the final 7 playoff spots.

Damian Germain, playing on top of the attack in place of Douglas Martinez, scored for the second straight match in the 17th minute to give the Monarchs an early lead. Mikael Chang and Luis Arriaga combined to get the ball to Germain directly in front of the net for an easy tap in.

While Real Monarchs had numerous other promising opportunities the half ended at 1-0 with the home side holding a huge edge in possession and shots.

While the Roughnecks came out with a little more forward pressure in the second half, Jack Blake was next to find the back of the net. His free kick from just outside the penalty area had eyes for the top corner at the near post and give the Monarchs a two goal margin in the 56th minute.

As Tulsa continued to press in search of a goal, Kalen Ryden was in the right place which a shot from Kyle Coffee took a huge deflection and he connected with a header for a 3-0 lead in the 76th minute.

It seemed that there were more goals in the match as both sides continued to push forward and play became a bit more fevered. Just as regular time ended, Maikel Chang scored a 4th goal for the Monarchs when he collected the rebound from a hot strike off the woodwork by Jak Black and put it off the inside of the post to make it 4-0.

Seconds later however, the Monarchs gave up a easy goal to an unmarked Tobenna Uzo to lose the clean sheet and tarnish what had otherwise been a dominating effort.

Recent signing Cristian Calix made his first appearance as substitute in the final ten minutes and earned praise from Acting Head Coach Jamison Olave who felt he made an impact on the game and would be a great addition.

Real Monarchs have a huge contest on the road this week as they travel to face Fresno and attempt to earn their first points of the season against one of the three teams ahead of them in the standings. Fresno FC came into Zions Bank Stadium early in May and emerged victorious in a wild 4-2 match which was the first of the Monarchs two home losses.