Monarchs splash to 4-1 victory in Tacoma

The Monarchs began a critical three match road swing in Tacoma on Tuesday night looking to move back to the top of a pack of eight teams separated by only 6 points in positions 4 through 11 in the Western Conference standings. With only three players down on loan from RSL, David Ochoa and Luis Arriaga in the starting 11 and Julian Vazquez on the bench, it was left to the core Monarchs side to step up and deliver victory in a driving rainstorm.

With standing water evident on the field and the ball periodically hydroplaning or stalling at points on the field, the game started slowly and without little evidence of successful attacking play. Although on the road, the Monarchs showed a great deal of patience and held the majority of possession before finally opening the scoring when Kyle Coffee had the rebound from a shot by Luis Arriaga bounce to him for a nice finish. David Ochoa came up with a big save on the only shot on goal by the Defiance and a red card to Ever Rubio in the 44th minute allowed the Monarchs to left the field at halftime with a 1-0 lead.

Tacoma came out with a defined game plan in the second half which allowed them to get back into the flow of play and left the Monarchs in a defensive stance. It took about ten minutes for the Monarchs to reassert themselves despite their numerical superiority when a corner kick found a wide open Maikel Chang in the 55th minute doubled the lead.

At this point the Monarchs once again feel back into a defensive stance and were punished themselves when the Defiance struck back through a orchestrated attack finished by Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez five minutes. With the result now seeming in doubt Tacoma continued to attack, but lost a second player to a red card four minutes later.

A penalty kick conversion by Maikel Chang and a late debut goal by substitute Christian Calix left the final score at 4-1 and the Monarchs returned home with the full three points. Their next match comes at the other end of the Western Conference in Edinburg, Texas, against Rio Grande Valley on Saturday.