Monarchs power to 4-1 victory over Colorado Springs Switchbacks

David Ochoa, a key component of the Monarchs USL Championship run in 2019 in goal, returned to to action with the Monarchs on Wednesday returning from a thumb injury that took him out following the opening match in San Antonio lback in March. The Monarchs starting 4-2-3-1 lineup was rounded out by a back four of Andrew Brody, Nicolas Giménez, James Moberg and Noah Powder. Jack Blake and Sam Brown were in the defensive midfield while Dayonn Harris, Kyle Coffee and Luis Arriaga handled the offensive side with Julian Vázquez alone on top.

The Monarchs appeared content to defend in depth for the first 10 minutes and did little to stretch the field. They paid a price for it in the as Ochoa came far out to the side in the 8th minute and was handily beaten to allow an basically open net goal by Aiden Daniels to give the Switchbacks an early 1-0 lead.

Colorado Springs continued to push the pace of play with the Monarchs unable to do much more than make occasional quick counters. However, Sean Melvin, the Switchbacks goalkeeper returned the favor by coming out and tangling up with his defender allowing Julian Vázquez to tie the match in the 18th minute despite having a couple of poor touches.

Play began to even out and after just missing on a corner, a second corner for the Monarchs resulted in a nice header goal by Sam Brown for a 2-1 lead in the 26th minute. The Monarchs stayed lively and relied upon their press to create quick chances, but the half ended without any more goals.

Despite having only 40.5% of the possession in the first half, the Monarchs were able to score on both on target shots and create a total of 9 shots to only 4 shots for the Switchbacks.

The pace slowed as both sides struggle to find some sustained possession through the first 20 minutes of the second half. Body Davis replaced a shaken Dayonn Harris in the 56th minute and Head Coach Alan Koch of Colorado Springs made a play for momentum with a couple of offensive substitutions in the 66th minute which quickly turned the match.

After a near miss, Body Davis hit following another quick strike and increased the Monarchs lead to 3-1 in the 69th. To add insult, Noah Powder sent a set piece around the wall in the 77th minute and increased the lead to 4-1.

The final ten minutes saw a parade of substitutions, several near misses and little else leaving the Monarchs with their third victory of the season and the highest goal total of the season.

The Monarchs continue the current home stand Saturday against New Mexico United at 12:00 PM. Spend the afternoon at Zions Bank Stadium before moving on to Rio Tinto as RSL face Colorado for the Rocky Mountain Cup.