Monarchs travel to face Hartford Athletic on Saturday (Postponed)

——Due to a positive Covid-19 test for a member of the Real Monarchs staff during their regular weekly testing this match has been postponed and the Monarchs have returned home to Salt Lake City.

Following their 2-0 loss in Austin on Wednesday the Monarchs travelled on to Hartford, Connecticut, for the first of their three matches against Eastern Conference foes. The road loss to the Bold, which was the result of a first half penalty kick and a very late 94th stoppage time insurance goal in an otherwise competitive match, should leave the Monarchs hungry to get on the scoreboard and looking for offensive answers as they attempt to move their scoring total beyond 3 goals in four matches.

This will be the Monarchs’ first meeting with Hartford Athletic which entered the USL Championship in 2019, They are currently second in the Atlantic Division with seven points and have yet to see defeat in the 2021 season. Despite a record of 2 wins and a draw, Hartford has also struggled to find the goal consistently and early. An early goal by either team could go a long way to deciding the outcome early.

Captain James Moberg will be absent due to injury which should allow Kevin Saucedo a second straight start and the likely continuation of the three man back line which was used in Austin. The midfield of five or six players allowed by this change seemed to perform better as the match progressed with wingers Noah Powder and Malik Johnson becoming more familiar ion their new role as wide wingers. Jimmy Slayton, who grew up in Connecticut, may also see his first time in goal.

Saturday’s match with kick off at 5:00 PM MDT on Saturday and be streamed on ESPN+. With Real Salt Lake not kicking off until 7:30 you should be able to view both match from home to kick off the holiday weekend.

Real Monarchs current roster as of May 28th, 2021

Goalkeepers (1): Jimmy Slayton

Defenders (5): Kyle Adams, James Moberg, Jaziel Orozco, Kevin Saucedo, Timi Sobowale

Midfielders (5): Sam Brown, Brayan Gomez, Josimar Quintero, Ibrahim Bancé, Julio Benitez

Forwards (4): Max Mata, Malik Johnson, Juan Vidal, Aris Briggs