McGovern stands tall at defense as Monarchs' offense looks for first win


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SANDY — Riley McGovern came out of two years at New Mexico where he started every game for the Lobos’ back line, leading his coaches to expect him to make an immediate impact for Real Monarchs SLC.

The 6-foot, 2-inch defender has done everything his coaches wanted — even surprising himself a little.

McGovern has been a standout defender for the Monarchs, earning USL Team of the Week honors following his first professional game — a 0-0 draw on the road with L.A. Galaxy II. But the Monarchs are still in search of their first win of the year, and they’ll get a chance to snatch it Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Rio Tinto Stadium against Portland Timbers 2 (2-0) in the team’s first-ever home match.

For Monarchs coach Freddy Juarez, McGovern’s hot start was mostly expected.

“It hasn’t been a surprise for me; you talk to the staff, and we knew he was going to be a quality defender for us,” said Juarez, adding the right back can also play on the left side of the back line. “He’s a strong, smart player who will give you an honest effort every single game. He’s not going to cheat on plays. That’s what we need from him.”

Even with his coach’s blessing, McGovern surprised himself by adapting quickly to the increased speed of USL play compared to his college days at the University of New Mexico, where he was a right back driven to get forward and showing promise in the attacking third.

“Sometimes you don’t expect it to go this well,” McGovern said. “You expect things to go well, you have confidence, but to come out with that scoreless draw and getting (league) honors is great.

Head coach Freddy Juarez coaches the Real Monarchs during a preseason match against UVU. (Courtesy photo: RSL Communications)
Head coach Freddy Juarez coaches the Real Monarchs during a preseason match against UVU. (Courtesy photo: RSL Communications)

“That was a great result for the team, and then we had a tough loss to Portland. But I think we learned a lot more from that than we learned from the Galaxy game.”

McGovern’s flexibility, including playing nearly five minutes as a wide midfielder against Timbers 2 a week ago, comes in part from the 23-year-old’s adaptability from the college game, Juarez said.

“He comes from a good college environment where he was pushed every day,” the Monarchs’ inaugural head coach said. “Coming here hasn’t been new for him as far as training and work ethic. He’s a good player for the team, and I think the players all like him as well.”

The Monarchs (0-1-1) are coming off a humbling 3-1 loss to a Timbers 2 side that was playing its first game in franchise history last week. Coco Navarro scored the first goal in Monarchs history in the game, but a difficult series on the back led to goals barely three minutes apart in the second half, and the Monarchs could never recover in falling to their first defeat.

How the club responds will be the first big test of the season, McGovern said.

“The first game, everyone had some jitters and was a bit nervous for the game. The Portland game was rough, and we learned some things about us,” he added. “I’m just looking forward to how we respond to that loss in Portland. I think we should come out on fire tomorrow.”

There are places to improve for the Monarchs, said Juarez, who has a long history of development at RSL’s residency academy in Arizona. The players need to take more chances, shore up a few things on the defensive side of the ball and try to add another clean sheet. But the first goal is for the club to earn a positive result for the first time in front of its home fans.

“We want to get a result for the fans, and we want to do better at controlling our ball possession,” Juarez said. “I thought we were better in Portland than at the Galaxy game, and little by little we want to get better.

“That’s a step, and we need to take another step forward.”

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