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SANDY — Real Monarchs SLC kicked off its fourth home season in franchise history Saturday afternoon at Rio Tinto Stadium.
And what a kickoff it was.
After a lengthy moment of applause by both squads and fans in honor of the late assistant coach Liam Miller, Kalen Ryden scored two goals in the first 32 minutes to help the Monarchs roll to a 4-2 win over Portland Timbers 2 in Sandy.
“We always talk about starting the game properly and I like how we started the game,” Real Monarchs coach Mark Briggs said. “But when you start the game that well, you have to punish teams and finish teams off. In professional football, if you give teams a second opportunity, it could bite you in the backside.”
The Monarchs (2-0) held 64 percent possession in the first half, a margin that barely dropped through the remainder of the match.
Monarchs captain Nick Besler opened the scoring in the third minute of the match, heading home a corner kick from Pablo Ruiz inside the far post for the 1-0 advantage. Ryder doubled the Monarchs’ advantage just four minutes later, and it looked like the rout was on.
.@RealMonarchs don't mess around on corner kicks...#SLCvPOR#USLpic.twitter.com/91cG0t1XHg
— USL (@USL) March 31, 2018
Ryden scored his second goal of the match by redirecting a long free kick into the back of the net in the 32nd minute of play.
“It’s early in the season and we are still learning from each other,” said Ryden, who signed with the club three weeks ago. “
Jeremy Ebobisse pulled one back in the 35th minute for Portland (1-2), flicking a ball into the back of the net as Timbers 2 trailed 3-1.
Victor Arboleda pulled T2 within one, 3-2, nearly 15 minutes into the second half with a counter-attacking goal.
But the Monarchs regained the two-goal lead through Sebastian Velasquez’s goal in the 66th minute for a 4-2 final.
“That helped take the pressure off us. But it shouldn’t have gotten to that point,” Briggs said. “We should have finished the game off well before then. That’s something to work on.”
The opener doubled as a tribute match for Miller, an Irish international who played for legendary clubs like Celtic and Manchester United and was an assistant coach under Briggs with the Monarchs.
“Any kind of tragedy in the soccer world affects anybody who is in the soccer world,” Ryden said. “There were a lot of words pregame today, and even not being a part of the team last year, I felt it and it hit me today.”
The match doubled as a home-opener and the final regular-season game scheduled to be played at Rio Tinto Stadium. After three-straight road matches in the next month, the Monarchs will move into the brand-new, 5,000-seat Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman for its home contest April 30 against expansion club Las Vegas Lights FC.
Mark Briggs on the match dedication to the late Liam Miller: pic.twitter.com/je3c9VtElg
— Salt City FC (@saltcityfc) March 31, 2018
