REAL MONARCHS PORTLAND TIMBERS 2

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1 LATEST INJURY REPORT (Thu., 9/7) PROBABLE: DF Taylor Peay (ankle 7/21) FW Andrew Brody (ankle 7/22) YELLOW CARD PERIL: DF Michael Gallagher (suspended next caution) DF Kyle Curinga (suspended next caution) FIRST-EVER PLAYOFF CLINCH SECURED Real Monarchs SLC (17-4-4, 55 points, USL #1 / West #1) return to action this weekend with a Saturday night regular-season contest at Portland Timbers 2, an 8:00 p.m. MT kickoff emanating from Providence Park Head Coach Mark Briggs USL leaders clinched the club s first-ever USL Cup Playoff berth last Saturday despite a shocking 1-2 home loss to San Antonio, and will look to bounce back at Portland with a victory, as the club has after each of its previous three losses this season During week one of the 2017 USL season, back on March 25, the Monarchs emerged with a 2-1 win in downtown Portland, as DF James Moberg and Captain Nick Besler a former Timber who has since signed an MLS deal with Real Salt Lake each scored in Mike Petke s lone official game as the Monarchs head coach The Monarchs enter Saturday with an impressive mark away from home this year, outscoring opponents and notching two clean sheets on the road This weekend s match at Timbers 2 begins a run that sees the Monarchs play four of its five remaining September games away from Rio Tinto Stadium where the club has lost just once in its last home 19 games dating back to late 2016 prior to the final two Saturdays of the 2017 USL reg. season in Utah on Oct. 7 and 14 The Monarchs travel to Portland and Phoenix prior to a Fri., Sept. 22 home match against Orange County, then again hitting the road at Sacramento and Reno prior to wrapping up the 2017 USL regular season at home against Vancouver and LA Galaxy II The Monarchs still have several goals within reach during the final seven games of the campaign, including clinching the No. 1 overall seed in the 2017 postseason, as well seeking to establish new USL records for wins (22), points (70) and goals (62) SHOCKING HOME LOSS SATURDAY The Monarchs enter Saturday looking to recover from a shocking 1-2 home loss last week against San Antonio, conceding two goals after the 88 th minute both on set pieces and seeing its 13-game unbeaten run in Sandy dating back to last year suddenly end Despite seeing its 10-game home win streak snapped with the July draw against visiting Tulsa, the Monarchs retain confidence and dominance at Rio Tinto Stadium, where the club boasts an mark this year and has now lost just twice in its last 19 games dating back to last September Entering this weekend, the Monarchs still need 5 wins, 15 points and 12 goals scored in its final 7 games to establish new all-time USL marks, those milestones among the pursuit of several goals within reach during this scintillating campaign, including clinching the No. 1 overall seed in the 2017 postseason, as well as surpassing the current USL records for wins (21), points (69) and goals (61) The club s magic number for the No. 1 overall USL seed? 17 points gained by the Monarchs or lost by the 2 nd -place USL side, currently Reno/San Antonio The Monarchs occupy first place overall in the USL, 7 clear of Reno and San Antonio FC in the West and now 8 ahead of both East leaders, Louisville City FC and Charlotte Independence in the race for home-field advantage in the 2017 USL Cup Playoffs The spectacular 2017 Real Monarchs / USL season continues this weekend, kicking off the final quarter of the 32-game regular season, as Head Coach Mark Briggs USL elite with a mark and a leagueleading 55 points claim the league s second-best goal differential, +24 with 51 goals scored and 27 allowed in just 25 games Beginning Saturday in Portland, the Monarchs will play four of their next five games on the road in September, looking to improve upon its already impressive mark away from home this season This month sees the Monarchs travel to Portland and Phoenix prior to a Sept. 22 home match against Orange County, then again hitting the road at Sacramento and Reno prior to wrapping up the 2017 USL regular season at home against Vancouver and LA Galaxy II the first two Saturdays in October BESLER RETURNS TO MONARCHS Monarchs Captain Nick Besler returned to USL action last weekend, with other possible first-team loan-downs in play due to Real Salt Lake s international hiatus August 24, Real Salt Lake announced the signing of Real Monarchs MF Nick Besler to an MLS contract, making the 2017 Captain the fourth Monarchs player to make the jump from the USL club to the MLS club in the last three seasons "We're really proud as an organization when we have players that deserve the opportunities. Being the captain and how he has performed consistently throughout the season, it makes a lot of sense," Real Salt Lake General Manager Craig Waibel said "It was the right time to reward him and from an organizational standpoint it's a continuation of what we set out to do, which was to bring guys into the first team when they are ready. There are certainly more players that deserve a look." Besler, 24, has started 23 matches with three goals and one assist this season for the Monarchs, who lead the USL with a record of He was selected as captain by Mike Petke prior to the season-opener and has maintained that position under Monarchs Head Coach Mark Briggs since Petke was promoted to RSL Head Coach in April Besler, the brother of perennial MLS All-Star and U.S. National Team man Matt Besler, has been instrumental in the record-breaking 2017 season for the Monarchs From April 22-June 19, the club won a USL-record nine straight matches This year at the club s Rio Tinto Stadium home, the Monarchs won 10 straight matches dating back to 2016 before drawing 0-0 with the Tulsa Roughnecks on July 31 "I'm very excited. It was a goal when I signed with the Monarchs to make it to the first team," Besler said "I knew I had to consistently perform with that goal in mind of making it to the first team, it provided me extra motivation to keep improving." Besler was drafted by the Portland Timbers in the first round (fifth overall) in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft and was with the club for two seasons, but did not make a first team appearance A College Cup champion in 2013 with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, he spent two seasons on loan to Portland Timbers 2 in the USL With T2, he played 50 matches over two seasons, including 24 in 2016, when he scored his first professional goal against the Swope Park Rangers in the season opener on March 26 Besler becomes the fourth player to make the leap from the Monarchs to Real Salt Lake, joining FW Emery Welshman, DF Chris Schuler and FW Ricardo Velazco In addition, current RSL Head Coach Mike Petke and Assistant Coach Freddy Juarez both earned promotions from the USL club

2 With RSL Captain Kyle Beckerman suspended due to yellow-card accumulation August 26, Besler was available on the club s bench in its 4-1 home win against the Colorado Rapids, as RSL captured the fancreated Rocky Mountain Cup for the 9 th time in 11 seasons SEPT. 2 RECAP RM 1 : 2 SAFC Real Monarchs SLC (17-4-4, 55 points, USL #1 / West #1) kicked off Labor Day Weekend with a disappointing 1-2 home loss against San Antonio, the Utah side s closest Western Conference pursuers A 55 th - minute goal from RSL FW and Utah native Sebastian Bofo Saucedo seemed to be all the home side might need to hold up a clean sheet by GK Connor Sparrow and the Monarchs defense, but an 88 th -minute own goal by DF Taylor Peay belying his otherwise stellar performance and a Stephen McCarthy header three minutes into added time gave visiting SAFC a 2-1 win, closing the Monarchs gap atop the West to just seven points with as many games remaining for San Antonio Despite the loss, Head Coach Mark Briggs side managed to officially clinch a USL Cup Playoff berth, the Monarchs first in its three-year history, due to tonight s OKC Energy loss at Swope Park Rangers Saucedo s 55 th minute goal his third with the Monarchs this season was assisted by MF Charlie Adams, whose seventh assist of the year moves him into the top three amongst USL leaders Adams collected the ball at midfield and it a slicing lefty ball over the top for Saucedo, who cut inside and coolly slotted his chance far-post for the difference-maker, his first Monarchs game-winning goal of the year For Sparrow, none of his three saves were finer than his 68 th -minute, onehanded stab to parry away a point-blank chance by Ben Newnam for San Antonio, which then hit the post in the 72 nd minute in a determined search for an equalizer Sparrow s pursuit of his sixth shutout of 2017 was denied on a set piece in the 88 th minute, when a long, looping ball glanced off the head of Peay who leaped to win the ball between two San Antonio attackers and into the back of the net San Antonio s game-winning play consisted of Michael Reed s service finding the head of Stephen McCarthy, who buried the decisive goal inside the far post to deal the Monarchs its first home loss since last September, snapping an overall 13-game unbeaten run at Rio Tinto Stadium With six games remaining in its 2017 regular-season campaign, the Monarchs pursue several goals which remain within reach after earning its first-ever postseason berth, including clinching the No. 1 overall seed in the 2017 postseason, as well as breaking the current USL records for wins (21), points (69) and goals (61) Last week s tense match with league defensive power San Antonio featured returns to action as well as debuts for numerous roster members, as recent addition Danny Cruz he of 150+ career MLS games made his home debut in his third week with the club Former Costa Rican international Diego Calvo made his Monarchs/USL debut after arriving in Utah four weeks ago, the 2014 World Cup and former Saprissa man earning his first-ever minutes in Claret-and-Cobalt BOUNCE-BACK MENTALITY In addition to the positive memories of the Monarchs 2-1 road win at Portland in USL Week One on March 25, Briggs club should enter Saturday taking solace in the knowledge that it has captured the full three points (with 2-goal wins) in games this season immediately following a loss Following an April 15 loss at Colorado Springs, the Monarchs won 3-1 at Seattle; after an 0-2 at Tulsa, RMSLC won 3-1 at home against OKC Energy; and after an 0-2 at OKC, the club returned home for a 2-0 win against Colorado Springs AUGUST 25 RECAP RM 2 : 1 RGV Real Monarchs SLC improved to w/ 55 points) by continuing its home dominance in USL play with a 2-1 win over Rio Grande Valley FC Toros last Friday night at Rio Tinto Stadium FW Chandler Hoffman assisted on both goals as the Monarchs moved to at home this season and extended the club s lead in the Western Conference standings Monarchs FW Daniel Haber and MF Sebastian Velasquez scored firsthalf goals to stage a comeback after an early tally from the Toros as the Monarchs moved within three points of clinching a playoff berth for the first time in club history RGV opened scoring in the fifth minute when Kyle Murphy beat his defender, then the goalkeeper with a stunning right-footed shot from the edge of the box to give the visitors the 1-0 lead The Monarchs responded with a highlight reel goal in the 18 th minute, as Haber crushed a right-footed shot from 19 yards out that beat the goalkeeper inside the far post for his 6 th goal of the season, evening the score at 1-1 Just before halftime, the Monarchs claimed the league on a 1-2 between Velasquez and Hoffman that ended with Velasquez squeezing a shot past the keeper for his 7 th goal of the season to make it 2-1 Hoffman now ranks 3 rd overall in USL with 7 assists, to go along with his 14 goals in the Golden Boot race, also the 3 rd -highest total in USL FINAL GAMES CREATE OPPORTUNITY The Monarchs have the opportunity to re-write not just their own record books the third-year club has done most of that already but several USL marks are in the sights for HC Mark Briggs side in the final nine games The club has already set a new consecutive win mark earlier this year with nine (9) straight wins, and was one home win away from moving into a second-place tie with 11 consecutive home victories (14 would have set a new all-time USL record, but the club was forced to settle for a 0-0 draw with Tulsa back on July 31) In addition, the Monarchs enter Saturday s trip to Portland four wins, 14 points and just 11 goals away from matching the current all-time USL single-season records for victories (21), points (69) and goals scored (61) STREAKING The 1-1 draw at Phoenix back on June 24 snapped the Monarchs all-time USL-record 9-game win streak, surpassing Orlando City s eight-game winning streak, set in 2014 USL Winning Streaks (regular season) 9 games: Real Monarchs (April 22 June 19, 2017) 8 games: Orlando City SC (2014) 7 games: Swope Park Rangers ( ) 7 games: Orlando City SC ( ) 7 games: New York Red Bulls II (2016) The Monarchs 0-0 draw July 31 against Tulsa snapped a 10-game HOME win streak at Rio Tinto Stadium, dating back to last season, a run which currently ranks third-best in the USL s all-time record book, four games shy of breaking Orlando s 2014 record: USL Home Winning Streaks (incl. playoffs) 13 games: Orlando City SC (2014) 11 games: Rochester Rhinos ( ) 10 games: Real Monarchs (2016-present) 8 games: Swope Park Rangers ( )

3 RECORD-SETTING PACE The Monarchs have scored multiple goals in 16 of its 17 victories, with only a May win at Orange County, and suffering just one shutout yet this season July 1 at Tulsa through 19 matches, prior to the backto-back zeros posted July 31 v Tulsa and Aug. 5 at OKC Also, the 55-point total for the Monarchs through 25 games more than doubles its total points at same juncture in either its 2015 inaugural season or 2016 Meanwhile, the club has scored 20 goals more than last year s attacking output of 31 goals for the season, with 7 games still remaining The 17 wins this year exceeds the 2016 total as well, by six victories One more win this season would allow HC Mark Briggs side to exceed the total number of wins from the club s first TWO campaigns, combined Thus far in 2017, the Monarchs have used a total of 39 players, including 14 loanees from Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer FIFTEEN (15) different players have now scored for the Monarchs this season, led by FW Chandler Hoffman, who scored four of his team-leading 14 goals in April, along with MF Sebastian Velasquez, who now also has seven goals and six assists to go along with his numerous USL Team of the Week honors + May USL Player of the Month nomination MF Charlie Adams had pulled ahead of the pack with seven assists one more than Velasquez and two ahead of Hoffman s total prior to the forward s pair of helpers last week while a trio including MF Nick Besler, FW Daniel Haber and MF Chase Minter each have multiple assists to their credit Hoffman, Velasquez, FW Andrew Brody, Haber and Karsten Hanlin are five of the 11 players with multiple goals this season, joined by Captain Besler, DF James Moberg, SLC native DF Taylor Peay and RSL duo Jose Hernandez & Sebastian Saucedo, now joined by Lachowecki and DF Kyle Curinga in recent weeks Minter and RSL MF Omar Holness are the other 2017 goalscorers One Monarchs player Besler had played every minute this season (now 2025) prior to acceding at halftime of the July win over Seattle, while Lachowecki has played 1974, making his first substitute appearance on June 19 Moberg (1876) has made way in recent games for RSL DFs David Horst and Chris Schuler to start and play 45/60 minutes in rehab stints Hoffman (2039) and Brody (1704) are others to have played 1600 or more minutes already through 25 games, as has DF Kyle Curinga (1764) Hoffman and Lachowecki have appeared in all 25 league contests, with Haber and Brody playing the first 16 prior to resting in the Seattle game, with Brody injuring his ankle 22 minutes into the San Antonio tilt Besler received his first full-game respite August 5 in OKC Moberg has appeared in 23 of the club s 25 matches GK Connor Sparrow has stopped a penalty kick in two recent games for an incredible fourth and fifth times this season EXCELLENCE ALL OVER THE PITCH In the two home wins in early July, Hoffman tallied three goals and an assist in the two games to earn USL Team of the Week honors and move into the top five in both goals (now 14, 3 rd ) and assists (now 7, t-3 rd ), as the Monarchs remain unbeaten at Rio Tinto Stadium this season with a perfect mark in Sandy Nearly as impressive is HC Mark Briggs team s record away from home, as road losses on April 15 and July 1 the lone pointless blemishes of the campaign, in addition to last Saturday Overall, the Monarchs start to the season is the best overall in the USL (now 7 points clear of Reno/San Antonio and 8 ahead of Charlotte/Louisville City in the East) Head Coach Mark Briggs team had allowed just five goals (while scoring 18) in the 764 minutes leading into the July loss at Tulsa The club allowed five goals in July, scoring 11 in the 360 minutes prior to the current 192-minute drought the three weeks before Haber s early goal in Swope Park AUGUST 18 RECAP RM 2 : 2 at SPR Real Monarchs SLC (16-3-4, 52 pts) inched closer to its first-ever postseason berth with a dominating first-half performance against the Swope Park Rangers last Friday night in Kansas City However, the Rangers came back to earn a 2-2 draw, as the Monarchs extended the club s lead atop the USL Western Conference and moved one step closer to the top overall seed in the upcoming USL Cup Playoffs. FW Daniel Haber scored his fifth goal of the season and DF Kyle Curinga added another to bolt out to a 2-0 first-half lead at Children s Mercy Victory Field Haber s goal came after MF Sebastian Velasquez making a return from yellow card suspension was taken down just outside the box Haber smashed it over the wall and inside the left post for his fifth goal of the season, staking the Monarchs to a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute Curinga followed it up by heading home a cross from FW Andrew Brody for his second goal of the season to make it 2-0 in the 25 th minute Swope Park pulled one back through halftime substitute Nansel Selbol in the 60 th minute, as he ripped a shot through traffic that bound past GK Matt VanOekel to make it 2-1 Finally, the Rangers equalized in the 82 nd minute through another halftime substitute, as Kharlton Belmar hammered in a cross from Tyler Pasher to equalize AUGUST 12 RECAP RM 2 : 0 CSS August 12 at Rio Tinto Stadium, the Monarchs rode a pair of set-piece goals in the early going from FW Chandler Hoffman and DF James Moberg each assisted by MF Charlie Adams to rush out to a 2-0 lead in the first 13 minutes over rival Colorado Springs Switchbacks, a game ultimately won 2-0 despite losing MF Chase Minter for the final 20 minutes after a controversial second yellow card GK Connor Sparrow continued his spotless record in facing penalty kicks, saving a 75 effort as opponents are now zero-for-five from the spot (four saved by Sparrow, one shot pushed wide) this season Hoffman s goal in the 2 nd minute redirecting a header from DF Taylor Peay, who earned an assist on the play snapped the club s season-long scoring drought at 194 minutes, following the August loss at OKC Energy and a 0-0 home draw with Tulsa on July 31 Those back-to-back shutouts were just the second and third of the year, the club failing to score on only one previous occasion, July 1 at Tulsa

4 The 2-0 win extended the Monarchs home unbeaten streak to 12 consecutive games (dating back to last year) and improved the club s Rio Tinto Stadium mark this season to mark this season, the lone blemish coming three weeks ago in a 0-0 home draw against Tulsa, owner of two of the three clean sheets against the Monarchs TEXAS TWO-STEP In the recent 2-1 win at Rio Grande Valley in late July, Hoffman made six saves on the night to secure the victory, while FW Daniel Haber struck for his fourth goal of the season, trailing just Hoffman and playmaker Sebastian Velasquez amongst the club s leading scorers July 25 at Rio Grande Valley, the Monarchs rode yet another strike from leading scorer and USL MVP Candidate Chandler Hoffman his fifth goal in a four-game span and his sixth game-winner out of 13 overall goals this season, now ranking third overall in the league, two off the leader to win 2-1 at RGV and secure four points from a two-game Texas road swing On that Wednesday, July 25, the Monarchs welcomed Velasquez back for the final 28 minutes, his first action since June 24 at Phoenix, where he suffered a hamstring injury Velasquez has earned four USL Team of the Week nods in a seven-week midsummer span (and five overall), while moving near the top of the USL attacking charts with six goals and six assists on his campaign In a highly-anticipated matchup the previous Saturday at San Antonio, the Monarchs rode a late-game equalizer from DF Max Lachowecki to earn a valuable 2-2 draw in a game that saw the Monarchs climb back from a pair of one-goal deficits Hoffman converted a penalty midway through the first half for what was then his 12 th goal of the season later scoring his 13 th at RGV to move into 2 nd place in the USL Golden Boot race, one shy of Charleston Battery s Romario Williams for his fifth goal in the last four games Lachowecki s 86 th -minute goal at San Antonio rescued a point for the Monarchs was his second goal in as many games, becoming the 11 th different SLC player to score multiple goals this season The Monarchs rode into Texas after a two-week hiatus after getting its record-breaking 2017 campaign back on track after two winless road games in late June with 3-1 and 4-1 home wins on July 5/8 over OKC and Seattle That pair of wins and the four points secured in Texas improved the Monarchs to / 47 points on the season, the club opening up a sizeable gap on San Antonio and resurgent Swope Park atop the West, after chasing the defensive juggernaut that is SAFC most of the 2017 campaign DANNY CRUZ JOINS MONARCHS Real Monarchs SLC announced early last week that the club has signed six-year MLS veteran MF Danny Cruz, who could make his club debut Friday Cruz spent the first half of his 2017 campaign with the San Francisco Deltas of the NASL Danny is an experienced veteran. He s a professional and a proven winner, Real Monarchs General Manager Elliot Fall said. He is a versatile player and we expect him to be able to compete from day one. Cruz, 27, has 137 career MLS appearances, 99 of them in a starting role He started his pro career with the Houston Dynamo in 2009 after being selected in the third round (41 st overall) in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, playing three seasons with the Dynamo before moving to D.C. United for the 2012 season He then played two years with the Philadelphia Union in 2013 and 2014 In his MLS career, he amassed 12 goals and 13 assists before going on loan to to FK Bodo/Glimt in Norway in 2015 In 2016, he played for Minnesota United FC in the NASL and remained in the second division this year with the San Francisco Deltas. "I'm extremely excited to be joining a great team and great organization, said Cruz. I'm thankful for this opportunity and I look forward to helping the Monarchs push towards a USL Championship this year." MONARCHS ADD TWO OTHERS Real Monarchs SLC announced two weeks ago that the club has signed Costa Rica National Team FW Diego Calvo and Argentine FW Juan Ignacio Mare, pending league and federation approval and receipt of visas and ITCs Neither player was eligible for the recent pair of matches, but could make their USL debuts Friday night as the Monarchs add international attacking talent to bolster record-breaking potential entering USL Cup Playoff Push Calvo comes to the Monarchs after spending his eight-year professional career playing in Costa Rica, Norway and Sweden Diego is a dynamic attacking player with a great resume, Real Monarchs General Manager Elliot Fall said. He fits the profile of the type of player we believe can improve our team and we think that we have the type of environment that will allow him to thrive. The 26-year-old winger has international experience playing with Costa Rica in 2014 World Cup Qualifying and was on the roster for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil He made his international debut against the U.S. in World Cup Qualifying in Colorado on March 22, 2013 and scored his first goal for Costa Rica in the next match against Jamaica. He has one goal in 10 international appearances to his credit Additionally, he was a fixture for Costa Rica at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia.. On the club level, he started his pro career in 2010 with Alajuelense in Costa Rica, reaching CONCACAF Champions League in 2011, 2012 and in his second stint with the club in 2015 He also played during his career for Saprissa and Perez Zeledon in Costa Rica, Valerenga in Norway and IFK Goteborg in Sweden Mare, 22, started his professional career with Instituto in his native Argentina in 2013 Since then, he has played with Monarcas Morelia, Atlas and Puebla in Mexico, but didn t garner first-team experience with any of the three clubs MORE MONARCHS MISCELLANY The third-year USL Monarchs have spent most of the season as the highest-scoring team in the league (48 goals, still five fewer than Reno and three more than Charlotte / five more than Louisville City) The Monarchs now have 48 goals scored in just 23 games, claiming first place overall in the USL with an incredible start and 52 points entering Friday against RGV Toros The Monarchs loss on July at Tulsa was the club s first since April 15 at Colorado Springs, and was the only time all season HC Mark Briggs side failed to score until the July 31 scoreless home draw with Tulsa and then the 0-2 loss at OKC on Aug. 5 Leading scorer Chandler Hoffman s 14 goals on the year rank 2 nd overall in the USL, while GKs Lalo Fernandez / Connor Sparrow and the defense have been strong, allowing just nine goals in the 1054 minutes leading up to the July draw at San Antonio Hoffman s brace on July 5 enabled him to set a new single-season Monarchs record with 10 goals on the campaign, surpassing former FW Max Rauhofer s nine goals in 2015 The pair marked Hoffman s 40 th and

5 41 st career USL goals, moving him up the all-time charts, where he now stands with 45 The USL side s June 19 home win over Reno set a new league record with 9 straight wins, as MF Sebastian Velasquez then 2 nd in the USL in assists with 6, and a five-time USL Team of the Week honoree in the first 1/3 of the season and for the fourth time in the last eight weeks set up goals from RSL academy product Andrew Brody and SLC native Taylor Peay JUNE 19: RM 2 : 1 RENO First-half goals from RSL Academy product Andrew Brody and Salt Lake native Taylor Peay were both assisted by midfield catalyst Sebastian Velasquez, now tied for the 2017 USL assist lead with six GK Lalo Fernandez came up with several key saves in the second half en route to his fifth win of the year, backstopping a defense that had outscored opponents 17-4 in the last 674 minutes JUNE 19 QUOTES / REACTION Head Coach Mark Briggs: On the win streak: It is obviously a fantastic achievement for the players in that locker room. They deserve to enjoy the result tonight and enjoy taking what they have actually achieved. I just said to them that they have just put their names in history, so well-done. On the end of the match: Yeah, you could say it got helter-skelter. I think the occasion might have got to a few players, with the record on their shoulders. But tactically we weren t at our greatest, with the ball we weren t at our greatest, but we found a way to win the game and yes we rode our look at the end of the game. Their goalkeeper should wear number nine next week. So yeah, it is just pleasing to get the three points and to break that record. Now, hopefully we can move on. On Seba s season: Sebastian is having a fantastic season. He is constantly performing, and consistently performing at a high level. I think he is one of those players who is a joy to watch. It is like he is playing down at the local park. You know, he is one of those players you never know what he is going to do, he has great ability and aside from that Sebastian s work rate and attitude, it s contagious and if Chandler and Sebastian are working like that, then it is contagious for the rest of the boys. I am more pleased with his work rate off the ball than what he does with the ball. On Peay s goal: The locker room was pleased but I also think they realized that their performance wasn t to the level that we have consistently been producing and so it was pleasing to get the goal at a crucial time. It does change the attitude in the locker room but with that group, they have a hunger and desire to be better and they didn t feel like they hit their standards in that first half. On the win: I feel the group that the front office put together, there s so much potential in that locker room. I think you are right, we do well at the moment and we broke this record, but I don t think we are anywhere near the potential that group has, which is exciting. They have to be kept on their toes and they have to understand that they have to work every day and they have to understand they haven t achieved anything yet. Ok, they broke history, but that s ok, that s great, and are written in the books, it is not a medal, it is not a trophy. In this game trophies are what matters. On the lineup: It is always difficult when you have different players, like we had three players playing down from the first team, which is always difficult, but the first team players are MLS players. So, I don t think that is an excuse for the performance to not be as cohesive as we expected. It was just one of those nights where we did not hit the level of performance that we have in the past however many games we have played, but the pleasing thing is we are finding a way to win games even though we are not performing at our potential. Head Coach Mark Briggs (CONT D): On Phoenix and Drogba: It is going to be another difficult game, it is going to be another huge test. Obviously, when you play against a player of the caliber of Didier Drogba, whatever age he is at and not matter what people say this and that, he s still got talent. You don t play at that high level if you don t have the ability and talent, but it will be a good game for the players to pick themselves back with someone of that caliber and they should be excited to play. It looks like an exciting atmosphere there and every time I have challenged them, they have stepped up. They will be prepared and they will be challenged in Phoenix. On being consistent at home and on the road: I think it starts with, we always speak about having a hunger and desire and I think having that desire and having that hunger to succeed, is the base for our team. We ve got ability but it s like, you could have all of the ability in the world, but if you don t have that hunger and that desire, that work rate to achieve, you fall potential and your ability is a waste of time. So, I think the biggest feeling of the work rate and the desire to get better every week, to get better in every training session, and to consistently perform, that is the most pleasing thing to me. RSL Midfielder Ricardo Velazco On the win: It means the world to me because I was here when the team was struggling. And for us to set a record now and me be a part of it it s a great feeling. I m bless to be part of this team, I know it has only been twice, but anything that I can do to contribute to this team I ll do it and I m happy I was able to play in this game. On the club as a whole: I think the franchise grew. The quality of the players got better. They got more experience in this team than we ever had before. And once you get the winning mentality and it s in you and you start feeling it, it becomes easier, it becomes second nature. These players have that and they come out with swag every single time. Every player has something that they bring to the team. It s a special group. On Seba s assist: Good quality and Seba is a great player. Seba is a different maker in this league and I think he shows that every game. So yea great for him to get those two assists and help us win. On Lalo s performance: Yea Lalo came out huge. Lalo was probably one of the key players in the game. He kept us in the game the whole time and he came up with some big times saves. That s what he s there for he came to do it today. On the nervous final minutes of the match: I think it was mental mistakes here and there. I think the first goal I gave it up and it ends up leading to a ball between them. And somehow the guy turns and scores. It was a little bit unfortunate because we did get behind him and somehow he still was able to turn and scored. It was just little mental mistakes. And towards the end a team like that it s going to be feeling it. Once you get crosses and start shooting, their keeper became their dangerous player. You do what you have to do but we won. The keeper almost became a true 9. Midfielder Sebastian Velasquez On league-leading 6 assists:

6 On the back of my mind I m not really thinking about individual stats. Obviously it s important and it's a part of my job as a playmaker to make things happen but for me it s just incredible what we ve done so far and to be able to come into the 12th game and be able to play for an opportunity to break a record, it's unbelievable and all the boys are showing the hard work we're putting in day in and day out and we re very fortunate to break this record and actually to continue it for the game in Scottsdale. On Reno and their attack: Reno has been on a great streak the last couple of games, they re a very good team and we have a lot of respect for them and we studied them as much as we could and they have one of the most dangerous forwards in the league, which is Dane Kelly, and we were very aware of him. At the same time we ve created this place to be our fortress, Rio Tinto is the place where we need to come out and set the tone and I think to be honest we didn t start very well and didn t start very hot. I don t think we came out very sharp but to be able to go up 2-1 into halftime and be able to be in that position second half I thought we came out a lot better, controlled the game at times and got opportunities and that's just how it works sometimes. It was a dirty game, but it shows the type of team we are, it shows that we have to be dirty sometimes but we can still grab 3 points. On home success at Rio Tinto Stadium: I think it comes down to knowing that this place is a place of respect. When you come to Rio Tinto you want to have a mindset that we want team to be scared to come here and play us. Teams are starting to realize that we have like 8 games won in a row, teams know that when they come here they are going to come for a battle and on top of that they have to play at altitude. We train in this thing every single day so they have to come ready and fit and so we ve shown what we re capable of and we re thankfully for everything that's going on. What Sebastian attributes to 6 goals and 6 assists: "Sticking to the game plan, coach believes in me and believes in what I can do, he s given me the opportunity to play the position which I have known my whole life, which is attacking mid, a lot of times when I ve played here I ve gotten a lot of critiques and I ve got into a lot of arguments with people that say I never played attacking mid for RSL. So now to be here at Real Monarchs and to be put into a professional environment and play the position that i know and to get 6 goals and 6 assists, its incredible. At the same time, I have an unbelievable team, we have to realize that. We have young MLS team, this is not a USL team. We train at an MLS level, we train against the first team sometimes, and we can show that we can compete at that level and our season is showing that. We re back at the top of the table, but at the same time we have to take it game by game. There is a lot of young players so sometimes we can get comfortable and it's all about maintaining your feet on the ground and just move on to the next game." How to maintain focus on achieving goals: "For me, as one of the captains, I have to say that we now hold the record and so now we have to continue to hold this record, it's not just cause we beat it that it stops now. We have no hardware and at the end of the day we have to win a championship, thats our goal. We said that whatever we re playing for is going to be every single game we get 3 points, if that puts us at the top of the table we want to be at the top of table every single week. If we re going to be in the power rankings, we have to be at the top of the power rankings. If we have someone in the goal scoring position than we want Chandler as the number one goal scorer. If we have the top assists, than we want Sebastian at the top of the assists. If we have a defender that's scoring the most goals, than we have a defender scoring the most goals. We re a very competitive team, we re going for every silverware, the best throw ins, we want to win that. We want to be a championship team and we want people to talk about the Monarchs and I think that where we re at right now and it's showing but it's not until the end of November until we re holding that trophy that we re going to know it s all worth it." Defender Taylor Peay On defending Dane Kelly: Both of those forwards are dangerous, so we want to keep them in front of us as much as we can. They beat us on the one goal but I think, for the most part, we executed our game plan as well as we could tonight, so we re fairly happy about it. On his first goal at Rio Tinto Stadium: It s awesome. It was a perfect service. It s awesome. On his defensive preference: Right back, center back. It doesn t matter. As long as I m on the field I m enjoying it. On the advantage of having homegrown players: One of the biggest things is there s a sense of pride. You see all of the homegrown players through the Monarchs. Then you see them up on the first team. Everyone s playing for the badge and there s a sense of pride behind it. It s awesome. On the importance of his goal: Absolutely. I grew up watching Real Salt Lake through high school. So to be able to score and help push this team to get a historical win is huge for everyone. I m very happy about it. Like I said, It s just something to build on. We still have a lot of season left so we ll go from there. On what his championship experience brings to the team: I think the coaching staff does a great job at not letting us get complacent. Overall, what s huge for us is we have amnesia. We don t get too high, we don t get too low. We celebrate a win and we re happy about it but we also know that we haven t done anything. Like [Sebastian Velasquez] said, we want more, more, more. Everyone s bought in. We re on the same page right now. We re happy about the win but we re going to forget about it now and we re on to the next. OPEN CUP SACRAMENTO Six weeks ago, Real Salt Lake signed eight Real Monarchs players to short-term agreements ahead of the June 14 Wednesday 1-4 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup loss at Sacramento The eight signed include goalkeeper Connor Sparrow, defenders Max Lachowecki, Kyle Curinga, Michael Gallagher and James Moberg, midfielder Nick Besler and forwards Andrew Brody and Daniel Haber Sparrow and Gallagher did not play, Brody and Curinga came off bench late and the other four started the match, mixed in with RSL teammates for the night MLS clubs may sign players from their USL affiliate to short-term agreements (up to four-day contracts) for Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League, Amway Canadian Championship, Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and exhibition matches An MLS club may sign a player to a maximum of four short-term agreements each season (maximum of 16 days) Clubs are not permitted to call up academy players or USL players not signed to professional contracts MONARCHS TRIO BLOCKED Due to an obscure MLS Players Union regulation, Velasquez, Hoffman and Monarchs DF Taylor Peay are currently ineligible to be called up by RSL for non-mls contests, including Open Cup and international friendlies, as the trio will all be aged 26 during this 2017 calendar year The MLSPU rule states that no players over 25 can sign the four-day callup contracts, although Vancouver s Kyle Greig was able to play 4 CONCACAF Champions League contests for the Whitecaps in 2016

7 JUNE 10: RM 2 : 0 POR Saturday June 10 at Rio Tinto Stadium, FW Chandler Hoffman and MF Andrew Brody tallied a goal apiece, as Real Monarchs (11-1-0, 33 points) earned a USL record-tying eighth consecutive victory with a 2-0 win against Portland Timbers 2 With the win, the Monarchs equaled the 2014 mark for consecutive victories set by Orlando City SC Additionally, the Monarchs now boast a seven-game home win streak at Rio Tinto Stadium dating back to last season, an active run which currently ranks fourth-best in the USL s all-time record book The Claret-and-Cobalt USL side applied heavy pressure in the first half and finally broke through in the 41 st minute, as MF Sebastian Velasquez served as the provider, Brody making no mistake from the center of the six yard box to open his 2017 account Brody s tally makes it 13 different Monarchs players to see their name appear on the scoresheet this season Throughout the match, Hoffman was dangerous, finally breaking through for his team-leading eighth goal of the season in the 67 th minute In the buildup to the consummate team goal, Brody, Velasquez and Hoffman were quick in transition, shifting the ball from the left to the right for the finish in the penalty area, Velasquez credited for his 2 nd assist of the night GK Lalo Fernandez did not need to make a save for his 2 nd shutout of the season and the Monarchs 5 th as HC Mark Briggs team has conceded just 3 goals in the club s last 584 minutes, outscoring opponents 15-3 in that span JUNE 3: RM 1 : 0 at OCSC On June 3, the Monarchs saw what proved to be the game-winning goal from FW Chandler Hoffman just 55 seconds into the game at Orange County, while GK Connor Sparrow stopped a penalty kick to preserve the clean sheet in the 1-0 win The PK save was Sparrow s second of the young season, while the shutout was his third and the team s fourth of 2017 Now in the club s third season, the Monarchs are re-writing their own record books every time out A year ago, the 10 th win was not reached until September 17, while the inaugural 2015 season saw just seven total wins In its first two seasons, Real Monarchs SLC had totaled just six wins combined in April, May and June, prior to 10 and counting this year MAY 28: RM 2 : 1 at VAN Monarchs DF Taylor Peay and MF Nick Besler converted on first-half set-piece opportunities, as Real Monarchs (9-1-0, 27 points, 2nd West / 2nd Overall in USL) held on to win 2-1 at McLeod Athletic Park against Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 on Sunday afternoon The Monarchs got the match off to a roaring start in the 6th minute after Besler flicked a header off a MF Charlie Adams corner kick in the direction of Peay The Salt Lake City native made no mistake, nodding the pass into the roof of the net The tally was Peay s first goal for the Claret-and-Cobalt USL side, becoming the 12th goalscorer for the club, and in his first-ever start for the third-year club MF Daniel Haber nearly scored against his former club moments later, as MF Sebastian Velasquez found the former Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 player on the left channel driving into the penalty area Haber s leftfooted strike across the face of goal challenged Paolo Tornaghi, but the Whitecaps goalkeeper was equal to the task Tornaghi limited the damage all afternoon, until the Monarchs broke through again the 22nd minute when Adams delivered perfect service from the corner and connected with Besler on the far post This time, the Monarchs Captain didn t need help as he headed home his third goal of the season The Monarchs have scored multiple goals in every one of the team's nine wins this season, the lone exception a 2-1 defeat against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on April 15. Real leads the league with 27 goals in 10 matches. The second half lacked the chances of the first, but Vancouver pulled one back in the 78th minute. Whitecaps FC 2 substitute Nicolas Apostol spotted Terran Campbell in behind in the center of the penalty area. Campbell finished from seven yards out to make it 2-1 But defensively, GK Lalo Fernandez and company were resolute dealing with Vancouver crosses and denying clear cut chances. Fernandez collected his lone save of the match in second half stoppage time. The RSL Academy graduate was positioned perfectly to stop the Thomas Sanner header MAY 20: RM 5 : 2 CSS FW Chandler Hoffman and MF Sebastian Velasquez led the attacking explosion with two goals each, as Real Monarchs (8-1-0, 24 points, 2 nd West) avenged the club s lone loss of the season with a 5-2 home win against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC at Rio Tinto Stadium Velasquez and Hoffman opened the offensive floodgates in the second half, combining for three goals in a six-minute span to spark the comefrom-behind win, the third-year club's fifth consecutive victory With the five-goal outburst, HC Mark Briggs side remains the highestscoring offense in the league with 25 total goals through nine matches, while the five-goal output matches the club s record set in early April during a 5-3 win over visiting Reno 1868 Colorado Springs opened its account first, when the Monarchs conceded a penalty kick on a 24 th -minute handball in the box Monarchs GK Connor Sparrow making his fourth consecutive start and entering the game with a 224-minute shutout streak stopped Aaron King s kick from the spot, but Switchbacks MF Josh Suggs tucked home the rebound from seven yards out Real Monarchs quickly equalized just five minutes later through an exquisite piece of play down the left side After combinations in midfield, MF Daniel Haber set up Hoffman on a platter just seven yards away from Moise Pouaty s goal Though the Switchbacks FC goalkeeper got a hand to it, the ball trickled past the line Velasquez began the second half scoring surge in the 51 st minute. DF James Moberg played in the dynamic playmaker with a 40-yard diagonal ball into the box Velasquez beat Jordan Burt to the end line, striking from a sharp angle to the far post The Haber-to-Hoffman connection proved fruitful once again in the 54 th minute For Hoffman s second tally, the forward was unmarked in the middle of the goal box for an easy tap-in after Haber s magic unlocked the defense With the Switchbacks defense shellshocked, Velasquez notched his second off a turnover at the top of the 18 Seba dispossessed Pascal Eboussi and finished past a diving Pouaty with a scoring left-footed blast With matching tallies, Hoffman and Velasquez stay tied atop the club s scoring race with six goals apiece DF Michael Gallagher reduced the Monarchs to 10 men in the 63 rd minute The defender was given his second yellow card for nullifying a breakaway by former RMSLC man Kevaughn Frater in front of the Colorado Springs bench

8 Still, the Monarchs scored their fifth and final goal with a short-handed effort Haber capped his two-assist birthday with a late goal, as the Canadian s right-footed shot from outside the box ricocheted off a defender into the top left corner in the 83 rd minute With the game in hand, Frater ended the five-goal run with a header past Sparrow in the 87th minute The Claret-and-Cobalt USL side used all three substitutions First-team regular DF Tony Beltran started and played the first half in a rehab stint, as Beltran had been sidelined with a back injury since mid-march DF Kyle Curinga took over for the RSL veteran in the second half Salt Lake City native DF Taylor Peay replaced Hoffman in the 68 th minute, while MF Jonel Desiré came in for Haber in the 84 th minute MAY 13: MONARCHS 2 : 0 SACRAMENTO Real Monarchs SLC (7-1-0, 21 points, 2 nd West) earned their fourth consecutive victory with a 2-0 win against Sacramento Republic FC on May 13, before 1,982 at Rio Tinto Stadium Goals from FW Daniel Haber (his first for RMSLC, and the 8 th of his USL career) and MF Sebastian Velasquez enabled GK Connor Sparrow and the Monarchs defense to secure a second straight clean sheet, pulling the Utah side to within two points of overall USL leader San Antonio (7-0-2, 23 points, 1 st West) Monarchs HC Mark Briggs saw his team s attack continue its blistering form as his side scored multiple goals in a match for the seventh time in eight games this year With the two-goal effort and a scoreless draw by San Antonio FC earlier in the evening, the Monarchs are the league s highest scoring offense with 20 total goals, despite one fewer game played Although opportunities were few and far between in the first half, the Monarchs broke through in the 39th minute MF Daniel Haber smashed home MF Andrew Brody s rebound into the roof of the net for his first goal of the season, giving the Monarchs 11 different goalscorers in 2017 On what proved to be the game-winner, Monarchs DF Max Lachowecki set up Brody on the far post, and even though Republic GK Evan Newton denied the first chance, Haber was on the doorstep to ensure the finish The home side sealed the match off early in the second half Quick in transition, the Monarchs turned a header out of their own penalty area into a goal Velasquez beat Sacramento DF Jeremy Hall in a foot race to the penalty area, and the dynamic playmaker finished calmly into the far post side-netting for his fourth tally of the year and his second in as many games Monarchs FW Chandler Hoffman earned the assist for playing Velasquez into the Republic FC half, the duo each tied with four goals on the season Sparrow earned his second clean sheet of the campaign and the week The Monarchs GK denied Republic FC s best chance in the early stages, as Sparrow positioned a five-man wall smartly and collected the save on Danny Barrera s 6th minute free kick from 25 yards out In total, the keeper collected two saves for his third win of the season, and backstopped the Monarchs to an active 224-minute shutout streak MONARCHS PROMOTE MARK BRIGGS TO HC Nearly three months ago, Real Monarchs promoted Mark Briggs to the USL club s head coaching position, Real Monarchs General Manager Elliot Fall announced Terms of Briggs multi-year deal were not disclosed Briggs replaced Mike Petke, who was promoted effective April 2 from the Monarchs HC to assume the same position for Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer The Briggs/Petke duo worked together throughout the preseason, winning 2-1 on Saturday, March 25 at Portland in the USL club s 2017 opener Briggs and his staff earned the first home win of the season by a 2-0 scoreline on April 1 against Phoenix Rising FC, and then became the first USL team to post a perfect mark with a scintillating 5-3 win on April 6 against expansion club Reno 1868 FC at Rio Tinto Stadium The 2017 Monarchs suffered their first and to this point only loss of the campaign four weeks ago at Colorado Springs, by a 2-1 scoreline, before rebounding with a 3-1 road win at Seattle on April 22 "I am thankful for this opportunity to lead such a critical piece of the Real Salt Lake pyramid," said Briggs, 35, a former midfielder who played in the English Premier League (West Bromwich Albion, ), the Danish Superliga (Herfølge, 2003/04) and the USL (Wilmington Hammerheads, 2009, ), amongst a 16-year playing career "The aspiration, vision and culture of this organization is unparalleled, and I can t wait for our home debut Our 2017 Monarchs plans have been two-fold for the last several months, continued Briggs While the end goal is to develop MLScaliber players, an important part of development is winning. Finding success on the field goes hand-in-hand with our philosophy of winning in the USL while simultaneously teaching young players how to become more-polished professionals Briggs arrived at the Utah club last November, and his Monarchs staff will continue to include Matt Glaeser his assistant at Wilmington before joining the Monarchs five months ago along with former RSL and Red Bulls defender Jamison Olave, who retired as a player following the 2016 season and has spent recent months earning his coaching accreditations and assisting with the Monarchs Mark s appointment is reflective of the natural progression of what the Monarchs represent within our club structure, said Fall, the Salt Lake City native who has worked for RSL since 2007 Briggs possesses an intimate understanding of how we balance our developmental philosophy of giving players vital minutes in a professional atmosphere, with that of winning games, entertaining fans and feeding Utah s soccer culture Briggs, a Wolverhampton, England native, boasts previous head coaching experience, guiding the now-defunct USL Wilmington Hammerheads whom he led to a USL title in 2009 as a player, served as a player-coach in before becoming Head Coach in the 2015/16 seasons Last June, the Briggs-led Hammerheads pushed Real Salt Lake to the limit in the Third Round of the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the USL side falling in a penalty shootout tiebreaker at Rio Tinto Stadium after an even 2-2 scoreline through 120 minutes of regulation and extra time Under Briggs guidance, the group will continue its mantra of integrating a consistent system and style of play across all teams, with the primary aim of developing players for the parent club Back in December, Petke was hired as the Real Monarchs second-ever head coach, replacing original boss Freddy Juarez, who was promoted to RSL assistant coach Dec. 6 after guiding the USL franchise from its inception Juarez, formerly the director of RSL s Arizona academy and a graduate of Major League Soccer s French Football Federation curriculum prior to leading the Monarchs to a mark in 2015/16, cultivated the valuable developmental aspect for the USL side, watching FW Emery Welshman, DF Chris Schuler and FW Ricardo Velazco matriculate to