Tacoma Defiance traveled to Salt Lake City on Sunday and earned a 4-2 away win against Real Monarchs, driven by their best offensive performance of the year. The players shined under the bright lights of America First Field, as they played in the Real Salt Lake home stadium instead of the Monarchs’ usual home, Zions Bank Stadium.
The game got off to a rough start with the Monarchs getting a goal within the first 10 minutes of the game. Lionel Djiro received the ball and played a give-and-go with Owen Anderson to get space at the top of the box. After shaking Mark O’Neill with a hesitation, he dribbled centrally, then took a cut back shot past Max Anchor into the side netting.
Things then turned badly for the Monarchs, starting with what looked to be a severe injury to Linkon Ream. On a Defiance corner taken short, Xavi Gnaulati challenged Ream to a 50/50 ball and the resulting collision took the Monarch player out of the game on a stretcher.
The Defiance showed resiliency to stay in the game, scoring an equalizer in the 35th minute. Mark Bronnik ran onto a long clearance toward the far touchline, holding the ball up while Charlie Gaffney started an underlapping run. Bronnik was able to play a beautiful slipped ball into his path and Gaffney slotted the shot past the keeper. Only 3 minutes later, Defiance took the lead on the counter when Gnaulati beat two Monarch players on the dribble before feeding Bronnik in the left channel. Bronnik took the defender on by cutting inside and placed a curling shot into the side netting.
Tacoma’s momentum carried over into the second half when Bronnik got his second goal of the game in the 50th minute. Edson Carli controlled a long ball from Demian Alvarez, and played a nice ball centrally with two defenders marking him. This found a wide open Bronnik, who took one dribble then slotted his shot in the bottom corner. The fourth and final goal for Defiance was filled with good movement and players displaying extreme confidence. Gaffney was found out on the right and played a ball centrally for Bronnik. He pulled off a behind the back flick to an on rushing Rafael Jauregui which put him in the box. Jauregui then cut back, putting the defender and keeper on skates before calmly finishing.
Real Monarchs tried to make the game interesting with a 69th minute goal off some poor defending on a set piece, but it ultimately proved fruitless.
Overview
Lineup
Substitutions
- 63' Danny Robles ⇆ Xavi Gnaulati
- 76' Drew Brown ⇆ Codey Phoenix
- 76' Saku Kitafuji ⇆ Rafael Jauregui
- 84' Vitalii Kolomiets ⇆ Mark Bronnik
Goals
- 9' Real Monarchs - ⚽ Lionel Djiro (Owen Anderson)
- 35' Tacoma Defiance - ⚽ Charlie Gaffney (Mark Bronnik)
- 38' Tacoma Defiance - ⚽ Mark Bronnik (Xavi Gnaulati)
- 50' Tacoma Defiance - ⚽ Mark Bronnik (Edson Carli)
- 55' Tacoma Defiance - ⚽ Rafael Jauregui (Mark Bronnik)
- 69' Real Monarchs - ⚽ Izahi Amparo
Stats
Key performers
Mark Bronnik
Bronnik was probably the most intriguing signing the Defiance made before the season, and this game was clear evidence of his potential. He was extremely goal dangerous with 2 goals and 6 total shots. However, more encouraging was how creative and involved he was in the offensive build up. His 2 assists in particular required excellent vision to recognize the chance. The slow start to his year is officially over as he is now on 7 goals and 3 assists in 914 minutes played.
Edson Carli
Another player who had a slow start to the year but has been finding his form. Carli balanced being a controlling outlet, completing 15 of his 17 passes while also looking for the dangerous passes. His assist was the most notable, where he was able to find a centering ball while being marked by two defenders. He also was looking for long switches to open up space to attack into, which ultimately was the start of the final goal for Defiance, when he found Charlie Gaffney near the right touchline. Another good sign in this game was how he competed, getting involved in 15 duels and winning 9 of them.
Rafael Jauregui
The third head of the attacking trio that led this team to its best offensive performance of the year, Jauregui showed calmness and confidence in the finish on his goal, while also being a real threat in progressing the ball. He finished with 100% success rate on his 4 dibbles and found 3 passes into the final third. The chemistry he has developed with Bronnik and Carli is starting to really click and is a great sign for the attack moving forward.
