Sounders 2 vs Real Monarchs Recap - A royal affair

Sounders 2 were without a full bench and missing about half of their starters. A handful of players went with the first team to Philadelphia and most of the Academy is at their playoff tournament meaning that there three outfield players on the bench and a backup keeper. This did not stop S2 from taking down the not so royal Monarchs.

S2 controlled the flow of the game for much of the first half with the Monarchs only getting a couple of chances in the half. The brightest moment for either side in the first half was Sam Garza drawing a PK in 24th minute. Unfortunately, Pablo Rossi stutter stepped and skied his PK. The rest of the half was pretty quiet for both sides, ending 0-0.

S2 continued where they left off dictating possession and found a few more opportunties and free kicks for Rossi to try out. Visibly frusterated after four chances were all wasted by Rossi, he gave S2 the lead. Andy Craven ran onto a long ball out wide on the right, found Rossi streaking into the box, where he tried to beat the keeper but was easily saved before finishing the pinballing rebound to give S2 a lead with just over 30 minutes left.

The lack of a bench started to show, as the Monarchs brought on fresh players and sent in wave after wave of attack. In the end the Monarchs could not get anything for their efforts that forced Charlie Lyon into 11 saves.

Giuliano Frano almost cost the Sounders the game when he sent a back pass to Lyon, which Lyon picked up. Salt Lake got an indirect free kick just outside the 6-yard box and gave a chilling reminder of the US Open Cup match in Salt Lake against the pro side. This time S2 made the necessary save and finished with a shutout in this one.