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Year in Review: Real Monarchs SLC

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 11/11/16, 5:05PM EST

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Ups and downs saw Monarchs come up short in playoff race


Photo courtesy David Calvert / Real Monarchs SLC

Having ended the club’s inaugural season on a high, Real Monarchs SLC was hoping to find a place in the postseason awaiting them at the end of its second year in the USL. But while the side came far closer than in 2015, the ups and downs of the season saw the Monarchs come up short in the end.

While that was the case, the season provided some major high spots, including the signing of standout creative midfielder Ricardo Velazco as a Homegrown Player. The Monarchs showed they could compete with anyone in the league, but for a playoff berth next season will now need to find ways to avoid the kind of let-downs that cost them valuable points over the season.

2016 USL SEASON IN REVIEW

Record: 10-14-6, 36pts
Place: 11th in the Western Conference
Goals For: 31
Goals Against: 41
USL Cup Playoffs: N/A

2016 leaders: Ricardo Velazco (8 goals, 6 assists), Lalo Fernandez (84 saves)

WHAT WENT RIGHT

When the Monarchs were on their game, there weren’t many teams that were more enjoyable to watch. Velazco led the way in the attacking third, and among his eight goals were some magnificent finishes, but others such as Andrew Brody and Maikon Orellana in attack and Lalo Fernandez in goal also had some major high spots.

WHAT WENT WRONG

The Monarchs had numerous high moments, as exhibited in their victories against Sacramento Republic FC and the Swope Park Rangers, but the consistency the side needed to reach the postseason never quite materialized. A three-game winning stretch in August was their only multi-game winning streak of the season, as six of the team’s other seven wins were followed by a defeat.

GOALS OF THE SEASON

Ricardo Velazco produced a number of highlight-reel finishes during the season, and this one against Sacramento sparked a remarkable late comeback that saw the Monarchs take a 3-2 victory.

Velazco saved some of his best performance for Real’s games with Sacramento, with this outside-of-the-boot finish in Reno another highlight of his year.

SAVES OF THE SEASON

Homegrown signing Lalo Fernandez appeared in most of the Monarchs’ contests in 2016, and showed off his shot-stopping prowess with saves like this from Vancouver’s Ben McKendry.

Eric Osswald served as a back-up for much of the season, but grabbed the spotlight with an excellent save against Orange County Blues FC late in the season.

HE SAID IT

“This seasons taught us some lessons and we took some chances while we tried to figure out what type of player we can develop. We didn’t get that part wrong, but we need to sign players with more experience for next year to help that process.”– Real Salt Lake General Manager Craig Waibel

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