SANDY, Utah – Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 found some late magic as Brett Levis tallied a stoppage-time game-winner to lift the Western Conference leader to a 2-1 victory against Real Monarchs SLC on Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium. Daniel Haber scored Vancouver’s other goal in the opening half. WFC2 maintained a 1-0 lead for much of the match until the Monarchs’ Tyler Arnone tied the score in the 86th minute in what turned into a chaotic finish. With the win, Vancouver improved to 9-2-5 (32 points) and 5-1-3 on the road. The Monarchs fell to 5-9-4 (19 points) overall and 2-4-2 at home. They have now dropped five of their past six games (1-5-0).

Scoring:
17’ – VAN – Daniel Haber (Fatawu Safiu)
86’ – SLC – Tyler Arnone (Frederick Amankona)
90’+ – VAN – Brett Levis (Matthew Baldisimo)

Three Things That Mattered:

• 1. The ebbs, flows and chances for both sides could not have been more on display than the final stretch of Saturday’s match. With Vancouver seemingly on its way to a win with less than five minutes remaining in regulation, the Monarchs’ Frederick Amankona worked the ball to Tyler Arnone on the left side of the box for an 86th-minute equalizer. Arnone, sliding in celebration, cramped up as he struggled to regain his footing near the corner flag. But the Western Conference-leading WFC2 was not to be deterred as Matthew Baldisimo’s cross to Brett Levis was directed into the net as Vancouver grabbed the road win to continue its strong second season in the USL.

• 2. Vancouver looked the part of the West’s top team in the early going, tallying the first goal in the 17th minute. Captain Kyle Greig, though it won’t show in a boxscore, did the rigorous work to steal the ball in midfield and put WFC2 on the attack as Fatawu Safiu led Daniel Haber who slotted his shot in from the left to take a 1-0 lead for his fifth goal of the season.

• 3. The opening half could have been a relatively high-scoring opening 45 minutes. Outside of the Haber goal, both sides also hit the woodwork after that tally. The Monarchs’ Kevaughn Frater struck the right post in the 31st minute, and Haber nearly notched a second goal when his attempt caromed off of the right post in the 36th minute.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match:
Brett Levis, Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 - Levis tallied the game-winning goal in stoppage time to clinch a big road victory and a full three points for the West leaders.

Upcoming Games:
Real Monarchs SLC at Sacramento Republic FC – July 6, 11 p.m. ET, Bonney Field
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 at Rio Grande Valley FC – July 13, 8:30 p.m. ET, UTRGV Soccer Complex