Hungry Monarchs pounce early, overwhelm Portland Timbers 2

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Real Monarchs lost on a last-minute penalty in Colorado in their last match out, and had ten days to stew about it. Last night, they took out their frustrations on visiting Portland Timbers 2 (T-6th place Western Conference) in a 4-1 victory at Zions Bank Stadium.

The Monarchs came out flying and never looked back.

“It was a focus on being aggressive,” said head coach Mark Lowry. “There was good energy about our attacks, a good aggression. (I’m) really proud of the group for that response.”

Early Pressure, Early Goals

From the opening whistle, Real Monarchs were on the front foot. In just the second minute, Jesús Barea jumped a pass and ignited a break, feeding Tyler Wolff for a shot that stung the gloves of Timbers keeper Lukas Burns. A minute later, Ruben Mesalles sent a threatening back-post cross just inches over Wolff’s head.

The breakthrough came in the 5th minute. A deep throw-in from Barea to Wolff was squared perfectly to a wide-open Mesalles, who tapped in his second goal in as many games to give the Monarchs the lead.

“We were hungry this week in training,” said Mesalles after the match. “I didn’t expect back-to-back goals ever as a left back, but I’m gonna keep rolling with it, I’m excited. I see Tyler get the ball, I’m in acres of space, I see the back post is open- I gotta be at the end of that or my coach will kill me,” he said, laughing.

Wolff turned from provider to finisher in the 17th minute. After Kobi Henry lofted a ball into the final third, Mesalles collected and played in Owen Anderson, who took a hard shoulder challenge but managed a precise pass to Wolff. The winger made no mistake, calmly slotting home for 2-0.

Kerkvliet Keeps it Clean (For a While)

Monarchs goalkeeper Max Kerkvliet made a stunning full-extension save in the 24th minute to preserve the Monarchs’ lead, just minutes before a scary moment at the other end of the pitch saw Brayan Sandoval and Portland defender Ian Smith both receive treatment after clashing heads going for a rebound.

The Monarchs kept pushing—Barea nearly curled in a free kick in the 36th after Sandoval was pulled down just outside the box—but they went into halftime with a deserved 2-0 cushion.

Second Half Dominance

In the 54th, Wolff struck again—latching onto a long ball from Griffin Dillon, timing his run to perfection, and showcasing his nose for goal with a cheeky chip over Burns for his second of the night.

“We said before the game- we can get two, three, four goals- and we did that,” Wolff said. “I think we could have gotten a couple more. So just overall- happy with the performance and hopefully we can keep going.” 

Portland pulled one back in the 70th minute when winger Mataeo Bunbury stepped up to a loose deflection and smashed a volley just inside the post, ending Kerkvliet’s hopes of a clean sheet.

Touray Puts It Away

But any hopes of a comeback were dashed in stoppage time. In the 93rd minute, Wolff played a perfect through ball to second-half sub Ousman Touray, who outpaced his marker, who slipped trying to foul him — and finished confidently with his left foot to record his first Monarchs goal and seal the 4-1 win.

Match Notes:

• Man of the Match: Tyler Wolff- 2 goals, 2 assists. The leader of the pack.
• Other standout performers: Ruben Mesalles (1 goal, 1 assist), Owen Anderson (gutsy assist), Max Kerkvliet (key early saves)
• The Monarchs’ relentless attack generated 19 total shots to Portland’s 5 and registered 8 on target
• Despite holding only 52% possession, Monarchs dominated touches in the attacking box (23 to Portland’s 4).
• The match was chippy- the teams combined for 24 fouls and 7 yellow cards- 5 to the Monarchs

Up Next

The Monarchs, who jumped from 12th to 6th in the Western Conference and still have matches in hand on the teams above them, are back in action quickly, heading to California to take on Ventura County FC (affiliated with LA Galaxy) on Sunday. 

“Ventura is a very good team, we always have difficult games there,” said Head Coach Lowry. “The first team plays in LA on Saturday so we could see 1 or 2 stay and play (with Monarchs). We need to make sure they do what Tyler did today- take the opportunity to put in a good professional performance and hopefully we can come away with 3 points again.”  

Kickoff is scheduled at 8 p.m. MT on Sunday June 1 at William Rolland Stadium in Thousand Oaks, CA. The match will stream on Apple TV+ via MLS Season Pass. For more coverage of Real Salt Lake, Real Monarchs, and Utah Royals, check out the Royal Riot Podcast, available on all major streaming platforms.