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SANDY — For 85 minutes of Wednesday night’s U.S. Open Cup match, Real Monarchs looked like the winning team.
Were it not for the first five, the Monarchs might have been, too.
Aaron King struck pay dirt on the only shot on goal for visiting Colorado Springs, and Switchbacks FC advanced to the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 1-0 win at Rio Tinto Stadium.
The Switchbacks will play at MLS side Colorado Rapids on June 16, when Real Salt Lake hosts Seattle Sounders FC 2 in U.S. Open Cup play.
“The heart that they showed was unbelievable,” said Monarchs captain Ricardo Velazco, who had a game-high seven shots and four on target. “I’ve played on dozens of teams, and never have we come out as fired up as during the second half. We came out flying, and I felt from the first whistle that it would be a different game. You can’t ask for more.”
The Monarchs (1-6-3 in USL) outshot the Switchbacks 19-5 on the game, including an 11-2 margin in the second half as the Salt Lake side threw numbers at the goal. Velazco had the Monarchs’ first big shot at the equalizer just 11 minutes in, but his attempt from the corner of the box was stopped by one of goalkeeper Samir Badr’s four saves.
Still, the equalizer never came, and King’s chip over goalkeeper Eric Osswald off a cross from Josh Phillips stood up.
The heart that they showed was unbelievable. I've played on dozens of teams, and never have we come out as fired up as during the second half. We came out flying, and I felt from the first whistle that it would be a different game. You can't ask for more.
–Monarchs captain Ricardo Velazco
“It felt unlucky to not score or for me to get an assist. But we played excellent,” Velazco said. “I take some responsibility for not scoring on a few of those chances. I could score those with my eyes closed on another day. It was a tough loss.”
Velazco totaled all four of the Monarchs’ shots on goal for a game-high, but Max Rauhofer also had five shots and Emery Welshman four for the Monarchs.
Only forward Nate Robinson had more than one shot for the Switchbacks (4-4-0 in USL), leading his team with two.
But Colorado Springs would only need one chance.
“We threw everything but the kitchen sink at them, and we lost on one touch,” Monarchs coach Freddy Juarez said. “We knew (Colorado Springs) would be a tough team. We asked our guys to be brave, be daring, not be afraid of making mistakes, and they did it. We just didn’t get the goal.”
Real Monarchs return to USL play Saturday against the defending champion Sacramento Republic FC, the lone win for the Monarchs in USL play. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. at Bonney Field in northern California.
“I hope we can carry that performance on to the league,” Juarez said. “We have to go play the champs in Sacramento, and that was all we can ask for our guys. We need that type of performance, and it’s something we can hopefully carry on and score some goals, too.”
