USL Championship – Match 27
Energy FC @ Real Monarchs SLC
Friday, August 30 – 9 p.m. CDT
Zions Bank Stadium – Sandy, Utah

Where to Watch

All-Ages Watch Party at Guyutes
ESPN+
@EnergyFC on Twitter

Week 25 Recap

Energy FC (9-8-9, 5th, 36 points) are back on the road after a four-goal, first-half flurry propelled the Greens to a big home win over Austin Bold FC. An own goal caused by Rafael Garcia was followed by a Goal of the Week contender from Garcia, and then Christian Eissele scored his fourth goal in four games before Deshorn Brown put the lead out of reach with his 10th goal of the season.

Rafa’s performance earned him a spot on the bench of the USL Championship’s Team of the Week and a Goal of the Week runner-up honors. Cody Laurendi is currently in second place in the latest Save of the Week poll for his penalty save against Austin. Take a second and vote for him – a bunch of times.

Week 26 Preview

Looking to extend the winning streak to three games, OKC heads west to take on Real Monarchs SLC, a team they’ve lost to on all three occasions they’ve met in the greater Salt Lake City area. It won't easy, as SLC boast an impressive 8-2-1 record at home this season.

In their most recent encounter, the sides drew 1-1 at Taft Stadium on May 18, with Cordell Cato and Tate Schmitt getting on the scoresheet.

Real Monarchs are enjoying quite a resurgence as of late, having won seven of their last 11 matches, however, their most recent outing, away to Orange County SC, ended in a 3-1 defeat.

The one to watch out for on the opposition is Douglas Martinez. Martinez is SLC’s goals and assists leader with 10 and six, respectively.

Real Monarchs made news this week with the transfer of defender Stanley Okumu to Swedish First Division side IF Elfsborg for a USL Championship-record transfer fee.

OKC will be without Josh Garcia after the midfielder was called up to Dominican Republic national team for a friendly against the United Arab Emirates on August 30 and two Concacaf Nations League matches against Montserrat on September 7 and El Salvador on September 10.

Deshorn Brown still leads OKC with 10 goals, Omar Gordon has the most assists with seven, and Laurendi has extended his USL saves lead to 84.

Table Talk

Back-to-back wins have the Greens in fifth place in the Western Conference standings – level on points with fourth place Austin but trailing due to Bold FC having more wins. For those that aren’t aware, total wins is the first tiebreaker in the USL, goal differential is second and goals scored is third.

Don’t let the league position fool you, though. Despite OKC sitting in fifth, 14th place Las Vegas Lights FC only trails the Greens by five points with a game in hand. So, basically anything can happen between now and the end of the season, and nothing short of a strong finish will do in the quest for postseason qualification.

Friday’s match kicks off from Zion’s Bank Stadium at 9 p.m. CDT, and as always, it can be streamed live on ESPN+. The official, all-ages watch party will be at Guyutes on Uptown 23rd St.