Real Maryland F.C.

Real Maryland F.C.
Full name Real Maryland Football Club
Nickname(s) The Monarchs
Founded 2007
Stadium Lester Stadium
Rockville, Maryland
Ground Capacity 5,000
Owner Spain Victor Moran
General Manager United States David Noyes
Head Coach Spain Silvino Gonzalo
League Premier Development League
2012 2nd, South Atlantic
Playoffs: Quarter Finals
Website Club website

Real Maryland F.C., commonly known as the Real Maryland Monarchs, was an American soccer team based in Rockville, Maryland, United States. Founded in 2007, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the South Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference, having voluntarily self-relegated from the USL Second Division at the end of 2010. The team suspended operations after the 2012 season.

From 2009 to 2012, the team played its home games at Roy Lester Stadium on the campus of Richard Montgomery High School. The team's colors are white, gold and black. The team's nickname, the Monarchs or "Los Monarcas", is intended to reflect the state of Maryland’s colonial roots under Lords Calvert and Baltimore.

In addition to the professional team, the club fielded a team in the USL’s Super-20 League, a league for players 17 to 20 years of age run under the United Soccer Leagues umbrella. The club also fielded four teams in the USL's Super Y-League, with teams in the U14, U15, U16, and U17 divisions.

History

Real Maryland was launched in July 2007 as an expansion franchise joining the USL Second Division in 2008.[1] The club's majority owner, Victor Moran, named the club Real Maryland because he intended "to create a REAL event, not just a soccer game", and hired former Northern Virginia Royals head coach Silvino Gonzalo to lead his team in its inaugural campaign.

The Monarchs played their first official game on April 20, 2008, a 1-0 loss to the Western Mass Pioneers,[2] but secured their first ever victory the following week with a 2-0 win over the Pittsburgh Riverhounds; the first goal in franchise history was scored by Bill Brindley.[3] Unfortunately, the Monarchs' first season in USL2 was a difficult one, despite the on-field presence of former Salvadoran internationals Dennis Alas and Ronald Cerritos. They secured two more victories in May, 3-2 over the Cleveland City Stars and 2-1 over the Wilmington Hammerheads, but after conceding a last minute goal to lose 2-1 at home to Cleveland on June 8,[4] fell apart thereafter, and by mid-season were already adrift at the bottom of the standings. Head coach Gonzalo was replaced by Antonio Carlos Vieira in July, but he could do nothing to halt the slide. They suffered several embarrassing defeats towards the end of the regular season, losing 4-0 to the Harrisburg City Islanders, 5-2 to the Wilmington Hammerheads, 6-0 to the Richmond Kickers, and 8-0 to the Charlotte Eagles, their worst result of the season. A 1-1 tie with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on the last day of the regular season did little to brighten the mood at the Maryland Soccer Plex, as the Monarchs finished dead last in the division; to make matters worse, the team was then docked a point by the league for rules infringement, leaving them seven points adrift of their closest rivals, the Bermuda Hogges. Nilson Perez was the team's top scorer in its debut season, with six goals.[5]

In 2010, it was announced that the Monarchs would move from the USL Second Division to the USL Premier Development League (PDL).

In November 2012, the team announced that it was suspending operations for both the PDL team and the youth programs.[6]

Players

2012 roster

No. Position Player Nation
1 Goalkeeper Dustin Butcher  United States
2 Defender Matthew Griffin  United States
3 Midfielder Josh Danza  United States
4 Defender Adetomiwa Adewole  United States
6 Defender Samuel Clare  England
7 Midfielder Val Teixeira  Portugal
8 Midfielder George Fochive  United States
9 Forward Olakunle Banjo  United States
10 Midfielder Julio Arjona  United States
11 Forward David Neuberth  United States
12 Defender Paul Andrews  Ireland
13 Midfielder Caleb Iglesias  El Salvador
14 Midfielder Jesse Sokolow  United States
15 Forward Dennis Runikera  Solomon Islands
17 Defender Uzi Tayou  Cameroon
18 Forward Franck Tayou  Cameroon
19 Defender Travis Dennis  United States
22 Midfielder Alan Flott  United States
23 Midfielder Aboubacarim Ndaw  Senegal
24 Defender Bush Yormie  Liberia
25 Midfielder John Snyder  United States
26 Defender Nicholas Van Hollen  United States
27 Midfielder Ian Hendrie  United States
28 Defender Emilio Cornago  Argentina
29 Forward Michael Brennan  United States
30 Defender Spencer Williams  United States

Staff

Notable former players

This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team in the Premier Development League, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.

Year-by-year

Year Division League Regular Season Playoffs Open Cup
2008 3 USL Second Division 10th Did not qualify 2nd Round
2009 3 USL Second Division 5th Quarter Finals 2nd Round
2010 3 USL Second Division 6th Did not qualify 2nd Round
2011 4 USL PDL 3rd, South Atlantic Did not qualify Did not qualify
2012 4 USL PDL 2nd, South Atlantic Quarter Finals Did not qualify

Head coaches

Stadia

Average attendance

Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive at http://www.uslsoccer.com/history/index_E.html.

References

  1. ↑ Maryland club to join USL-2 in 2008
  2. ↑ http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2008/650676.html
  3. ↑ http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2008/650675.html
  4. ↑ http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2008/650672.html
  5. ↑ http://www.uslsoccer.com/teams/2008/roster/8969534.html
  6. ↑ http://www.soccerwire.com/news/real-maryland-shuts-down-after-five-years-of-existence/
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