Real Maryland F.C.
Logo
Full nameReal Maryland Football Club
Nickname(s)The Monarchs
Founded2007
StadiumLester Stadium
Rockville, Maryland
Capacity5,000
OwnerSpain Victor Moran
General ManagerUnited States David Noyes
Head CoachSpain Silvino Gonzalo
LeagueUSL League Two
20122nd, South Atlantic
Playoffs: Quarter Finals
WebsiteClub 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 GK Dustin Butcher  United States
2 DF Matthew Griffin  United States
3 MF Josh Danza  United States
4 DF Adetomiwa Adewole  United States
6 DF Samuel Clare  England
7 MF Val Teixeira  Portugal
8 MF George Fochive  United States
9 FW Olakunle Banjo  United States
10 MF Julio Arjona  United States
11 FW David Neuberth  United States
12 DF Paul Andrews  Republic of Ireland
13 MF Caleb Iglesias  El Salvador
14 MF Jesse Sokolow  United States
15 FW Dennis Runikera  Solomon Islands
17 DF Uzi Tayou  Cameroon
18 FW Franck Tayou  Cameroon
19 DF Travis Dennis  United States
22 MF Alan Flott  United States
23 MF Aboubacarim Ndaw  Senegal
24 DF Bush Yormie  Liberia
25 MF John Snyder  United States
26 DF Nicholas Van Hollen  United States
27 MF Ian Hendrie  United States
28 DF Emilio Cornago  Argentina
29 FW Michael Brennan  United States
30 DF Spencer Williams  United States

Staff

  • United States David Noyes - General Manager
  • Spain Silvino Gonzalo - Head Coach
  • United States David Edlow - Assistant Coach
  • Portugal Val Teixeira - Assistant Coach
  • United States Edward Brown - Assistant/Goalkeeper Coach
  • United States Jordan Friedlander-Tapia - Assistant U-20s and U-17s

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

Stadium

Average attendance

Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive at here

  • 2009: 608
  • 2010: 798
  • 2011: 923
  • 2012: 1,051

References

  1. ↑ Maryland club to join USL-2 in 2008
  2. ↑ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". www.uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on 2008-04-25.
  3. ↑ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". www.uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-16.
  4. ↑ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". www.uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on 2008-06-14.
  5. ↑ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2011-05-21.
  6. ↑ "Real Maryland shuts down after five years of existence — Soccer Wire". Archived from the original on 2016-03-05.
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