The Town FC couldn’t find an offensive rhythm for most of the match, allowing Real Monarchs to take control and eventually secure three points.

HERRIMAN, Utah. — The Town FC fell in regulation for the first time in over a month Sunday, falling 2-1 to Real Monarchs at Zions Bank Stadium.

Real Monarchs (7-12-5, 29 points) took a first-half lead and never looked back, while The Town (9-7-8, 39 points) struggled to generate offense, allowing the Utah-based club to take control and ultimately secure three points.

Forward Riley Lynch was TTFC’s offensive leader in the match, scoring in the 79th minute off a cross from forward Julian Donnery to pull the team within a goal with limited time remaining. But when it was all said and done, the momentum arrived too late and The Town FC failed to cover ground in the standings.

The Town was without defender Aaron Edwards — who co-leads the team with six goals — as he suffered a hip injury on Sept. 1, sidelining him against Real Monarchs.

Lynch’s goal was his sixth of the season, placing him even with Edwards and midfielder Eduardo Blancas at the top of TTFC’s leaderboard. Donnery’s assist was his second, bringing him to five goal contributions in his debut season.

The Town FC initially celebrated in the 20th minute when Lynch found the back of the net, but his attack was called offside. From there, Real Monarchs finished the half with a full head of steam, as midfielder Noel Caliskan scored off a rebound in the 39th minute to break the scoreless draw.

Caliskan’s goal followed a string of unsuccessful Real Monarchs chances, giving the team confidence heading into the break.

Goalkeeper Jacob Jackson was between the posts for The Town FC’s second straight match and made a season-high seven saves, but couldn’t secure the win.

Jackson had saved forward Jhalmar Joffre Soliz’s 78th-minute penalty kick, but as Jackson fell out of position, Joffre Soliz rebounded his own attempt and scored to give Real Monarchs a 2-0 lead and much-needed insurance.

While Lynch’s goal one minute later gave The Town a chance, when the final whistle blew, Real Monarchs held on to keep their playoff hopes alive at 12th in the Western Conference.

TTFC sits in sixth in the conference, trailing three teams by three points with four matches to play. The Town FC previously defeated Real Monarchs twice this season, but couldn’t complete the season sweep.

Only North Texas SC (13-4-7, 51 points) and St. Louis CITY2 (15-6-3, 49 points) have clinched playoff berths so far, so The Town FC will look to secure a spot and join the two sides in the postseason as the season winds down.

The Town will finish its road trip up north against Vancouver Whitecaps 2 (9-9-6, 36 points). Each team has one head-to-head victory but TTFC won the most recent matchup 2-0 on Aug. 18. 

Three points behind The Town FC, Whitecaps 2 will be vying for a victory to move up in the table.

Vancouver has gone scoreless in its last two matches and hasn’t won in regulation since July 6. The Town FC will hope to find the win column against a team that has been generally inconsistent and streaky this season when the two meet on Sept. 15.

The match will be TTFC’s second-to-last road match of the regular season and will kick off at 7 p.m. at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, British Columbia.

MEDIA ASSETS

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MATCH INFORMATION

2024 MLS NEXT Pro Season

Real Monarchs 2 – 1 The Town FC

Zions Bank Stadium

Sunday, September 8, 2024

Scoring Summary: 

SLC (1-0) — N. Caliskan 39’

SLC (2-0) — J. Joffre 78’

TTFC (2-1) — R. Lynch 79’

Misconduct Summary:

TTFC — W. Eisner (Caution) 31’

SLC — J. Orozco (Caution) 32’

TTFC — O. Verhoeven (Caution) 53’

TTFC — S. Bilter (Caution) 77’

SLC — N. Caliskan (Caution) 83’

TTFC — J. Garcia (Caution) 89’

TTFC — J. Jackson (Caution) 90 + 1’

Real Monarchs: W. Mackay (GK), D. Silva, K. Storlie, E. Holt (C), J. Orozco, Z. Gozo (C. Grayson – 88’), G. Dillon, N. Caliskan, D. Iskenderian (O. Marquez – 59’), J. Perruzza (J. Joffre – 71’), O. Anderson (B. Redzic – 71’)

Substitutes not used: I. Amparo, L. Rivera, Z. Farnsworth, S. Hall, N. Ovalle

SHOTS: 15; SHOTS ON GOAL: 9; FOULS: 14; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 1 

The Town FC: J. Jackson (GK), W. Eisner (R. Ibarra – 46’), A. Cano, S. Bilter, O. Verhoeven, B. Leroux (J. Garcia – 46’), E. Mendoza (T. Allen – 82’), C. Medina (C), W. Richmond (J. Donnery – 64’), E. Blancas (J. Spivey – 64’), R. Lynch

Substitutes not used: R. Rajagopal, D. Sweeney

SHOTS: 5; SHOTS ON GOAL: 2; FOULS: 7; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 7