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Silver Spring, MD – Real Maryland FC is back on track in USL 2 league play. The Monarchs picked up 3 more points tonight with a 1-0 victory over the Richmond Kickers at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, MD. The win puts Real Maryland FC at a 5-4-0 record while Richmond moves to 3-2-4 with the loss.

The teams sat three and four in the Second Division with points and first and second with goals against. The match lived up to the defensive statistics with neither squad allowing a goal in the first half. Early in the first half, the Monarchs felt the frustration first as Gary Brooks saw a yellow card after explaining his point of view to the referee.

Not soon thereafter did Richmond begin to feel the heat of the day and the pressure of the Real Maryland FC defense. Mike Burke received an ejection from the match for abuse towards the referee after a controversial no call inside the penalty area of the home team. For the rest of the first half the Kickers played a man down, but refused to relent their efforts. Heading into the locker rooms at half-time the score remained deadlocked at zeros.

At the start of the second half, the Monarchs capitalized quickly being a man up on the Kickers when they put away a goal in the 47th minute. Ryan Cordeiro broke free on the left flank and managed to whip a cross in just behind the defense. New to the Monarchs squad while on loan from the N.J. Ironmen of the Extreme Soccer League, Lucio Gonzaga went for the header on the cross. In a may lay of players, the ball got redirected into the goal. Gonzaga was credited with his first goal of the season and the assist for Cordeiro is his second game in a row where he has recorded points.

Again, the Kickers came back with pressure on the Monarch defense. Providing support behind the defense, Justin Hughes stepped up his play by earning four saves on the night. The shutout is Justin’s first of the season and the team’s fifth overall.

At the other end, Ronnie Pascale proved why he is one of the top net minders in the USL Second Division by making 5 crucial saves to keep his team in the game. Twice, Pascale shutdown the Monarch’s offense when he went one on one the opposition. The first one on one save came against Sean Rush as he tried to chip Pascale, but the keeper’s reflexes kept his team afloat. In what looked to be a game ending goal from a flurry of shots, Pascale came up big again off of a rebound from a Real Maryland set piece. Gary Brooks bent the ball over the wall and off the post where Victor Ramirez found a perfectly lined up ball 15 yards from goal. In an acrobatic move, Pascale managed to get a hand on the Ramirez strike to send it over the bar.

Because of Pascale’s saves the Kickers found new life and mounted an offensive attack for the last 10 minutes of the game. Richmond drove hard at the Monarch goal with numerous services, but the defense stood strong. In what proved to be the game winning play, Sean Rush cleared the ball off the Real Maryland goal line in the final minute to help his team notch their 5th victory at home this season.

Real Maryland FC will now travel to New Jersey to take on the Ocean City Barrons this upcoming Tuesday, June 16th at 7:00 pm for the Second Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The winner of the second round match will then take on DC United. The Monarchs’ next home match is Sunday, June 21st when the Wilmington Hammerheads come to town.

Real Maryland FC participates in the Second Division of the United Soccer Leagues. All 2009 Regular Season Home Games will be played at Lester Stadium at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, MD. For more information or tickets, please visit realmaryland.us or contact General Manager David Noyes at (301) 933-6460.

Monarchs Beat Kickers