Real Maryland says hello to Montgomery County and Mother Nature

Nearly 1,000 fans packed the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds for the Monarchs’ first game in franchise history, but fate threw two monkey wrenches into the ideal opening-day scenario. The first was a ferocious rainstorm that began six hours before kickoff and didn’t stop until the game was nearly over. The second was the visiting Western Mass Pioneers, who netted a first-half goal and hung on late for the 1-0 victory.

The attendance was about a fourth of what team officials had expected. But those who showed up provided a glimpse of what the next nine home games throughout the spring and summer are supposed to be about: international flavor merged with a community atmosphere, people of all ages and cultures having a good time.

‘‘It’s a good turnout, considering the rain,” said Moran. ‘‘The weather certainly didn’t help us.”

It didn’t help the players on the field either. It could have been much worse though, as the SoccerPlex’s crowned-field did allow for more drainage than several other USL-2 fields would have offered. Still, the wet field resembled a Slip ‘n Slide any time a player hit the ground. Thunder and increasingly strong torrents caused the referees to call a 30-minute delay at the 39:03 mark of the first half. And the play was sloppy at times, with passes that might normally be accurate skidding far off target.

Nevertheless, there were flashes of brilliance on both sides. Real Maryland goalkeeper Emilio Zelaya made several terrific decisions in front of the net, and several Monarch reserves — namely midfielders Jose Maldonado and Victor Ramirez — came off the bench to nearly provide the first score in franchise history.

In the end though, it wasn’t enough. In the 33rd minute, the Pioneers played a long ball deep into Real Maryland territory, which deflected fortuitously to Western Mass forward Neil Krause. All alone 10 yards from net, he rifled a shot just off Zelaya’s fingertips into the lower left corner of the goal.

‘‘It was just a long ball, and maybe the weather partially had something to do with it, but I don’t think the weather affected us too much,” said Real Maryland right back Devlin Barnes, a 2000 graduate of The Heights. ‘‘We just have to come out and want the ball more. We have a lot of potential — you can tell from the Crystal Palace game and a lot of our other scrimmages.”

Indeed the Monarchs, or ‘‘Los Monarcas”, are a talented team. They are headlined by El Salvador National Team midfielders Dennis Alas and Ronald Cerritos, a 10-year veteran of Major League Soccer. However, Cerritos left the game after injuring an ankle in the game’s second minute. He returned shortly thereafter, but limped his way through the rest of the action.

The team’s best chance came in the 63rd minute. Maldonado, a Mexico native, showed off some fancy footwork before finding an open Ramirez near the right sidelines. From about 25 yards away, Ramirez blasted a shot that had Pioneer goalkeeper Matt Glaeser beaten, but the ball bounced off the crossbar.

‘‘They’re going to be a good team,” said Western Mass head coach Leszek Wrona of Real. ‘‘It was evenly matched. Hey, it was just one goal that made the difference. Our guy made a beautiful shot.”

The Monarchs next host the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, the USL’s other new second-division team, this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. While Real Maryland head coach Silvino Gonzalo hopes for nicer conditions, he also didn’t feel the weather affected the game’s outcome. He does, however, echo Wrona’s sentiments. He sees the potential for one of the best teams in the USL-2.

‘‘I think we had the opportunities, we just didn’t finish them,” he said. ‘‘But it was just one game. There are better days to come.”