Monarchs coming to end of volatile inaugural year

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Monarchs coming to end of volatile inaugural year

by Dan Greenberg | Staff Writer

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As Fleetwood Mac once said, ‘‘Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow.”

That’s all Real Maryland can do as its inaugural season in the United Soccer League-Second Division winds down. It’s been a rocky first season for the Monarchs, and after their worst loss of the season, an 8-0 rout at the division-leading Charlotte Eagles, they reside at the bottom of the standings at 3-12-1.

It wasn’t completely unexpected, as new teams are expected to struggle. The league’s other first-year franchise, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, have the fewest wins in the league (two).

But despite the struggles, the Monarchs did get to showcase one of the league’s most rabid fanbases. A strong contingent of anywhere between 500 and 1,000 fans has consistently packed the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, and Monarchs head coach Silvino Gonzalo hopes his team can treat the home fans to one last victory Wednesday against the Bermuda Hogges.

Spectators have been treated to a season that can be best described as unpredictable. Fans turned out in bunches for the home opener against the Western Massachusetts Pioneers, toting cowbells and state flags, but a ferocious rainstorm, complete with thunder and lightning, caused a 30-minute delay midway through the action and sent onlookers scurrying back to their cars.

A week later, as the Monarchs were wrapping up their first professional victory, bolts of lightning hit the SoccerPlex in the 90th minute, causing the game to be stopped.

The play on the field has been erratic as well, with flashes of brilliance combined with a preponderance of setbacks. Real Maryland started the season strong, winning three of its first six games. But after defeating the New York Pancyprian Freedoms of the Cosmopolitan League in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup’s first round, it has gone winless in ten straight, eight in the USL-2.

Injuries and other miscellaneous factors have caused some of the most important Monarchs to miss time. Standout defender Daryl Ferguson missed two games per a commitment to the Barbados National Team, while the team’s two El Salvadorian standouts, Ronald Cerritos and Dennis Alas, have missed two games each.

Cerritos, 33, has battled leg injuries all season, while Alas, who may have been the team’s top performer, recently terminated his contract with the Monarchs to join Luis Angel Firpo, the league champions of El Salvador’s premier national league.