Friday, April 18, 2008

First announced on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 the Real Maryland Monarchs acquired the rights to a USL Second Division club for the Maryland territory north of the nation’s capital Washington DC, including the cities of Frederick, Germantown, Rockville, Bethesda, Silver Spring, College Park and Columbia.

The new club’s name plays on the words of its primary owner: “We are going to create a REAL event, not just a soccer game, that’s why I named the club Real Maryland FC,” said Victor Moran.

“We are extremely serious about soccer and our mission, that’s the main reason why we have contracted the services of two top soccer visionaries from the local area, Silvino Gonzalo, as our head coach, former soccer coach for the Northern Virginia Royals and Bienvenido Martinez, our general manager, who previously worked for DC United of the MLS for six years,” concluded Moran.

The 2008 Season

Things got very REAL when the club established themselves as serious USL-2 contenders by signing a big-name player right off the bat. Their gem, Ronald Cerritos, has serious game-breaking ability. As Major League Soccer’s seventh All-Time leading goal scorer and a mainstay on the El Salvadorian National Team, he adds early credibility to the franchise.

Also a member of El Salvador’s National team, Dennis Alas is one of Real’s top midfielders. Despite his age (23), Alas has been a professional for seven years. One difficulty Alas and Cerritos may run into is balancing club and country with World Cup Qualifying continuing this summer. El Salvador is set to face Panama in a two-game series this June. Advancing to the Semifinal group phase would mean more international fixtures for the duo from August to November as the league concludes with the playoffs.

Emilio Zelaya will patrol the goal for the Monarchs. A member of Colombia’s U21 National Team, Zelaya has played at the Division I level. Playing just in front of Zelaya will be local talent Phillipe Bissohong from nearby Springbrook High School in Prince George’s County. Bissohong went on to play at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County where he won the Unsung Hero award in 2006, and was selected to the All Tournament team in the American East Conference in 2007.

The First Five

The Monarchs play their first-ever USL-2 match this Sunday, April 20 against the Western Mass Pioneers. The young franchise will have a second week to get comfortable in the confines of their own park when Pittsburgh comes to the Maryland SoccerPlex on Saturday, April 26. Then they take to the road, first on Saturday May 3 against Western Mass and again, Saturday, May 10 against a club they would like to draw comparisons to this season – the Cleveland City Stars, who began their inaugural season with four straight wins. Real Maryland wraps up their first five back at home against the Stars on Saturday, May 17.