A massively overhauled Real Monarchs SLC will open the USL Championship 2019 season on the road against one of the favorites among Western Conference in what should be a excellence test. Sacramento Republic FC, which finished the 2018 season in 2nd place under new head coach Simon Elliott, focus on further strengthening their squad in two particular areas.
The 47 goals scored in 2018 by the Republic was the fewest of all eight playoff teams except Saint Louis FC. The 17 goals scored by Cameron Iwasa broke the teams all-time record, but was nearly 40% of the total number scored with the next highest goal scorers coming in with only 5 goals.