American lower division professional soccer seems to be in a perpetual stage of reinvention. This year there is the introduction of MLS NEXT Pro, hosts of Tacoma Defiance. Defiance, now playing 10 of their 12 scheduled home games at Starfire Sports in Tukwila, Washington, are essentially in their 3.0 stage. Once S2 playing at Starfire and then Tacoma Defiance at Cheney Stadium, Defiance 3.0 play at both stadiums they’ve called home and are now in a new league.
Sunday’s match is against a team that they’ve known well — Real Monarchs SLC. Monarchs have dominated Defiance over the years with a 9-2-2 record against Tacoma.