Real Monarchs earned their first victory of the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro season on Sunday, with 15-year-old defender Nicholas Nobles shining bright to earn MLS NEXT Rising Star of Matchday 3 honors.Â
Nobles made his second start of the season as Real Monarchs defeated Earthquakes II by a 1-0 scoreline. The U.S. youth national team defender completed 82% of his passes (28/34) and helped Monarchs hold Quakes II to only four shots on goal.
Terron Williams’ second-half goal was the difference between the Western Conference clubs.
Nobles helped Monarchs defend heroically for 90+ minutes as the visitors rebounded from back-to-back defeats to open their competitive schedule.
Nobles got the starting nod on opening weekend and earned another crucial set of minutes this past weekend. A former Chicago Fire academy player, Nobles moved to Real Monarchs in July 2022 and has since worked his way up to the MLS NEXT Pro roster.
Interestingly enough, we learned from the Monarch's communications team that Nicholas was not even slated to be on the roster for Sunday, let alone starting, as he was in Florida for the GA Cup. But on Friday, Omar Alba suffered an injury during training. Hence, Nobles jumped on a plane from Florida to California on Saturday evening to meet up with the team in San Jose. While at the GA Cup, he started against Pumas, Flamengo, San Jose, and Montreal.
Real Monarchs will host Sporting KC II on Friday at Zions Bank Stadium at 10 pm Eastern; you can catch the action live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
