The USL championship was won by Real Monarchs, the second-division club of MLS Real Salt Lake. The Monarchs beat the New York Red Bulls II, 3-1. The Red Bulls are also owned by a MLS club, and like the Monarchs, serves as a reserve team for the parent club.
Down the stretch, Real Monarchs, launched in 2014, leaned heavily on Real Salt Lake players on loan. Erik Holt, who starred at UCLA, and goalkeeper David Ochoa a U.S. Olympic candidate, are young RSL Homegrown players.
Luke Mulholland, Justin Portillo and Tate Schmitt, all also started the championship game. All are RSL players.
For those who follow collegiate soccer in North Carolina, Mulholland is a familiar name. He assisted Konrad Plewa’s goal that tied the score at 1-1. Ironically, Plewa, named MVP of the title game, began his professional career with the Red Bulls II.
Mulholland, a native of England, played collegiate soccer for NCAA II Wingate from 2007-2010. As a junior he was named First Team All-American and SAC Conference Player of the Year.
He played two summers with the USL Premier Development League Reading United. That precedes second division pro seasons with the Wilmington Hammerheads, NSC Minnesota Stars, and Tampa Bay Rowdies.
In 2014 he was signed with Real Salt Lake and currently on their MLS roster. He has 123 Appearances with the MLS club, while scoring 16 goals. The attacking midfielder has always had a knack of scoring goals. His first MLS season saw him appear in 31 matches with 24 starts, while scoring six goals and handing out seven assists.
This past season Mulholland was loaned to Real Monarchs for nine games. No. 1 was the title game.
It’s not like RSL made an independent decision to loan the 31-year old Mulholland to the Monarchs. He lobbied for it, after seeing his minutes on field with RSL after a coaching change.
“I constantly kept asking my coaching staff (to play for the Monarchs), said Mulholland in a USL article. The only way I can hold the first team is if I can gain some form and rhythm with the Monarchs, so every three weeks or so I ‘d ask if I could go down and play for them.
“And then I just started to get in a good rhythm with the Monarchs, so it felt great. It always beefs good to get 90 minutes under your belt and continuously playing week-in, week-out.”