Despite a valiant effort, FC Whitehorse lost their opening match 3-1 on the road at Molly's Migrant Monarchs, as the Monarchs began their title defense with a victory. The Freezers conceded a pair of early goals and remained down 2-0 at halftime. A Virgilio Rivas goal in the 63rd minute cut the deficit in half, but the Monarchs added a late goal to seal the victory.
Manager Raley Treffle praised his team's effort during the post-match press conference. "It's never fun after a loss, but I have to hand it to the boys today" said Treffle. "We played the Monarchs hard. They outchanced us, but our defense held its shape. I give credit to Zako [Schmit]. First professional match and to go up against that team, he played a big role with us not getting blown out too."
Defenseman Patrick Letour did note a disappointing trend that carried from last year into this match. "Set pieces are a killer" said Letour. "A free kick and two corners and there's your lot. It was a problem for us last year too. We really need to focus on them this year, because in the normal flow of play, I feel like we're right there."
Whitehorse will play host to The Real Workers Footballers next week for the Freezers' home opener.