From 2009 to 2012, the team played its home games at Roy Lester Stadium on the campus of Richard Montgomery High School.

The team's nickname, the Monarchs or "Los Monarcas", is intended to reflect the state of Maryland's colonial roots under Lords Calvert and Baltimore.

[1] The club's majority owner, Victor Moran, named the club Real Maryland because he intended "to create a REAL event, not just a soccer game", and hired former Northern Virginia Royals head coach Silvino Gonzalo to lead his team in its inaugural campaign.

The Monarchs played their first official game on April 20, 2008, a 1–0 loss to the Western Mass Pioneers,[2] but secured their first ever victory the following week with a 2–0 win over the Pittsburgh Riverhounds; the first goal in franchise history was scored by Bill Brindley.

A 1–1 tie with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on the last day of the regular season did little to brighten the mood at the Maryland Soccer Plex, as the Monarchs finished dead last in the division; to make matters worse, the team was then docked a point by the league for rules infringement, leaving them seven points adrift of their closest rivals, the Bermuda Hogges.