SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Saturday, March 5, 2022) – Monterey Bay F.C. fell 3-2 to Sacramento Republic FC at Heart Health Park in the club’s final match of the preseason this afternoon.
Sacramento Republic FC struck first in the 11th minute of the match. After a turnover in the midfield, Sacramento midfielder Rodrigo Lopez curled the ball into the top-right corner of the net to take the 1-0 lead. In the 34th minute, after a run down the right side of the pitch, forward Emil Cuello fired a shot across the face of goal that tucked inside the post to double the advantage for Republic FC.
Down 2-0, Monterey Bay F.C. fought back into the match and responded with a goal of their own just before the half in the 43rd minute. Following a corner kick, the ball spilled to forward Chase Boone on the left side of the box. Boone then curled a right-footed shot into the top-right corner of the net to bring the score to 2-1 at the halftime break.
In the 50th minute of the match, Sacramento was awarded a penalty for a handball in the box. Douglas Martinez Jr. stepped up to the spot and buried the ball into the bottom-left corner to extend the home side’s lead to 3-1. Six minutes later, a turnover gave Republic FC possession in a dangerous area of the pitch, but Lopez’ shot was saved by Union goalkeeper Rafi Díaz’ diving effort. Sacramento then collected the rebound and fired a low shot at the empty net, but defender Hugh Roberts cleared the ball off the line to thwart the opportunity.
Then following an errant back pass from Sacramento in the 63rd minute, Monterey Bay F.C. pulled another one back when forward Sam Gleadle found himself staring at an empty net and capitalized to bring the visitors within one. Despite a 20-minute flurry of chances as the Union pushed for the equalizer, the home side held strong and the match ended 3-2.
“This was a good test for us, especially with our first seven matches being on the road. This was almost like a regular-season match, so honestly we will take this more like a lesson than a loss,” said Roberts. “We needed this environment, this was a great learning lesson for us. We’ve been putting in a lot of hard work all offseason, a lot of fitness. We’ve had some good results against some MLS sides as well too, and I think the hard work is really going to pay off for us in the long run. There’s going to be a completely different mentality now, but this was a good test. We may have gotten complacent a little bit having had a good preseason so far, so this will be a good wake up call and everyone will have a good mindset heading into the opener. We are going to really ramp things up this week.”
“I thought it was a strong match for us, we showed glimpses of what we’re capable of,” explained Boone. “As a team this was a good test for us and to be down a couple of goals and battle back, it really shows that we have it in us. A couple things didn’t go our way, we made some mistakes, I gave away the penalty, but if we can minimize those mistakes we have a promising season ahead. As a whole, we’ve put in the work and now we’re ready for the actual season, it’s been a long six weeks. We’re looking forward to March 12, we’re ready to rock and roll.”
Up next, Monterey Bay F.C. opens its inaugural campaign in the USL Championship with the club’s first-ever regular-season match against Phoenix Rising FC on March 12 at 6:30 p.m. PST. The upcoming meeting in Phoenix will be the first of seven consecutive away matches to start the season as Cardinale Stadium finishes construction.
