Monterey Bay F.C. Chops Down Roots SC Behind Boone’s Brace & Roberts’ Late Goal
OAKLAND, California (Saturday, March 26, 2022) – Monterey Bay F.C. (1-2-0, 3 points) defeated Oakland Roots SC 3-2 at Laney College Football Stadium on Saturday night. The win marks the first victory in club history, and sparks a highly-anticipated rivalry with Roots SC.
A brace from Chase Boone and a late winner from Hugh Roberts earned Monterey Bay F.C. its first three points in club history and its first in the 2022 USL Championship campaign.
Access the postgame quote sheet here
With an early strike in the 8th minute of the match, Monterey Bay F.C. took the opening lead with a goal from Boone. After solid build-up play, Seku Conneh controlled the ball in the box before laying it off to Boone for a left-footed shot that curled around the goalkeeper and into the top-left corner of the net for the 1-0 lead. In the 29th minute, Oakland quickly restarted play following a foul in the visitor’s half. The ensuing ball over the top was brought down by a Roots SC attacker, but Union defender Morey Doner flew in from the opposite side to clear the ball away. 10 minutes later, Oakland found the leveler after being awarded a penalty kick for a handball in the box and the sides entered the halftime break with an even 1-1 scoreline.
Oakland got things started in the second half with a second goal from Óttar Karlsson after Edgardo Rito found him in space with a low cross into the center of the box to take the 2-1 lead. Then in the 67th minute of the match, Arun Basuljevic sent a cross into Christian Volesky, who settled the ball and then found Boone open near the six-yard box, but the space was closed down and cleared out for a corner. On the following corner kick in the 68th minute, Boone made a run toward the near post, flicked the ball across the face of goal and tucked it into the far post to bring the match level at 2-2.
With regular time coming to a close in the 90th minute, Monterey Bay F.C. was awarded a free kick for a foul outside the box. James Murphy looped the ball into the far side toward Kai Greene, who headed it back into the mix to Roberts, who then smashed the headed ball past the goalkeeper to put the Union back on top for good. In the 5th minute of added time and the visitors out of substitutions, Monterey Bay goalkeeper Rafi Díaz left the match with a shoulder injury, leaving Boone to step into goal for the final four minutes of the match. Monterey Bay F.C. stepped up defensively to deny any chances for Oakland the rest of the way, and the match ended 3-2.
Man of the Match: Boone led the way for the Union with a brace in the match. His first professional goal opened the scoring in the 8th minute, his second bringing the visitor’s level in the 68th. In the 8th minute of added time when teammate Díaz left the game with an injury, Boone replaced his shooting boots with goalkeeper gloves and stepped into goal for the final four minutes of the match. To pair with his two goals on the night, Boone created three additional chances for Monterey Bay, and tracked back defensively to record three tackles, two clearances and two blocked shots.
Notes:
– Forward Walmer Martínez earned his first start for Monterey Bay F.C. in the match.
– Forward Chase Boone scored his first professional goal in the 8th minute, and doubled his efforts in the 68th.
– Defender Hugh Roberts recorded his first goal for Monterey Bay, the eventual game-winner in the 90th minute of the match.
– After missing the first two matches with an injury, midfielder Jiro Barriga Toyama made his first appearance for the club as a second half substitute.
– Monterey Bay F.C. midfielder Mobi Fehr missed the match due to suspension after receiving two yellow cards in last weekend’s meeting against Colorado Springs.
Match: Oakland Roots SC vs Monterey Bay F.C.
Date: March 26, 2022
Venue: Laney College Football Stadium; Oakland, California
Weather: Partly cloudy and 58 degrees
Attendance: 5,508
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Oakland Roots SC 1 1 2
Monterey Bay F.C. 1 2 3
MB: Chase Boone (Seku Conneh) 8’
OAK: Óttar Karlsson (Penalty) 39’
OAK: Óttar Karlsson (Edgardo Rito) 49’
MB: Chase Boone (James Murphy) 68’
MB: Hugh Roberts (Kai Greene) 90’
Lineups:
Oakland Roots SC (4-2-3-1): Benny Diaz; Juan Azócar, Daniel Barbir, Tarek Morad (Emrah Klimenta 76’), Edgardo Rito; Matías Fissore (Joseph Nane 75’), José Hernandez; Dariusz Formella, Charlie Dennis, Lindo Mfeka (Jesús Enríquez 81’); Óttar Karlsson
Subs not used: Taylor Bailey, Guillermo Diaz, Max Ornstil, Johnny Rodriguez
Monterey Bay F.C. (4-2-3-1): Rafael Díaz; Grant Robinson (Jiro Barriga Toyama 90+1’), Hugh Roberts, Kai Greene, Morey Doner; James Murphy, Arun Basuljevic; Chase Boone, Sam Gleadle (Simon Dawkins 76’), Walmer Martínez; Seku Conneh (Christian Volesky 63’)
Subs not used: Dallas Jaye, Sam Strong, Adrian Rebollar, Chris Cortez
Stats Summary: OAK / MB
Possession: 65.4% / 34.6%
Shots: 11 / 12
Shots on Goal: 2 / 3
Saves: 0 / 0
Corner Kicks: 5 / 6
Fouls: 6 / 12
Misconduct Summary:
MB: Grant Robinson (caution) 55’
OAK: Daniel Barbir (caution) 66’
MB: Arun Basuljevic (caution) 90+3’
MB: James Murphy (caution) 90+3’
Officials:
Referee: DeShun Beard
Assistant Referees: Peter Hanson, Bhavik Dutt
4th Official: Robert Vincze
