SEASIDE, California (Saturday, May 14, 2022) – Monterey Bay F.C. (2-7-0, 6 points) fell 2-1 to the Rio Grande Valley FC Toros at Cardinale Stadium. Monterey Bay F.C. Captain Hugh Roberts scored for the Crisp and Kelp and gave the side an early lead, but two goals from the Toros minutes before the halftime break proved enough to give the visitors the full three points on the night.
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In a physical first half that saw four yellow cards awarded between the sides, Monterey Bay F.C. managed to strike first. In the 20th minute, after the Union were awarded a corner, Robbie Crawford’s cross into the box found the head of Roberts who smashed the ball into the bottom-right corner to give the hosts the opening 1-0 lead. The Union knocked on the door again in the 34th minute when Christian Volesky connected with a ball over the top of the back line, but his shot missed the top-right corner. A minute later, the Union fired a cross into the box that found Walmer Martinez, but his header missed wide to the left. The visitors evened it up in the 42nd minute of the match, with a goal from Emilio Ycaza from outside the box. Then in the second minute of stoppage time, Rio Grande Valley FC took the lead with a goal from Robert Coronado to bring the score to 2-1 at the halftime break.
Monterey Bay F.C. looked to even the score in the 53rd minute of the match. A curling ball from Chris Cortez found Volesky, but his header aimed for the far post was clawed away with a fingertip save by the Toros goalkeeper to protect the visitor’s one-goal lead. In the 71st minute, Crawford was shown his second yellow card of the match for a handball from close range and was dismissed from the contest to leave the Union with 10-men for the final stretch. In the 88th minute, Monterey Bay F.C. were awarded a free kick from 25 yards out, but the ensuing free kick from Seku Conneh was saved by the keeper and the match ended 2-1 in favor of the Toros.
Man of the Match: Despite conceding two unlucky goals in rapid succession, Hugh Roberts led the Union defense to another otherwise impressive performance defensively. Roberts scored the only goal of the match for the home side in the first half and recorded a 76.6% passing success rate. Defensively, the Captain won six of eight duels and tallied four interceptions.
Notes:
– Monterey Bay F.C. officially debuted its all-white secondary kits for 2022 season in the match.
– Both goalkeeper Carlos Herrera and midfielder Arun Basuljevic left the game to injury in the first half.
– Missing the match due to injury were Rafi Díaz (shoulder), Sam Strong (calf), and Simon Dawkins (ankle).
Match: Monterey Bay F.C. vs Rio Grande Valley FC Toros
Date: May 14, 2022
Venue: Cardinale Stadium; Seaside, California
Weather: Mostly sunny and 59 degrees
Attendance: 3,078
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Monterey Bay F.C. 1 0 1
Rio Grande Valley FC 2 0 2
MB: Hugh Roberts (Robbie Crawford) 20’
RGV: Emilio Ycaza 42’
RGV: Robert Coronado (Juan Pablo Torres) 45+2’
Lineups:
Monterey Bay F.C. (4-2-3-1): Carlos Herrera (Dallas Jaye, 45+4’); Grant Robinson, Hugh Roberts, Kai Greene, Morey Doner; Arun Basuljevic (James Murphy, 45’), Robbie Crawford; Chris Cortez (Seku Conneh, 77’), Chase Boone, Walmer Martínez (Mobi Fehr, 77’); Christian Volesky (Adrian Rebollar, 77’)
Subs not used: Sam Gleadle, Jesse Maldonado
Rio Grande Valley FC (4-3-3): Colin Miller; Luka Malesevic, Jonathan Ricketts, Wahab Ackwei, Daniel Luis (Roberts Coronado, 6’); Juan Cabezas, Isidro Martinez (Erik Pimentel, 68’), Emilio Ycaza (Dylan Borczak, 83’); Frank Lopez, Juan Torres, Ricky Ruiz
Subs not used: Javier Garcia, Stefan Mueller, Duilio Ibarra
Stats Summary: MB / RGV
Possession: 46.1% / 53.9%
Shots: 11 / 8
Shots on Goal: 5 / 4
Saves: 2 / 4
Corner Kicks: 3 / 3
Fouls: 18 / 20
Misconduct Summary:
MB: Grant Robinson (caution) 11’
MB: Walmer Martinez (caution) 31’
MB: Robbie Crawford (caution) 32’
RGV: Emilio Ycaza (caution) 45+6’
RGV: Jonathan Ricketts (caution) 70’
MB: Robbie Crawford (dismissal) 71’
RGV: Juan Cabezas(caution) 90+1’
MB: Seku Conneh (caution) 90+3’
RGV: Frank Lopez (caution) 90+6’
Officials:
Referee: Michael Radchuk
Assistant Referee: Alberto Azpeitia-Palomino
Assistant Referee: Andrew Hanks
Fourth Official: Michael Zapata
