SEASIDE, California (Saturday, May 28, 2022) – Monterey Bay F.C. (4-7-0, 12 points) handed Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC its first road loss of the season with a 4-2 victory at Cardinale Stadium on Military Appreciation Night presented by Coastal Roots Hospitality. A first-half goal from Hugh Roberts led the way for second-half goals from Sam Gleadle, Adrian Rebollar and Chase Boone to earn the Crisp and Kelp its second victory in as many weeks and third win in four.
Access the postgame quote sheet here
Switchbacks FC began the match with the majority of possession, but Monterey Bay F.C. comfortably absorbed the initial pressure. In the 8th minute of the match, Union midfielder James Murphy curled a corner kick into the box that was flicked on across the face of goal by Boone, the ball was pushed out for another corner. Monterey Bay F.C. began to turn up the heat in the final 10 minutes of the half. In the 34th minute, Murphy fired a shot from just beyond the 18-yard box that missed wide of the left post. Less than a minute later, the Union regained possession, but Rebollar’s shot from the left side of the six-yard box missed again to the left of the post.
The Crisp and Kelp found the breakthrough in the 44th minute when the hosts were awarded a free kick from 25 yards out. The ball in from Murphy was punched away by the goalkeeper, but Kai Greene managed to get on the end of it and flicked the ball to Boone before the ball could hit the ground. Boone settled the ball in the air with his left foot then flicked it on with his right to a waiting Roberts, who smashed the headed ball across the line to give the Union the 1-0 lead at the halftime break.
Six minutes into the second half, Murphy sent a ball into Christian Volesky at the top of the box. Volesky held position and then laid the ball off to a streaking Gleadle, who flicked the ball with the outside of his right foot past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net to double the Union’s lead. Switchbacks FC pulled one back in the 54th minute with a goal by Hadji Barry to cut the hosts lead to 2-1. Monterey Bay F.C. extended the lead again in the 73rd minute when Rebollar stepped in front of a pass to intercept the ball in a dangerous position. The Watsonville native took two dribbles before unloading with a right-footed shot from the top of the box into the left side of the net to bring the score to 3-1.
In the 3rd minute of stoppage time, Boone collected an over-the-top ball from a throw-in by Grant Robinson with a back heel to keep the ball in play. With the ball rolling just inside the endline, Boone powerfully curled the ball around the near post and inside the far post to give the Crisp and Kelp its fourth goal of the night. Moments before the final whistle, Elvis Amoh scored a second for the Switchbacks and the match ended 4-2 in favor of the Union.
Man of the Match: Adrian Rebollar remained a nuisance in the midfield for Colorado Springs throughout the match. In addition to the interception that led to his goal in the 73rd minute of the match, Rebollar won nine duels and drew four fouls. The midfielder capped off his man of the match performance with four tackles and two interceptions.
Notes:
– Monterey Bay F.C. scored a season-high four goals in the match and have now taken down the top team in the Eastern Conference and top team in the Western Conference in back-to-back weeks to win consecutive matches for the first time in the club’s short history.
– Forward Chase Boone recorded his first career assist on Hugh Roberts’ opening goal in the 44th minute of the match.
– Defender Grant Robinson recorded his first assist for Monterey Bay F.C. on a throw into Chase Boone that resulted in a goal in third minute of stoppage time.
– Midfielder Robbie Crawford has returned to the pitch after missing last week’s match in Louisville to serve a one-match red card suspension.
– After leaving the match against Rio Grande Valley FC on May 14 with a groin injury that forced him out of last week’s match against Louisville, goalkeeper Carlos Herrera returned to the bench for the Union.
– Missing the match due to injury were Rafi Díaz (shoulder), Simon Dawkins (ankle), Seku Conneh (groin), Arun Basuljevic (calf).
Match: Monterey Bay F.C. vs Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
Date: May 28, 2022
Venue: Cardinale Stadium; Seaside, California
Weather: Partly Cloudy and 57 degrees
Attendance: 3,359
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Monterey Bay F.C. 1 3 4
Switchbacks FC 0 2 2
MB: Hugh Roberts (Chase Boone) 44’
MB: Sam Gleadle (Christian Volesky) 52’
COS: Hadji Barry 53’
MB: Adrian Rebollar 73’
MB: Chase Boone (Grant Robinson) 93
COS: Elvis Amoh (Matthew Mahoney) 96’
Lineups:
Monterey Bay F.C. (4-2-3-1): Dallas Jaye; Grant Robinson, Hugh Roberts, Kai Greene, Morey Doner; Mobi Fehr (Robbie Crawford, 89’), James Murphy; Sam Gleadle, Adrian Rebollar, Chase Boone (Walmer Martínez, 90+5’); Christian Volesky (Jesse Maldonado, 89’)
Subs not used: Carlos Herrera, Sam Strong, Jiro Barriga Toyama, Chris Cortez
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (4-3-3): Jeff Caldwell; Tobi Adewole, Matt Mahoney, Jimmy Ockford, Malik Johnson (Kharlton Belmar, 70’); Zachary Zandi, Beverly Makangila (Elvis Amoh, 64’), Cameron Lindley; Isaiah Foster (Issa Rayyan, 64’), Hadji Barry, Michee Ngalina
Subs not used: Christian Herrera, Steven Echeverria, Yesin van der Pluijm
Stats Summary: MB / COS
Shots: 10 / 15
Shots on Goal: 4 / 4
Saves: 2 / 0
Corner Kicks: 4 / 6
Fouls: 17 / 13
Misconduct Summary:
MB: James Murphy (caution) 56’
Officials:
Referee: Adam Zarrin
Assistant Referee: Stephen McGonagle
Assistant Referee: Cameron Siler
Fourth Official: Peter Hanson
