SEASIDE, California (Saturday, June 25, 2022) – Monterey Bay F.C. (4-11-0, 12 points) fell 2-1 to Sacramento Republic FC on Pride Night at Cardinale Stadium. Despite taking the early lead into the halftime break on a goal from Walmer Martínez, back-to-back goals for Sacramento in the second half left the Union without a result.
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Sacramento Republic FC began the first spell of the match with the majority of possession, but a methodical approach from Monterey Bay F.C. earned the hosts an early opportunity on frame. After a run down the middle by Adrian Rebollar in the 10th minute, Mobi Fehr crossed the ball into Christian Volesky inside the box, but his header was saved at the near post. In the 18th minute, combination play by the Crisp and Kelp led to Fehr whipping the ball into the box once again with Chris Cortez as the target, but the ball took a deflection and just missed the foot of Cortez on its way out for a corner.
Then in the 33rd minute, Fehr made a run into space in the opponent’s side of the field and fed Volesky inside the 18. Before he could turn, a Sacramento defender pushed the ball across the face of goal, and with it loose out in front of the six-yard box, Martínez hustled to the ball and buried it past the right of the goalkeeper and into the back of the net to give the Union the 1-0 lead at the half.
Within a three-minute span late in the second half, Sacramento Republic FC snuck into the lead with goals in both the 74th and 76th minutes by Maalique Foster. In the 80th minute, one of the Union’s final chances of the night with Sacramento committing everyone to deeper positions in the formation, Morey Doner crossed a ball into the box that found Arun Basuljevic, but the ensuing header missed to the outside of the right post and match ended 2-1 in favor of the visitors.
Man of the Match: Walmer Martínez ended the night with a strong overall performance. Defensively, the Santa Cruz native recorded two interceptions, one tackle, and one clearance. In possession, Martínez completed 88.2% of his total passes with an 87% pass success rate in the opponent’s half. In the attack, he created one chance for the team to score, recorded one successful cross, and forced Sacramento into a first half own goal to give the Crisp and Kelp the opening lead.
Notes:
– Midfielders Arun Basuljevic and Simon Dawkins both made their returns to the pitch following month-long injury spells.
– Missing the match due to injury were Rafi Díaz (shoulder), Sam Gleadle (knee), Seku Conneh (groin), Grant Robinson (hamstring) and Chase Boone (quad).
Match: Monterey Bay F.C. vs Sacramento Republic FC
Date: June 25, 2022
Venue: Cardinale Stadium; Seaside, California
Weather: Partly Cloudy and 57 degrees
Attendance: 3,604
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Monterey Bay F.C. 1 0 1
Sacramento Republic FC 0 2 2
MB: Walmer Martínez 33’
SAC: Maalique Foster (Rodrigo Lopez) 76’
SAC: Maalique Foster (Jack Gurr) 76’
Lineups:
Monterey Bay F.C. (4-2-3-1): Carlos Herrera; Robbie Crawford, Hugh Roberts, Kai Greene, Morey Doner; James Murphy, Mobi Fehr (Arun Basuljevic, 55’); Chris Cortez (Jiro Barriga Toyama, 77’), Adrian Rebollar (Simon Dawkins, 86’), Walmer Martínez; Christian Volesky
Subs not used: Antony Siaha, Dallas Jaye, Sam Strong, Jesse Maldonado
Sacramento Republic FC (3-4-1-2): Danny Vitiello; Jack Gurr, Conor Donovan, Lee Desmond, Duke Lacroix (Damia Viader, 65’); Matt Lagrassa, Luis Felipe (Rodrigo Lopez, 65’); Douglas Martinez (Luther Archimede, 90+1’), Nick Ross, Zeiko Lewis (Maalique Foster, 65’)
Subs not used: Carlos Sandana, Ferrety Sousa, Rafael Jaregui
Stats Summary: MB / SAC
Shots: 12 / 13
Shots on Goal: 3 / 3
Saves: 1 / 2
Corner Kicks: 4 / 5
Fouls: 15 / 12
Possession: 47.8% / 52.2%
Misconduct Summary:
SAC: Jack Gurr (caution) 14’
MB: Christian Volesky (caution) 14’
MB: Hugh Roberts (caution) 20’
MB: Jiro Barriga Toyama (caution) 84’
Officials:
Referee: Elijio Arreguin
Assistant Referee: Seth Martin
Assistant Referee: CJ Koll
Fourth Official: Robert Vincze
