MONTEREY BAY DOUSES PHOENIX RISING FC WITH 1-0 WIN IN 2024 HOME OPENER

SEASIDE, California (Saturday, March 16, 2024) – Monterey Bay F.C. (1-0-1, 4 points) defeated the defending USL Championship Title-Winners Phoenix Rising FC (0-2-0, 0 points) with a shutout, 1-0 victory in the 2024 home opener at Cardinale Stadium in Seaside. After Adrian Rebollar intercepted a pass inside the visitors’ box in the 22nd minute, Rafa Baca buried the game-winning goal with his left foot to help see Monterey Bay to victory.

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Monterey Bay brought the energy right at kick off, pushing down the right side with Chuy Enríquez and immediately earning a corner kick less than a minute into the match, but the Phoenix defense held firm to deny a good look at goal. In the 14th minute, Rebollar was played into space near the right corner flag and crossed a dangerous ball into the box with Luther Archimède, Alex Dixon, and Mobi Fehr all making runs, but it was cleared away by a visiting defender with a last-ditch effort. Monterey Bay took the lead in the 22nd minute of the match when Rebollar intercepted a pass inside the Phoenix 18-yard box. Rebollar immediately played the ball over to Baca, who settled it with his right before smashing it into the back of the net with his left to give the Crisp-and-Kelp the 1-0 lead. Still applying pressure on the Rising FC goal, Dixon fired a shot from just outside the box in the 33rd minute, but it was saved by the goalkeeper back into play. From there, Rebollar managed to fire a shot of his own, but it was blocked by a defender. With the high press continuing to pay off for the Union, Archimède intercepted a pass near the Phoenix box in the 35th minute, but the ensuing shot by Rebollar was saved. Just before the end of the half, Enríquez managed to cross a ball into the box from the endline that found Dixon, but his header missed just over the bar and the first half came to a close shortly after.

Less than a minute into the second half, the Crisp-and-Kelp were right back on the attack. Heading toward the endline, Enríquez crossed a low ball back up near the top of the box to Fehr, but his right-footed shot was saved at the near post. Phoenix came close to its first goal of the match in the 55th minute when a shot from beyond the box was deflected on its way in, but Antony Siaha managed to get an outstretched glove on it to keep it out. In the 88th minute, Pierce Gallaway – who made his professional debut as a substitute four minutes earlier – headed the ball forward to spark a run down the left side by Tristan Trager. Trager then attempted to play the ball over the lone defender to Ryan Dieter – who also made his professional debut as a substitute in the 66th minute – in acres of space in front of goal, but the pass was just headed clear by the defender. Monterey Bay managed to deny the visitors final push for an equalizer to see out the remainder of the match and earn the full three points with a 1-0 win in the Club’s home opener.

Up Next

Monterey Bay welcomes Eastern Conference newcomers Rhode Island FC in a Sunday afternoon match at Cardinale Stadium on March 24. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. PT. The match will be broadcast locally via KION on Central Coast CW (35.1 over the air, channel 14 Xfinity), with live streaming available on ESPN+.

Golden Memorial Man of the Match

Tonight’s Golden Memorial Man of the Match goes to the man in the middle, Rafa Baca. In addition to Baca scoring the game-winning goal in the 22nd minute, the Tuxpan, Michoacán, Mexico native won all four of his duels on the night and finished with an 86.5% passing accuracy. Defensively, Baca recorded four clearances and an interception.

Additional Notes

Luther Archimède made his first start as a member of the Crisp-and-Kelp.
UC Davis’ Ryan Dieter – who’s impressive play in open tryouts earned him a contract – made his professional debut as a second-half substitute for Monterey Bay in the 66th minute of the match.
Carmel’s own Pierce Gallaway, who spent time with MBFC2 last summer, made his professional debut as a second half substitute in the 84th minute of the match.
Missing the match due to injury were Chase Boone (ankle), Xavi Gnaulati (groin), and Grant Robinson (hamstring).

Information

Date: March 16, 2024
Venue: Cardinale Stadium; Seaside, California
Weather: Clear and 57 degrees

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F

Monterey Bay F.C. 1 0 1
Phoenix Rising FC 0 0 0
MB: Rafa Baca (Adrian Rebollar) 22’

Lineups

Phoenix Rising FC (3-4-3): Rocco Rios Novo; Laurence Wyke, Pape Mar Boye, Mohamed Traore (Ryan Flood, 78’); Edgardo Rito, Gabriel Torres (Juan Azocar, 57’), Jose Hernandez (Erickson Gallardo, 78’), Renzo Zambrano; Remi Cabral (Dariusz Formella, 67’), Panos Armenakas, Fede Varela (Emil Cuello, 67’)
Subs not used: Patrick Rakovsky, John Scearce

Monterey Bay F.C. (4-1-4-1): Antony Siaha; Walmer Martínez, Carlos Guzmán, Kai Greene, Morey Doner; Rafa Baca; Alex Dixon (Ryan Dieter, 66’), Adrian Rebollar, Mobi Fehr, Chuy Enríquez (Pierce Gallaway, 84’); Luther Archimède (Tristan Trager, 67’)
Subs not used: Carlos Herrera, Alex Lara, Max Glasser, Anthony Orendain

Stats Summary: MB / PHX

Shots: 11 / 8
Shots on Goal: 5 / 3
Saves: 3 / 4
Corner Kicks: 8 / 4
Fouls: 11 / 13
Possession: 51.6% / 48.4%

Misconduct Summary

PHX: Jose Hernandez (caution) 70’
PHX: Edgardo Rito (caution) 77’
MB: Chuy Enríquez (caution) 83’
MB: Mobi Fehr (caution) 85’
MB: Antony Siaha (caution) 90+4’
PHX: Emil Cuello (caution) 90+4’

Officials

Referee: Calin Radosav
Assistant Referee: Matthew Schwartz
Assistant Referee: Justin Fillmore
Fourth Official: Adam Zarrin