Monterey Bay Falls 2-0 to North Carolina FC at WakeMed Soccer Park
CARY, North Carolina (Sunday, June 16, 2024) – Monterey Bay F.C. (5-7-4, 19 points) fell 2-0 to North Carolina (4-5-5, 17 points) in the inaugural match between the sides at WakeMed Soccer Park in Week 15 of the 2024 USL Championship campaign. Monterey Bay played the final hour of the match with 10 men due to Carlos Guzmán receiving a red card for a hand ball in the 30th minute, which also consequently led to a penalty and North Carolina’s second goal of the night.
Monterey Bay F.C. goalkeeper Antony Siaha had a few touches of the ball early on in this one, but it was the visitors who earned the first real chance of the day. In the 16th minute, Alex Dixon whipped a ball across the top of the box to Chuy Enríquez in space on the left side, but the ensuing shot from Enríquez was deflected out for a fruitless corner. North Carolina FC had a great look in the 22nd minute when a ball into the box reached Evan Conway in a little bit of space inside the six, but his back heel attempt at goal was unsuccessful. North Carolina FC took the lead in the 28th minute with a shot from Oalex Anderson that beat Siaha in the only way that it could; ricocheting off the bottom side of the cross bar and across the line to bring the match to 1-0.
Four minutes later, the referee pointed to the spot for a supposed handball in the box by Guzmán, who was then shown a red card and dismissed from the match. North Carolina FC’s Rafa Mentzingen converted the penalty to double the hosts lead at 2-0. In the 39th minute, Tristan Trager beat everyone beyond the North Carolina back line, but his shot attempt was deflected out for a corner, and the half ended 2-0 in favor of the home side. Dixon fired a shot from distance in the 54th minute, but it just missed over the top of the crossbar. Monterey Bay’s most dangerous look of the match came in the 55th minute when Morey Doner crossed the ball into the box towards Trager in space, but his diving header was saved by the goalkeeper at the near post. North Carolina came close to extending its lead in the 73rd minute, but the shot missed just wide of the left post and the match ultimately ended 2-0 in favor of NC.
Up Next
Monterey Bay returns home next Saturday, June 22 to take on NorCal rivals Oakland Roots SC at Cardinale Stadium for its second annual Fan Fest. The match kicks off at 3 p.m. PT and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
Additional Notes
- Missing the match due to injury were Luther Archimède (knee), Chase Boone (knee), Simon Dawkins (knee), Mobi Fehr (ankle), Jesse Maldonado (knee), Anthony Orendain (ankle), and Grant Robinson (ankle).
Information
Date: June 16, 2024
Venue: WakeMed Soccer Park; Cary, North Carolina
Weather: Clear and 87 degrees
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
North Carolina FC 2 0 2
Monterey Bay F.C. 0 0 0
NC: Oalex Anderson (Ezra Armstrong) 28’
NC: Rafa Mentzingen (Penalty) 34’
Lineups
North Carolina FC (3-4-3): Jake McGuire; Lamar Batista, Bryce Washington, Justin Malou; Rafael Mentzingen, Ezra Armstrong (Shaft Brewer, 84’), Jacori Hayes (Collin Martin, 71’), Michael Maldonado; Oalex Anderson (Garrett McLaughlin, 62’), Evan Conway (Louis Perez, 62’), Rodrigo da Costa (Jaden Servania, 84’)
Subs not used: Akira Fitzgerald, Kyrome Lumsden, Raheem Sommersall
Monterey Bay F.C. (4-2-3-1): Antony Siaha; Walmer Martínez, Carlos Guzmán, Kai Greene, Morey Doner; Rafa Baca, Adrian Rebollar (Jerry Ayon, 76’); Chuy Enríquez (Max Glasser, 75’), Xavi Gnaulati (Alex Lara, 35’), Alex Dixon (Michael Gonzalez, 65’); Tristan Trager (Ryan Dieter, 75’)
Subs not used: Carlos Herrera, Pierce Gallaway
Stats Summary: NC / MB
Shots: 17 / 9
Shots on Goal: 7 / 3
Saves: 3 / 5
Corner Kicks: 3 / 4
Fouls: 14 / 12
Possession: 54.6% / 45.4%
Misconduct Summary
MB: Walmer Martínez (caution) 26’
MB: Carlos Guzmán (dismissal) 32’
MB: Adrian Rebollar (caution) 45+3’
NC: Louis Perez (caution) 85’
Officials
Referee: Esad Omanovic
Assistant Referee 1: Amilcar Sicaju
Assistant Referee 2: Chris Schurfranz
Fourth Official: John Rush
