Herrera

Monterey Bay F.C. Goalkeeper Carlos Herrera Wins Fans’ Choice Save of the Week for Week 32

October 21, 2022 by Steven Vargo

SEASIDE, Calif. (Friday, October 21, 2022) – Following four days of fan voting, the USL Championship announced today that Monterey Bay F.C. goalkeeper Carlos Herrera has received the most votes for his save this past weekend to win the Fans’ Choice Save of the Week for Week 32.

Herrera earns the honor for his impressive save in the 54th minute of the club’s final match of the season in Week 32 at H-E-B Park in Edinburg, Texas against Rio Grande Valley FC. Following a loose pass in the Union’s defensive side of the pitch that resulted in a turnover, Herrera reacted quickly to the danger, flying off his line and using his body to block a sure shot from Toros’ midfielder Ricky Ruiz.

Quote Sheet: MBFC 1-1 NM

July 2, 2022 by Steven Vargo

Cardinale Stadium; Seaside, California
Saturday, July 2, 2022

Sporting Director & Head Coach Frank Yallop
On the match:
“I thought we played well for about five minutes in the first half. They dominated possession wise, but we didn’t give up too many chances in that spell. We didn’t play well in the first half, I told them at half time. I loved the response from the guys after halftime. I thought that we certainly deserved a draw and could have snuck a win out of it. New Mexico is a good team and they caught us on the break a few times. With the effort the guys put in in the second half it would have been nice to get the three points.”

On the defensive effort:
“New Mexico is a possession-based team, and we are more of a counter-attacking team. They have a lot of players in the middle area, they want to possess the ball to create great chances. Our counteracting to that is to win it and try to break and use the space wide, which is where we did very well, I thought most of the game. Most of our chances came from that, which was the game plan. Kind of cat and mouse. I don’t mind giving up possession, but in the first half we were too passive with closing down the ball. The second half was completely different, I think the guys really listened at halftime. We could have ended up winning the game. I was really proud of the way they reacted after halftime.”

On the formation:
“We play with three across the top, and that system suits us. Adrian [Rebollar] in the pocket underneath gives us energy, fight, and drive. Chase [Boone], great finish at the back post. Terrific goal, another goal for him. It was a great ball by Morey [Doner], and then I thought Walmer [Martinez] was good tonight again. The last two games he’s played very well. Him and Morey are starting to have a nice partnership on that side. All around, tonight was a fair result.”

On the midfield:
“New Mexico outnumbered us in the midfield, so it was tough in there for Arun [Basuljevic] and Robbie [Crawford]. We had two sitters and Adrian [Rebollar] high, while they have four players in the central area. When we win it and break from those spots, it’s great. New Mexico is going to possess it, they’re a good side. They lost their last game before we played them, but they had won four straight matches before that. They’re a good team and established in this league, whereas we are brand new. For us it’s a good night, our fans were great, they drove us on late into the game. We’re a bit sad that we didn’t get that winning goal for them, but we will be back in a couple weeks and hopefully we can get a win.”

Goalkeeper Carlos Herrera
On his great saves giving the defense momentum:
“I think each save is a weight off our shoulders, seeing that we can stay in games and that I can do my part to help the team stay in games. If they would have gotten up on us, it becomes a little bit of a battle more than it already was. I was just glad to do what I’m supposed to do.”

On recent close results:
“There’s definitely just a little thought in the back of your head, telling you about that. Once we were able to weather the storm a little bit after they got their equalizer, we were in it. I think a tie is rough, but we will take it. It’s not a loss, and at home, it’s progress. The team is finding what works for us and finding our footing and hopefully we can build on this and keep improving going forward.”

On playing a lot of the game on the defense:
“The period of the game when we’re defending for two, three, four, five minutes, you can feel the pressure building. I feel like a save or any defensive stop, whether it’s from me or from the defensive line, is like a little relief of the pressure. It helps you get through the game. It’s like a reset button I feel. You absorb the pressure, you get out of it, you can breathe again, and you can go forward.”

On his distribution:
“I’m confident in my abilities to play the ball with my feet and try to find passes. If we’re able to keep the ball, I want to try and do that. Obviously today there were times where I was off technically, messed up passes and poor decisions, but I will go back and watch film and try to learn from those mistakes and improve. If I can help the team keep the ball, rather than create a 50/50, I’ll try to do it, but I have to be smarter in picking my times to do so. That will come with learning and watching film and doing my homework.”

Forward Jason Johnson
On his first thoughts:
“Overall, not a bad game. Definitely a step up from last week. Last week we got scored on twice in about a five-minute span. This week we had an early goal again. Fortunately, we weren’t behind, and the response in the second half was much better. It was a step in the right direction for sure.”

On the crowd’s energy and the refs:
“The referee’s get the most hate in this game. They could have been right, could have been wrong. It’s just a fighting spirit, you want everything to land on your side. Credit to the guys, especially in the second half I think we played a lot better with longer spans of intensity and concentration. And once again from the crowd, I really appreciate the reception. That was very nice, I appreciate that. Going forward I hope to do a bit better.”

On struggling to connect on the final pass:
“We were just talking to Grant [Robinson] about that pass that he squared, and it went through three guys to Robbie [Crawford] who got a shot, but the keeper made a save. I think some of it is the passer and I think some of it is the runners. It’s just something both of us have to keep working on in training sessions. But it’s one of the first games that we’ve had a full squad on the bench so that’s a positive as well.”

On the difference of play in each half:
“The dynamic is different because we scored in the second minute, so New Mexico is going to want to come back and put some pressure to try and get the ball. I think it was smart of us to sit in, be compact, and to pick the right moments to attack. Obviously when they scored the dynamic changed, and in the second half it was back and forth. Throughout the second half we grew and grew into the game. They say goals change games, so it had a big impact on the game.”

Quote Sheet: MBFC 2 – 3 SA

June 11, 2022 by Steven Vargo

Cardinale Stadium; Seaside, California
Saturday, June 11, 2022

Sporting Director & Head Coach Frank Yallop
On preparation coming into the match:
“We know they are a very good side. I think that today’s performance, we did pretty well against them. We matched them and went toe-to-toe, but obviously didn’t come out with a win. We at least deserved a draw today.”

On being unlucky in the match:
“We’ve been unlucky all season to be honest. A lot of games we’ve played well enough to get a point and well enough to win, but it’s a new team and we’re growing. We’ve played a few games at home now where I think we’ve played well enough to earn more points, but I have to figure out the best system to play or combination of players. I’ll say that our players are giving everything they’ve got and this is a great example of 100% effort right to the end. We didn’t get the result, but the performance was decent with a couple of errors that cost us the game. In general, I was happy with our demeanor and our fight and our system of keeping going for 90 minutes. That’s a good sign.”

On the refereeing:
“Some games you have officiating go for you and some games it goes against you. I’m not saying it went against us today, but we could have maybe had a couple of calls go our way in the opposing box. That being said, I haven’t seen the film yet. Our team gave everything they had and we’re walking away from the stadium saying that it was a great game. We didn’t quite win, but the team looks good. Once we get through this year and I start adding some pieces that I think will propel us to play well, we will really be a dominant team in the league. I think we’ll be fine.”

Christian Volesky
On the match:
“Definitely unlucky. On a different day we would beat that team, and they are one of the best teams in the league. You can take some positivity from that. If we can play with these teams, we beat Louisville, we beat the switchbacks at their home, if we can carry that energy and knock some of these not as strong teams, we’ll be in the playoffs this year, and that’s our goal, at least my goal.”

On momentum swings in the match:
“There were a lot of ups and downs in this game, more so than normal. We’re at home, so to get a goal early, we should be better. Obviously, we had a couple of small mistakes that led to goals, but we should be able to see out the half and carry it into the second half. We came back, got a goal, maybe could have had two or three more and then unfortunately when we were pushing forward we gave up a late goal. That’s how the story goes, it’s a beautiful game sometimes and it’s a tough game sometimes.”

Goalkeeper Carlos Herrera
On preparing to play San Antonio:
“We prepared like every other game, it’s not like we’re treating opponents differently. We prepared the same way we did for Louisville, Colorado, every single team. I think we were just unlucky to come off with no points after the end of the game. We played well, I thought we deserved more than just a loss. The game of soccer is about moments, there’s times where you have to brace and defend and then the other team does the same. You have the ball, they have the ball, it’s a game of moments. Can you take your moments, can you do well when you’re defending, it’s just a normal part of the game.”

On his reaction to the loss:
“At the end of the day, we can’t really blame anyone but ourselves, we had a couple of moments where we lacked concentration. We can sit here and blame the refs all we want, but at the end of the day we need to do better when we’re in front of the goal and we need to do better taking care of the ball. We can’t always just be blaming and finding scapegoats, we have to take some responsibility and I do for myself as well.”

Midfielder James Murphy
On defensive pressure and getting unlucky:
“I guess we probably feel a little bit unlucky. I think we all thought we started the game pretty well and got the goal that we deserved to go up 1-0, but we weren’t happy with how we finished the half or the last 20 minutes. Obviously, they got their two goals, so we weren’t happy with the way the half ended. We talked about it at half time, and I thought we were really happy with the way we came out in the second half. I think the goal was ours to win in the second half, we got our goal that we deserved to tie it up and then we kept pushing and in the end obviously we didn’t do enough to win because we don’t come out with anything and that’s really our objective. There were goals there to be scored, goal line scrambles and stuff like that, just didn’t get it over the line. In the end we’re disappointed because we wanted the 3 points out of this game or at a very minimum to get one point out of this game, but we came away with nothing.”

On remaining focused throughout momentum shifts:
“It’s tough. When we’re playing a team like San Antonio, who I think at this time are top of the West, they’re going to react to going a goal down. We got the goal we deserved, but obviously they were never just going to let us run away with the game. They came back into it like they do, they fought to end up going ahead, and then we didn’t really deal with that momentum shift too well. We went into the half down 2-1 when really we should have at least been level with them going into the half and that’s something we got to work on. We can’t let teams come from behind and push this momentum and take over games like that from us.”

On the officiating in the match:
“I’m not here to speak on referees. They come out here and do their jobs just like we come out and do our jobs. It’s not always going to go your way, and I have no complaints. The referee comes out here to do his job, we come out here to play the game and that’s the way it goes.”

Quote Sheet: MBFC 1 – 0 LV

May 8, 2022 by Steven Vargo

Cardinale Stadium; Seaside, California
Saturday, May 7, 2022

Sporting Director & Head Coach Frank Yallop
On the win:
“Very happy. It’s been a long stretch of away games, to finally get to play in front of fans in our stadium was really good. I thought the guys performed really well. They could’ve come out a bit nervous if you think about it, so for me I am really happy with the performance and to get that win. We should’ve probably scored a couple more goals, but we hung in there and got the win and that’s the most important thing. It was a good game.”

On what this match means going forward:
“It’s a start, we can build on this. We have another game next weekend at home, right here. It’s going to be a tough game, every game in the West is basically a tough game. But I thought we performed well. I thought we were organized, we defended very well. We limited a lot of chances. This Las Vegas team has scored a lot of goals this year and we limited their chances. I also thought we created some good chances to score. We didn’t quite take them, but we got the one. Walmer [Martínez] scored a hell of a goal to win the game for us and I’m not sure there’s a better story for us to start our home stretch.”

On the difference between the first three matches and the previous three:
“Healthy players. I don’t get many chances to explain what is happening when we have a bunch of guys injured and out and suspended for whatever reasons. I don’t like to make excuses, but we were light on players in those games. In the other games we’ve had this season away from home where we were fully loaded, we competed. I just spoke to Las Vegas’ coach, I worked with him in Vegas, and he said that we’ve been unlucky in a lot of the games that we’ve had. We could’ve been sitting on three wins, win tonight and then we’re sitting at the middle or near the top of the table. But I’m not too worried about the table. I’m worried about performances. We just want to entertain the fans here at home. We want to make sure that we’re on the front foot to make sure that it’s an enjoyable game to watch, and obviously winning is key.”

Goalkeeper Carlos Herrera
On the clean sheet:
“Today was my pro debut, my first ever professional game. To have it be the home opener, the first home win, first shutout in club history, especially to do it in front of these fans, they were electric, and having my whole family here for my first-ever game, it was literally a thing of dreams. I couldn’t have asked for a better game. I am ecstatic.”

On his big save late in the match:
“I knew it. There’s always one. You could see nothing for 89, 90 minutes, but the keeper is going to have to make one save. And it might have to be a blinder, so I was mentally prepared. Come the 65th, 70th minute, I was thinking to myself ‘OK, we’re up one zero and they are going to have one chance.’ I knew they were going to come forward with everything they have, they were going to get one. I was prepared, and thank God I made the save.”

On the difference it made being at home:
“It’s all fun and games to be on the road, travel, see new places, but it’s exhausting. It’s not like we’re out on vacation, it’s business. You travel there and back within three days, it’s exhausting. You don’t sleep in your own bed, the food that you normally would, so it’s definitely a process. The ability to be in your own house, eat whatever you normally eat, do your own pregame things. Then on top of that, it’s our home opener. How do you not get up for that? There was no way that we weren’t going to come out guns blazing and give it everything we’ve got. And it showed, I am so happy for the group. We definitely needed this. It’s good for belief going forward. I’ve never doubted that we have a good group, we’ve had a lot of injuries. This is probably the healthiest we’ve been in a while, so I had a very good feeling about tonight and I was right.

Midfielder Walmer Martínez
On the win:
“It’s an amazing feeling, especially to have all of my family here. It couldn’t have been any better, it’s just amazing. I can’t even describe it. I saw an opening in the goal, took a shot and it went in. So I’m super happy about that and I’m glad that I did it in front of the fans. They deserve it, they deserved this win, we owed it to them and I’m super stoked about it.”

On the goal:
“It was just one of those things. I looked up to see if I had anyone, and I didn’t have anyone but the open goal so I thought to myself I’m going to take it and I stuck it.”

On playing here at a professional level:
“I played here for the university on their fields, and it’s our first game here at this new stadium. I’m just happy because I had a lot of old teammates here, a whole community that supports me, and I’m glad to be able to make history with the first goal here in this stadium. I’m honestly super happy about that.”

Herrera

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