Monterey Bay Falls 1-0 to Republic FC at Heart Health Park in Sacramento
SACRAMENTO, California (Saturday, August 9, 2025) – Monterey Bay FC (6-10-4, 22 points) fell 1-0 in a NorCal derby with in-state rivals Sacramento Republic FC (8-4-6, 30 points) at Heart Health Park. Despite a serious push to get back into the match in the second half, Monterey Bay was ultimately unable to find the back of the net on the night.
Monterey Bay saw a great opportunity develop just two minutes into the match inside the rivalry confines of Heart Health Park. Luke Ivanovic found himself in some space on the right side of the box, cut back to his left and fired on goal, but his curling effort missed high and wide. An early booking for Alex Lara gave Sacramento a free kick just above the box in the 4th minute, but the shot from Rodrigo Lopez missed to the left. The hosts had the Crisp-and-Kelp under siege over the next several minutes with multiple shots, but all were off target. Republic FC came close to nabbing the opener when Sebastián Herrera was played in behind the Monterey Bay back line in the 18th minute, but his shot was stonewalled by Nico Campuzano. Campuzano had another great save eight minutes later when Jack Gurr crossed the ball into the box towards Herrera for a header across the face of goal, but the goalkeeper was quick to react and make the stop. The hosts eventually opened the scoring in the 36th minute with a right footed shot by Lopez to take a 1-0 lead into the halftime break.
The hosts had Monterey Bay buried in their own half through the hour mark, but the Crisp-and-Kelp stood tall defensively to keep Sacramento from doubling its lead. With Johnny Klein, Anton Søjberg, and Wes Fonguck entering the match shortly after, Monterey Bay began to maintain positive possession and dig themselves back into the game. In the 71st minute, Mobi Fehr whipped a ball into the box from the left sideline towards a wide open Klein in the center of the box – but Klein’s right-footed back-heel flick aimed for the far post was saved by Danny Vitiello. The Seasider’s earned consecutive set pieces in the 83rd minute of the match. A free kick earned by Miles Lyons was taken by Søjberg leading to a corner, but Sacramento managed to quell the corner kick opportunity as well. Sacramento’s Gurr took a free kick opportunity in the first minute of stoppage time, but his lofted ball into the box was punched away by Campuzano. Then in the fourth minute of added time, Monterey Bay earned a free kick of their own, but the first ball was headed out by a defender. The ball fell to Lyons above the 18, but his attempt to put the ball back into the mix was mishit and sailed over the crossbar, ending the match 1-0 in favor of the hosts.
Up Next
Monterey Bay FC remains on the road, traveling to El Paso for a fixture with Locomotive FC next Saturday, August 16. Kickoff from Southwest University Park is set for 6 p.m. PT, with live streaming available on ESPN+.
Additional Notes
- Missing the match due to injury were Sam Gomez (lower body), Jacob Muir (lower body), Ilijah Paul (lower body), and Grant Robinson (lower body).
Information
Date: August 9, 2025
Venue: Heart Health Park; Sacramento, California
Weather: Clear and 88°F
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Republic FC 1 0 1
Monterey Bay FC 0 0 0
SAC: Rodrigo Lopez 36’
Lineups
Republic FC (5-2-3): Daniel Vitiello; Michelle Benitez, Lee Desmond, Freddy Kleeman, Jared Timmer, Jack Gurr; Rodrigo Lopez (Luis Felipe, 76’), Nick Ross (Blake Willey, 67’); Russell Cicerone (Aaron Edwards, 90’), Christian Parano (Lewis Jamieson, 76’), Juan Sebastian Herrera (Khori Bennett, 67’)
Subs not used: Jared Mazzola, Ryan Spaulding, Chibuike Ukaegbu, Dominik Wanner
Monterey Bay FC (4-1-4-1): Nico Campuzano; Sami Guediri (Miles Lyons, 60’), Nico Gordon, Alex Lara, Joel Garcia Jr.; Pierce Gallaway (Wesley Fonguck, 65’); Mayele Malango (Johnny Klein, 60’), Mobi Fehr, Xavi Gnaulati (Anton Søjberg, 65’), Adrian Rebollar; Luke Ivanovic
Subs not used: Dallas Odle, Carlos Guzmán, Ethan Bryant
Stats Summary: SAC / MB
Shots: 23 / 5
Shots on Goal: 6 / 1
Saves: 1 / 5
Corner Kicks: 10 / 3
Fouls: 12 / 13
Possession: 53.7% / 46.3%
Misconduct Summary
MB: Alex Lara (caution) 3’
SAC: Michelle Benitez (caution) 82’
MB: Joel Garcia Jr. (caution) 86’
Officials
Referee: Elvis Osmanovic
Assistant Referee: Eric Krueger
Assistant Referee: James Ewer
Fourth Official: Abdu RazzaqJuma
