Monterey Bay Falls to LAFC in Penalty Shootout at Cardinale Stadium, U.S. Open Cup Run Comes to an End in Round of 32
SEASIDE, California (Tuesday, May 9, 2023) – Monterey Bay F.C. fell 4-5 on penalties to Major League Soccer side LAFC in the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Cardinale Stadium, ending the Union’s run in the Round of 32 in front of the largest crowd to date in the Club’s short history. After going down early in the first half and trailing for over an hour in the match, Simon Dawkins scored at the death in the 90th minute to revive the Union and bring the match into extra time. Jesse Maldonado scored his first career goal at Cardinale Stadium to give the Union the lead four minutes into extra time, but LAFC equalized late to send the match to the first penalty shootout in Monterey Bay F.C. history.
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Starting the match on the front foot at home, Monterey Bay F.C. earned an early opportunity in the 5th minute of the match. A tackle won by Chuy Enríquez near the halfway line sparked a counter for the Union, but the shot by Christian Volesky was saved at the near post. LAFC earned an opportunity in the 12th minute, but the shot by Yekeson Subah from the top of the box was caught by Antony Siaha. After earning a free kick 19 minutes in, James Murphy took the set piece for the Crisp and Kelp and whipped a cross into the box to Mobi Fehr, but his headed attempt missed wide of the left post. Six minutes later, the visitors struck first with a goal from Christian Torres to give LAFC the 1-0 lead. Monterey Bay came excruciatingly close to the equalizer on a corner kick opportunity in the 32nd minute, but Fehr’s shot from inside the six hit the bottom of the crossbar and back out into play. In the 36th minute, Alex Dixon fired a shot on goal from just outside the box, but his shot was saved by the goalkeeper and the half ended with an edge to LAFC.
Monterey Bay came out aggressively to start the second half as the side searched for the equalizer. In the 56th minute, a combination down the left side between Enríquez and Walmer Martínez gave the Union an opportunity to attack in space, but Martínez’ cross into the box was cleared away by the LAFC defense. The visitors looked likely to score a second when Nathan Ordaz found himself alone inside the box in the 66th minute, but his shot was heroically kick-saved by Siaha to keep Monterey Bay in the match. Second-half substitute Jesse Maldonado made a run from the left side to the top center of the box in the 81st minute, but his right-footed shot was parried out for a corner to no avail. Then in the 90th minute after substituting into the match to make his 2023 debut for the Crisp and Kelp minutes earlier, Simon Dawkins collected a pass from Volesky near the center circle and fired it past the goalkeeper and across the line to bring Monterey Bay level at 1-1 and take the match into extra time.
The Crisp and Kelp carried the momentum right away into extra time. Just four minutes in, Volesky bagged his second assist of the night when he played Maldonado into the box. Maldonado then buried it into the back of the net to give the Union their first lead of the night at 2-1. Then in the final minute of the first half of extra time, LAFC’s Matheus Maia scored the equalizer, leaving all to play for in the final 15 minutes at 2-2. A counter attack led to a nervy opportunity for the visitors, but Siaha saved the shot to keep the match level. After extra time ended even at 2-2, the sides entered a penalty shootout. In the end, Monterey Bay F.C. fell 4-5 in the penalties to LAFC to end the Club’s Open Cup run.
Up Next: Monterey Bay F.C. travels to Albuquerque to take on New Mexico United at 6 p.m. PT on Saturday, May 13 at Isotopes Park. Live streaming of the match will be available on ESPN+.
Notes:
– Midfielder Simon Dawkins made his 2023 regular season debut as a substitute in the 86th minute and scored the goal that pushed the match to extra time just four minutes later.
– Forward Jesse Maldonado also made his 2023 debut and highlighted it with a goal of his own to give the Union the temporary lead just four minutes into extra time.
– With the score still level at 2-2 at the conclusion of extra time, Monterey Bay F.C. was tasked with a penalty shootout for the first time in Club history.
– Missing the match due to injury were Grant Robinson (leg), Sam Gleadle (thigh), Alex Lara (ankle), and Hugh Roberts II (groin).
Match: Monterey Bay F.C. vs LAFC
Date: May 9, 2023
Venue: Cardinale Stadium; Seaside, California
Weather: Partly cloudy and 55 degrees
Attendance: 5,808
Scoring Summary: 1 2 ET F P
Monterey Bay F.C. 0 1 1 2 4
Los Angeles FC 1 0 1 2 5
LAFC: Christian Torres (Christopher Jamie) 25’
MB: Simon Dawkins (Christian Volesky) 90’
MB: Jesse Maldonado (Christian Volesky) 94’
LAFC: Matheus Almeida (Daniel Crisostomo) 105’
Penalty Shootout Summary:
LAFC: Matheius Maia (Goal) 0-1
MB: Christian Volesky (Goal) 1-1
LAFC: Nathan Ordaz (Goal) 1-2
MB: Simon Dawkins (Goal) 2-2
LAFC: Daniel Crisostomo (Saved) 2-2
MB: Kai Greene (Goal) 3-2
LAFC: Bryan Moyado (Goal) 3-3
MB: Ugo Okoli (Saved) 3-3
LAFC: Eldin Jakupovic (Goal) 3-4
MB: Chase Boone (Goal) 4-4
LAFC: Diego Rosales (Goal) 4-5
MB: Mobi Fehr (Saved) 4-5
Lineups:
Monterey Bay F.C. (4-2-3-1): Antony Siaha; Walmer Martínez (Max Glasser 109’), Mobi Fehr, Kai Greene, Morey Doner; James Murphy (Simon Dawkins 85’), Nevello Yoseke (Ugo Okoli 63’); Chuy Enríquez (Jesse Maldonado 79’), Adrian Rebollar, Alex Dixon (Chase Boone 63’); Christian Volesky
Subs not used: Carlos Herrera, Jason Johnson
LAFC (4-3-3): Eldin Jakupovic; Noah Dollenmayer, Jeremi Rodriguez, Diego Rosales, Javen Romero (Matheus Maia 101’); Daniel Crisostomo, Erik Dueñas, Christopher Jaime (Armando Avila 85’); Nathan Ordaz, Yekeson Subah (Ladji Malle 70’), Christian Torres (Bryan Moyado 105’)
Subs not used: Abraham Romero, Dustin Aguirre, Jeremy Batioja
Stats Summary: MB / LAFC
Shots: 13 / 13
Shots on Goal: 7 / 6
Saves: 4 / 5
Corner Kicks: 9 / 8
Fouls: 10 / 22
Possession: 66.7% / 33.3%
Misconduct Summary:
MB: James Murphy (caution) 45’
MB: Antony Siaha (caution) 103’
MB: Mobi Fehr (caution) 110’
