Monterey Bay F.C. Plays FC Tulsa to a Scoreless Draw at Home
SEASIDE, California (Wednesday, May 31, 2023) – Monterey Bay F.C. (3-4-5, 14 points) played Eastern Conference opponent FC Tulsa (2-4-7, 13 points) to a scoreless draw on First Responders Night at Cardinale Stadium.
The first 25 minutes of the match were even with both sides working to make their way into control. A minute later, the pressure began to build for the home side. Back-to-back corner kick opportunities resulted in half chances that led to consistent possession in the FC Tulsa half of the pitch over the next several minutes. As Monterey Bay continued to build pressure, a ball dropped right to Sam Gleadle inside the 18-yard box, but his shot was blocked by a Tulsa defender to deny the hosts the opener. The visitors began to apply some pressure of their own, stringing together a series of crosses into the box in the 30th minute, but the Union defense held strong. In the 34th minute, Alex Dixon fired a shot on frame from the right side of the box, but his shot was parried away by the goalkeeper at the near post. Monterey Bay earned another corner kick in the 44th minute of the match. The ensuing kick by James Murphy curled around the defense towards Kai Greene at the far post and nearly went in itself, but it missed just wide and the sides went scoreless into the break.
Four minutes into the second half, Morey Doner earned the Union a free kick from the corner of the 18-yard box. The cross was cleared initially, but possession remained with Monterey Bay and a shot from Greene was caught by the goalkeeper. Monterey Bay almost found the breakthrough in the 54th minute when Doner whipped a ball into the box to Christian Volesky, but his shot from point-blank range was saved by the goalkeeper once again. A minute later, FC Tulsa came close with a chance of their own when Phillip Goodrum broke free beyond the Union back line, but Antony Siaha rushed out of his goal and made the stop. Following a great build-up, Gleadle found Murphy all alone inside the box with a beautiful pass in the 63rd minute, but his shot missed over the top of the crossbar. Simon Dawkins subbed into the match in the 80th minute and wasted no time before making an impact on the match. Dawkins fired a shot from outside the box in the 83rd minute. His shot hit the crossbar and bounced straight down, failing to fully cross the line and FC Tulsa managed to clear it away. With Monterey Bay F.C. Inching closer to the opening score and the match winding down, second-half substitute Chase Boone had two chances of his own, but both of his shots missed to the outside of the right post and the match ended with the scoreline unchanged.
Up Next: Monterey Bay F.C. hosts Loudoun United FC for a 7 p.m. PT kickoff this Saturday in a quick turnaround at Cardinale Stadium. Saturday’s match will be broadcast locally via KION on FOX 35 (46.2 over the air, 35 Dish, 47 DirecTV and 3/702 HD Xfinity), with live streaming available on ESPN+.
Notes:
– Sam Gleadle made his 100th career USL Championship appearance with his return to the pitch in the starting XI tonight after missing four matches in all competitions since April 29.
– James Murphy returned from injury to play in his first overall match since May 9 and first league match since May 5 as part of Head Coach Frank Yallop’s choice eleven on the night.
– Max Glasser missed the match due to international duty, as he is currently participating in a microcycle with Nicaragua in preparation for the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
– Missing the match due to injury were Alex Lara (ankle) and Grant Robinson (leg).
Match: Monterey Bay F.C. vs FC Tulsa
Date: May 31, 2023
Venue: Cardinale Stadium; Seaside, California
Weather: Mostly cloudy and 54 degrees
Attendance: 3,431
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Monterey Bay F.C. 0 0 0
FC Tulsa 0 0 0
Lineups:
Monterey Bay F.C. (4-2-3-1): Antony Siaha; Walmer Martínez, Mobi Fehr, Kai Greene, Morey Doner; Adrian Rebollar, James Murphy; Chuy Enríquez (Simon Dawkins, 80’), Sam Gleadle, Alex Dixon (Chase Boone, 73’); Christian Volesky (Ugo Okoli, 73’)
Subs not used: Carlos Herrera, Hugh Roberts, Nevello Yoseke, Jesse Maldonado
FC Tulsa (4-2-3-1): Michael Nelson; Justin Malou (Jorge Corrales, 78’), Rashid Tetteh (Bradley Bourgeois, 53’), Roger Bonet, Adam Armour; Christopher Pearson (Moses Dyer, 45’), Eric Bird (Collin Fernandez, 38’), Blaine Ferri, Milo Yosef; Marcus Epps (Dario Suárez, 78’), Phillip Goodrum
Subs not used: Austin Wormell, Nathan Worth
Stats Summary: MB / TUL
Shots: 18 / 4
Shots on Goal: 5 / 2
Saves: 2 / 5
Corner Kicks: 8 / 0
Fouls: 12 / 16
Possession: 48.4% / 51.6%
Misconduct Summary:
MB: Adrian Rebollar (caution) 16’
TUL: Milo Yosef (caution) 44’
TUL: Adam Amour (caution) 61’
Officials:
Referee: Gerald Flores
Assistant Referee 1: Peter Hanson
Assistant Referee 2: Andrew Hanks
Fourth Official: Adam Zarrin
