Monterey Bay Blanks Miami FC with Stunner in Transition for Fourth Consecutive Win
SEASIDE, California (Saturday, June 24, 2023) – Monterey Bay F.C. (7-4-5, 26 points) shutout visiting Eastern Conference side Miami FC (2-7-7, 13 points) at Cardinale Stadium, presented by the U.S. Women’s Open. Antony Siaha saved a penalty awarded to the visitors in the second half and Christian Volesky scored the game-winning goal – his seventh of the season – immediately afterward in transition to earn the Crisp and Kelp their fourth consecutive win and propel the Club into third place in the Western Conference table.
Miami FC livened the match with a close chance in the 24th minute following a header from Ben Ofeimu, but the shot was saved with a diving effort by Siaha at the near post. Miami FC’s Paco Craig followed it up with a shot of his own, but his attempt missed wide of the left post. A ball looped into the box for Monterey Bay found Chase Boone in the 37th minute. Boone headed it down into a dangerous area just outside the six yard box, but the Miami FC defender managed to keep Volesky off the ball just enough to disrupt a shot attempt. Miami’s Kyle Murphy got in behind the Union’s back line on the counter in the 42nd minute, but Kai Greene closed the space down quickly to make the end of the run uncomfortable. Murphy managed to get a shot off, but Siaha stuck his foot out just in time to block it away. Then just before the halftime whistle, Alex Dixon fired a shot from the half circle that missed over the top of the crossbar and the sides went scoreless into the halftime break.
Monterey Bay earned a chance in the 56th minute following a long spell of possession deep in Miami FC’s half. Walmer Martínez floated a ball into the box toward Volesky, who redirected it on frame with a backheel flick, but it was pushed up and over the crossbar by the goalkeeper. The referee pointed to the spot for Miami FC in the 65th minute following a foul in the box by the Union and Murphy stepped up to the shot for the visitors. He fired it to his left, but Siaha blanked it at the left post and an attack in transition for the hosts immediately ensued. Morey Doner collected the ball off the save and played it long to Dixon who sped down the right side of the pitch in acres of space. Near the end of his run, Dixon played it across to Volesky inside the box for the go-ahead goal and the Crisp and Kelp jumped on top 1-0 a mere 15 seconds after the penalty save. Miami looked to score the equalizer late in the 88th minute, but the shot by Christian Sorto was blocked by a last second close down from Doner to deny the visitors and the match ended 1-0 in favor of Monterey Bay.
Up Next: Monterey Bay goes back on the road next weekend with a trip to Southern California for a fixture with Orange County SC at Championship Soccer Stadium on Saturday, July 1 at 7 p.m. PT. The match can be streamed live on ESPN+.
Notes:
– The result is Monterey Bay’s fourth consecutive win, fifth unbeaten, and third shutout in the previous five matches with only two goals conceded in those five.
– Only 15 seconds passed between Antony Siaha’s penalty save to Christian Volesky’s game-winning goal in transition.
– Grant Robinson made his return to the pitch for Monterey Bay as a second-half substitute in the match. The defender missed six of the seven previous matches in all competitions after sustaining a hamstring injury in the Club’s match against Pittsburgh on May 5.
– Missing the match due to injury were Max Glasser (hamstring), Sam Gleadle (ankle) and Alex Lara (ankle).
Match: Monterey Bay F.C. vs Miami FC
Date: June 24, 2023
Venue: Cardinale Stadium; Seaside, California
Weather: Partly cloudy and 59 degrees
Attendance: 3,910
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Monterey Bay F.C. 1 0 1
Miami FC 0 0 0
MB: Christian Volesky (Alex Dixon) 67’
Lineups:
Monterey Bay F.C. (3-4-2-1): Antony Siaha; Mobi Fehr, Hugh Roberts, Kai Greene; Walmer Martínez , James Murphy, Adrian Rebollar (Novello Yoseke, 75’), Morey Doner; Chase Boone (Simon Dawkins, 64’), Alex Dixon (Grant Robinson, 82’); Christian Volesky
Subs not used: Carlos Herrera, Chuy Enríquez, Jesse Maldonado, Ugo Okoli
Miami FC (4-4-2): Jake McGuire; Aedan Stanley, Benjamin Ofeimu (Moises Hernandez, 45’), Paco Craig, Curtis Thorn; Christian Sorto , Bolu Akinyode (Ben Mines, 30’), Dennis Dowouna (Michael Salazar, 87’), Mark Segbers; Kyle Murphy, Claudio Repetto (Joaquin Rivas, 81’)
Subs not used: Adrian Zendejas, Lorenzo DiMercurio
Stats Summary: MB / MIA
Shots: 13 / 11
Shots on Goal: 3 / 5
Saves: 4 / 2
Corner Kicks: 3 / 5
Fouls: 16 / 9
Possession: 51.8% / 48.2%
Misconduct Summary:
MB: Kai Greene (caution) 27’
MB: Christian Volesky (caution) 90+2’
Officials:
Referee: Corbyn May
Assistant Referee 1: Baboucarr Jallow
Assistant Referee 2: CJ Koll
Fourth Official: Turan Ozdemir
