Monterey Bay Falls to Tampa Bay at Al Lang Stadium in Florida
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Saturday, August 12, 2023) – Monterey Bay F.C. (7-11-6, 27 points) fell 4-1 to Eastern Conference side Tampa Bay Rowdies (12-6-5, 41 points) in the Union’s first-ever match at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida. Mobi Fehr put the Union in front with a goal in the opening half hour, but four unanswered goals from Tampa Bay proved the difference.
Monterey Bay jumped in front first in the match with a play that started with a deep free kick from James Murphy in the 28th minute. Chase Boone brought the ball down on the left side before cutting to his left to create space towards the end line. Boone then whipped a low, left-footed ball into the center of the box. Moving around defenders just above the six-yard box, Fehr smashed the ball inside the far post with a first-time finish to give the Crisp-and-Kelp and the 1-0 lead. Tampa Bay earned a corner with the last chance of the half that led to a Rowdies player going down inside the box. With a penalty awarded to the hosts, Charlie Dennis buried it into the top left corner to level the match at 1-1 going into the break.
Two minutes into the second half, Tampa Bay turned a Monterey Bay free kick into a fast-paced counter attack, but Carlos Herrera came off his line to clear it away and thwart the Rowdies attack at the top of the box. In the 51st minute, Jordan Doherty finished his run inside the box with a ball played back into the center. With seemingly no one around, Jake LaCava turned on the jets to beat everyone to the ball and fired it into the back of the net to give the hosts the 2-1 lead. Monterey Bay came close to an equalizer in the 57th minute when Morey Doner crossed a ball towards Alex Dixon just outside the six-yard box, but Dixon mis-hit the volley and the chance went awry. A minute later, Tampa Bay extended its lead to two with a goal from J.J. Williams to bring the match to 3-1. The hosts looked to bag their fourth goal of the match in the 62nd minute, but it was called back for a foul. Doner crossed another dangerous ball into the box in the 80th minute, but Ugo Okoli’s header missed just wide of the top-right corner. The Rowdies eventually got a fourth goal off the foot of Ariel Martinez and the match ended 4-1 in favor of the hosts.
Up Next: Monterey Bay stays on the road, this time making a trip to Texas for a fixture with San Antonio FC at Toyota Field on Saturday, August 19 at 6 p.m. PT. The match can be streamed live on ESPN+.
Notes:
– Mobi Fehr opened his 2023 account with a goal in the opening half hour, the first goal of the match.
– James Murphy received his eighth caution of the season and will now miss the Club’s next match against San Antonio FC to serve a one-match suspension for yellow card accumulation.
– Missing the match due to injury were Simon Dawkins (knee maintenance), Chuy Enríquez (knee), and Max Glasser (hamstring).
Match: Tampa Bay Rowdies vs Monterey Bay F.C.
Date: August 12, 2023
Venue: Al Lang Stadium; St. Petersburg, Florida
Weather: Mostly cloudy and 90 degrees
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Tampa Bay Rowdies 1 3 4
Monterey Bay F.C. 1 0 1
MB: Mobi Fehr (Chase Boone) 28’
TBR: Charlie Dennis (PK) 45+7’
TBR: Jake LaCava (Jordan Doherty) 51’
TBR: J.J. Williams (Yann Ekra) 58’
TBR: Ariel Martinez (Jake LaCava) 88’
Lineups:
Tampa Bay Rowdies (3-5-2): Connor Sparrow; Aaron Guillen, Forrest Lasso, William Conner Antley; Frederik Kleemann, Jake Areman, Charlie Dennis (Ariel Martinez, 85’), Yann Ekra, Jordan Doherty; J.J. Williams (Lucky Mkosana, 85’), Jake LaCava (Felix Schroter, 90+2’)
Subs not used: Phil Breno, Cal Jennings
Monterey Bay F.C. (4-2-3-1): Carlos Herrera; Walmer Martínez (Alex Lara, 71’), Hugh Roberts II, Kai Greene, Morey Doner; Rafa Baca, James Murphy (Sam Gleadle, 71’); Alex Dixon (Jesse Maldonado, 76’), Mobi Fehr (Adrian Rebollar, 76’), Chase Boone; Ugo Okoli (Christian Volesky, 80’)
Subs not used: Antony Siaha
Stats Summary: TBR / MB
Shots: 18 / 7
Shots on Goal: 10 / 1
Saves: 0 / 6
Corner Kicks: 4 / 1
Fouls: 10 / 13
Possession: 60.0% / 40.0%
Misconduct Summary:
MB: James Murphy (caution) 45’
MB: Walmer Martínez (caution) 65’
MB: Mobi Fehr (caution) 71’
MB: Adrian Rebollar (caution) 88’
Officials:
Referee: Ted Unkel
Assistant Referee 1: Brian Marshall
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Pablo Casas
Fourth Official: Mario Maric
