Monterey Bay Earns 2-1 Victory Over Locomotive FC at Southwest University Park in El Paso
EL PASO, Texas (Saturday, September 2, 2023) – Monterey Bay F.C. (9-11-7, 34 points) derailed Locomotive FC (10-11-5, 35 points) 2-1 at Southwest University Park in El Paso, Texas. Alex Dixon recorded his 10th goal of the season in the first half and Ugo Okoli scored his first goal of the campaign, the eventual game-winner in the second half to earn the Crisp-and-Kelp a crucial three points. The win brings the Union within striking distance of a playoff spot as it moves the Club into ninth place in the Western Conference table – and two points back of seventh – with seven matches to play.
With the hosts on the front foot to start the match, El Paso created an early chance to score with a laser from distance by Marc Navarro in the 10th minute, but the shot missed just wide of the left post. Monterey Bay spent the majority of the first 20 minutes absorbing pressure, but managed to break out on a counter that resulted in a corner kick in the 22nd minute. The ball in from James Murphy fell to the feet of Sam Gleadle at the edge of the box. Gleadle then fired it on frame but saw it deflected. Chase Boone gathered the loose ball on the right side of the six-yard box, but his attempt at a cross was cleared away by the Locomotive FC defense. Gleadle led the Union on another dangerous counter in the 25th minute, but the eventual cross into the box was too far for Dixon at the far post. Monterey Bay worked itself into the game with a fair amount of possession towards the latter end of the first half, and ultimately took the lead with a goal just before the halftime break. In the 44th minute, Gleadle and Boone combined on a give-and-go down the left side of the pitch that led to Gleadle laying the ball back across the box into space. The ball was deflected by El Paso into the path of Dixon, who took his time and calmly slotted the ball past two defenders, the goalkeeper, and into the back of the net to give the Crisp-and-Kelp the 1-0 lead on the road at the break.
El Paso found the equalizer just five minutes into the second half on a deflected shot by Petar Petrovic that curled inside the far post to level the match at 1-1. El Paso then came close to a second goal in the 73rd minute of the match. With the Union absorbing pressure, Eric Calvillo fired a grass-burner on frame from the edge of the box, but it was saved by Carlos Herrera. Two minutes later, second-half substitute Adrian Rebollar intercepted a ball in the Locomotive FC side of the pitch and drove it down the right flank before playing it across to Okoli in the middle of the box. Okoli collected the pass, turned and scored with a right-footed shot to retake the lead for Monterey Bay – his first goal in Crisp and Kelp. El Paso pushed forward for a second equalizer in the final minutes of the match, but the Union defense stood tall and held on for an important 2-1 win away from home.
Up Next: Monterey Bay goes right back on the road to Tennessee for a fixture with Memphis 901 FC at AutoZone Park on Saturday, September 9 at 5:00 p.m. PT. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Notes:
– Alex Dixon scored his 10th goal of the season in the 44th minute of the match, making him the first player in Monterey Bay F.C. history to reach double digits in goals scored in a single season.
– Ugo Okoli opened his 2023 scoring account with his first goal in Crisp and Kelp, the eventual game-winner in the 75th minute of the match.
– Nevello Yoseke was unavailable for selection as he was called up to represent the South Sudan National Team in a qualifying group stage match against Mali ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, followed by a friendly against Kenya.
– Missing the match due to injury were Simon Dawkins (knee), Mobi Fehr (hamstring), Max Glasser (hamstring), and Grant Robinson (abdominal).
Match: El Paso Locomotive FC vs Monterey Bay F.C.
Date: September 2, 2023
Venue: Southwest University Park; El Paso, Texas
Weather: Clear and 90 degrees
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Locomotive FC 0 1 1
Monterey Bay F.C. 1 1 2
MB: Alex Dixon 44’
ELP: Petar Petrovic (Marc Navarro) 50
MB: Ugo Okoli (Adrian Rebollar) 75’
Lineups:
El Paso Locomotive FC (4-4-2): Benny Diaz; Miles Lyons (Arun Basuljevic, 86’), Erik McCue, Marc Navarro, Noah Dollenmayer; Liam Rose, Denys Kostyshyn (Nicholas Hinds, 67’), Eric Calvillo, Petar Petrovic; Ricardo Zacarias (Emmanuel Sonupe, 67’), Aaron Gomez (Christopher Garcia, 81’)
Subs not used: Javier Garcia, Jose Carrillo, Louis Herrera
Monterey Bay F.C. (3-4-2-1): Carlos Herrera; Hugh Roberts, Kai Greene, Alex Lara; Sam Gleadle, James Murphy (Adrian Rebollar, 67’), Rafa Baca, Morey Doner; Alex Dixon (Walmer Martínez, 67’), Chase Boone (Jesse Maldonado, 74’) (Chuy Enríquez, 90+5’); Christian Volesky (Ugo Okoli, 67’)
Subs not used: Antony Siaha
Stats Summary: ELP / MB
Shots: 19 / 8
Shots on Goal: 5 / 3
Saves: 1 / 4
Corner Kicks: 10 / 1
Fouls: 12 / 10
Possession: 58.1% / 41.9%
Misconduct Summary:
ELP: Chris Garcia (caution) 90+3
Officials:
Referee: Natalie Simon
Assistant Referee: Ben Rigel
Assistant Referee: James Ewer
Fourth Official: Dreaux Plair
