Monterey Bay Heads to Hayward for Must-Win Matchup Against NorCal Rival Roots SC
HAYWARD, California (Friday, September 22, 2023) – Monterey Bay F.C. (11-12-7, 40 points) hits the road to Hayward for a local derby against Roots SC (11-11-7, 40 points). Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. PT on Saturday at Pioneer Stadium in Week 29 of the 2023 USL Championship regular season. Live streaming of the match will be available on ESPN+.
Monterey Bay enters the weekend on the heels of a whirlwind of a week that started with erasing a two-goal deficit to beat Las Vegas 3-2 on Saturday before losing a two-goal lead to fall 3-2 to San Diego four days later on Wednesday. The midweek match against Loyal SC saw the Union in fifth place in the live table as late as 88 minutes in before a miraculous finish by San Diego flipped the evening on its head and left the Cardinale Stadium crowd stunned in silence. Monterey Bay now remains in eighth place heading into a must-win contest this weekend against seventh place Roots SC. Any derby between these NorCal rival sides would be highly-anticipated on its own, but with both teams on equal points and fighting for a playoff spot this late in the campaign, suddenly this weekend’s fixture has a lot more than pride on the line.
Back in July, the Roots stormed into Seaside and stole a 3-1 win, giving themselves a 2-1-0 advantage in the all-time series head-to-head. The Union scored a late game-winner in the inaugural meeting between these club’s back in March 2022 to secure the first win in Club history, but Roots SC has managed to win each meeting since – both in Seaside – and has outscored Monterey Bay 5-1 in those two games. Heading into this one, on top of playoff implications abound, the Crisp-and-Kelp will look to steal one back in Hayward and even the all-time series at two wins apiece against a Roots side currently in the midst of a four-match losing streak.
SportsClubStats Playoff Predictor (47.6%)
Chance of playoffs with a WIN: 79.2%
Chance of playoffs with a DRAW: 47.9%
Chance of playoffs with a LOSS: 30.2%
Weekend Fixtures to Watch:
PIT vs NM – Saturday, 4:00 p.m. PT
→ Best outcome: Pittsburgh win
COS vs SAC – Saturday, 5:00 p.m. PT
→ Best outcome: Sacramento win
SA vs OC – Saturday, 5:30 p.m. PT
→ Best outcome: San Antonio win
ELP vs PHX – Saturday, 6:30 p.m. PT
→ Best outcome: Draw or Phoenix win
SD vs LV – Sunday, 3:00 p.m. PT
→ Best outcome: Las Vegas win
Roots SC vs. Monterey Bay F.C.
Pioneer Stadium; Hayward, California
Saturday, September 23, 2023; 7:00 p.m. PT
Access OAKvMB Match Notes
The Adobe PDF version of the 2023 Match Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Monterey Bay F.C. and Roots SC can be found here. Media members looking to receive the document as an attachment or have further questions are asked to please contact Steven Vargo in MBFC Communications via email at steven@montereybayfc.com.
2023 Records
Roots SC (11-11-7, 40 pts, 7th West); Monterey Bay F.C. (11-12-7, 40 pts, 8th West)
