Monterey Bay Falls 2-0 to Legion FC in Birmingham, Playoff Hopes Left to Regular Season Home Finale on Saturday
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Sunday, October 8, 2023) – Monterey Bay F.C. (11-14-8, 41 points) was defeated 2-0 by Birmingham Legion FC (14-15-4, 46 points) at Protective Stadium. The Union’s playoff hopes now lie on the final weekend of the regular season, making the home finale against Orange County SC this coming Saturday a must-see match at Cardinale Stadium.
Monterey Bay’s first opportunity of the match came in the eighth minute on a counter led by Morey Doner, who found Sam Gleadle on the left side. Gleadle played a dangerous ball across the six-yard box that Ugo Okoli got a foot on, but it was saved by the goalkeeper. An ensuing shot by Gleadle then missed over the crossbar. A scary moment for the Union came in the 35th minute when a Birmingham possession ended with a ball being slid to Preston Ebort Etaka inside the box, but his shot deflected off of the near post and was ushered out for a goal kick by Hugh Roberts II and the sides went scoreless into the halftime break.
The hosts struck first with a goal from Juan Agudelo just 15 minutes into the second half. After flicking it up himself past the defender, Agudelo fired it at goal. The ball hit the bottom of the crossbar, shot straight down and then bounced up and hit the bottom of the crossbar a second time before being cleared away by Carlos Herrera, but the ball was ruled to have fully crossed the line and Birmingham took the 1-0 lead. Monterey Bay looked likely to equalize in the 70th minute when Gleadle broke free beyond the Birmingham back line for a one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but his shot missed just wide of the left post. The Union had another chance right away with Gleadle flying down the left side. Gleadle played the ball to Alex Dixon in space at the top of the box, but he was called for a foul for extending his arm to fend off the defender and the chance went awry. Birmingham had another chance in the 73rd minute, but Neco Brett’s header was denied by the left post. Legion FC eventually doubled its lead in the 80th minute with a grass-burning shot by Collin Smith from a tight angle on the right side that brought the match to its final score of 2-0.
Up Next: Monterey Bay returns to Seaside for its regular season home finale against Orange County SC on Breast Cancer Awareness Night at Cardinale Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT on Saturday, October 14 and will be broadcast locally on KION (46 & 23 over the air, 46 Dish, 27 DirecTV and 5/705 HD Xfinity), with live streaming available on Hulu, Paramount+, YouTubeTV, FuboTV, and ESPN+.
Notes
– With the loss to Birmingham this afternoon, Monterey Bay now needs to win at home next Saturday against Orange County SC and hope for a New Mexico loss or draw to secure the first playoff berth in the Club’s young history.
– Missing the match due to injury were Simon Dawkins (knee), Mobi Fehr (hamstring), Jesse Maldonado (knee), and Grant Robinson (abdomen).
Information
Date: October 8, 2023
Venue: Protective Stadium; Birmingham, Alabama
Weather: Sunny and 67 degrees
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Birmingham Legion 0 2 2
Monterey Bay F.C. 0 0 0
BHM: Juan Agudelo (Diba Nwegbo) 60’
BHM: Collin Smith (Prosper Kasim) 80’
Lineups
Birmingham Legion FC (4-3-3): Trevor Spangenberg; Alex Crognale, Jake Rufe, Moses Mensah, Collin Smith; Enzo Martinez, Prosper Kasim, Tyler Pasher (Neco Brett, 62’); Juan Agudelo, Preston Tabort Etaka (Matthew Corcoran, 75’), Diba Nwegbo (Gabriel Alves, 85’)
Subs not used: Seth Torman, Phanuel Kavita, Grayson Dupont, Tyler Freeman
Monterey Bay F.C. (3-4-2-1): Carlos Herrera; Hugh Roberts II, Kai Greene, Alex Lara (Nevello Yoseke, 45’); Walmer Martínez (Chase Boone, 70’), Rafa Baca (Adrian Rebollar, 88’), James Murphy, Morey Doner; Alex Dixon, Sam Gleadle (Max Glasser, 88’); Ugo Okoli (Christian Volesky, 70’)
Subs not used: Antony Siaha, Chuy Enríquez
Stats Summary: BHM / MB
Shots: 17 / 6
Shots on Goal: 3 / 0
Saves: 0 / 1
Corner Kicks: 3 / 3
Fouls: 20 / 11
Possession: 48.3% / 51.7%
Misconduct Summary
BHM: Enzo Martinez (caution) 24’
BHM: Preston Tabort Etaka (caution) 28’
MB: Ugo Okoli (caution) 36’
BHM: Juan Agudelo (caution) 46’
BHM: Alex Crognale (caution) 52’
BHM: Prosper Kasim (caution) 73’
Officials
Referee: Elvis Osmanovic
Assistant Referee 1: Michael Mysiewicz
Assistant Referee 2: Colin Ashley
Fourth Official: Kyle Johnston
