
MONTEREY BAY LEAVES EL PASO WITH A POINT IN 2024 REGULAR SEASON OPENER
EL PASO, Texas (Wednesday, March 13, 2024) – Monterey Bay F.C. (0-0-1, 1 point) drew level at 1-1 against Locomotive FC (0-1-1, 1 point) in the 2024 regular season opener at Southwest University Park in El Paso behind a late goal from Tristan Trager. Trager combined with Alex Dixon in give-and-go fashion to score the equalizing goal in the 87th minute in his first match as a member of the Crisp-and-Kelp. New signings Luther Archimède and Carlos Guzmán also made their Monterey Bay debuts in the match.
With Monterey Bay looking unsettled to start the match, the home side took advantage. A blazing counter attack ended with a goal by Amando Moreno just four minutes in to give El Paso the 1-0 lead right out of the gates. The Union responded with a solid spell of possession and a number of attacking chances, but the final touch was not quite there with the wind playing a disruptive role early in the match. Shortly after the goal, Dixon found himself with an opportunity on goal when a pass from Morey Doner played him out in front of the Locomotive FC defense, but his shot missed wide of the left post. Monterey Bay looked dangerous in the 26th minute when Grant Robinson won the ball deep in El Paso’s half and found Dixon making a run into the box, but the ensuing shot was blocked. Dixon saw the best chance of the half to that point three minutes later when a cross from Adrian Rebollar found him at the far post, but he was unable to make clean contact with the ball. Then in the 31st minute, Walmer Martínez fired off an in-swinging corner towards Guzmán at the near post in his MBFC debut, but his header was off target.
Getting closer to the equalizer, the Crisp-and-Kelp looked likely to cash in on the end of a cross into the box from Chuy Enríquez, but Mobi Fehr’s header missed just wide of the far post. Dixon and Enríquez almost combined for a goal moments later, but Dixon’s cross was unable to connect with his teammate on the opposite side of the box. Fehr then found Martínez at the top of the box in the 42nd minute, but his looping header was punched over the top of the crossbar by the El Paso goalkeeper to deny Monterey Bay the equalizer. In the 45th minute, Martínez teed off on a long-distance free kick, but it ricocheted off the crossbar and out. Then in the first minute of stoppage time, Rafa Baca found himself with some space inside the box, but his curling effort was saved and the Union entered the break a goal down despite a plethora of positive chances.
Four minutes into the second half, El Paso looked to double its lead, but the shot bounced off the crossbar and out for a Union goal kick. With 20 minutes left to play, Archimède and Trager made their Crisp-and-Kelp debuts as second-half substitutes. Seven minutes later, Archimède looked to have made an immediate impact, but his goal was called back for offside. El Paso had a chance to put the match away in the 85th, but Antony Siaha came up with a huge reaching save at the bottom right corner of the frame to deny the visitors a second goal. The breakthrough finally came for Monterey Bay two minutes later, when Trager utilized his speed to dribble past three defenders at midfield and drove all the way forward into the Locomotive FC box before laying the ball off to Dixon. Dixon then immediately played it right back to Trager, who roofed it first time into the top of the net to bring the match level at its final scoreline of 1-1.
Up Next
Monterey Bay hosts the defending champions Phoenix Rising FC in the 2024 home opener at Cardinale Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. PT. The match will be broadcast locally via KION on Central Coast CW (35.1 over the air, channel 14 Xfinity), with live streaming available on CBS Sports Golazo Network via Paramount+, the CBS Sports app, CBSSports.com, and Pluto TV.
Golden Memorial Man of the Match
Tristan Trager earns tonight’s Golden Memorial Man of the Match for his debut performance in Crisp and Kelp. Taking no time at all to make an impact, Trager took all of 18 minutes to score the equalizing goal and help Monterey Bay to a point on the road in the opening match of the 2024 regular season. In addition, Trager recorded a chance created, one foul won, and finished the match with a 71.4% passing accuracy.
Additional Notes
- Monterey Bay recorded 20 total shots in the match, the most shots taken in a single match in Club history.
- New signings Luther Archimède, Carlos Guzmán, and Tristan Trager all made their Crisp-and-Kelp debuts in the match.
- Tristan Trager opened his Monterey Bay goalscoring account with the equalizing goal just 18 minutes into his debut.
- Missing the match due to injury were Chase Boone (ankle) and Xavi Gnaulati (groin), while Luther Archimède (ankle) and Tristan Trager (hamstring) came into the match with probable injury designations.
Information
Date: March 13, 2024
Venue: Southwest University Park; El Paso, Texas
Weather: Windy and 72 degrees
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
El Paso Locomotive FC 1 0 1
Monterey Bay F.C. 0 1 1
ELP: Amando Moreno (Justin Dhillon) 4’
MB: Tristan Trager (Alex Dixon) 87’
Lineups
El Paso Locomotive FC (4-4-2): Jahmali Waite; Miles Lyons (Nicholas Hinds, 89’), Tony Alfaro, Brandan Craig (Noah Dollenmayer, 69’), Boluwatife Akinyode; Liam Rose, Tumi Moshobane (Diego Abarca, 69’), Eric Calvillo, Lucas Stauffer; Amando Moreno (Arun Basuljevic, 51’), Justin Dhillon (Ricardo Zacarias, 45’)
Subs not used: Javier Garcia, Elijah Martin, Yuma Monsalvez, Luis Moreno
Monterey Bay F.C. (4-3-3): Antony Siaha; Grant Robinson (Alex Lara, 84’), Carlos Guzmán, Kai Greene, Morey Doner; Rafa Baca, Adrian Rebollar, Mobi Fehr; Walmer Martínez (Tristan Trager, 69’), Alex Dixon, Chuy Enríquez (Luther Archimède, 69’)
Subs not used: Carlos Herrera, Pierce Gallaway, Max Glasser, Anthony Orendain
Stats Summary: ELP / MB
Shots: 7 / 20
Shots on Goal: 5 / 4
Saves: 3 / 4
Corner Kicks: 2 / 9
Fouls: 13 / 9
Possession: 44.6% / 55.4%
Misconduct Summary
MB: Chuy Enríquez (caution) 23’
ELP: Miles Lyons (caution) 78’
MB: Morey Doner (caution) 83’
Officials
Referee: Brad Jensen
Assistant Referee: Noah Kenyawani
Assistant Referee: Matthew Seem
Fourth Official: Dreaux Plair