Monterey Bay Overpowers Orange County, Earns 3-0 Victory in Irvine
IRVINE, California (Saturday, March 22, 2025) – Monterey Bay FC (2-1-0, 6 points) put on quite the display in a demonstrative 3-0 victory away from home over Orange County SC (1-1-1, 4 points) at Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine. Ilijah Paul stole the show having his hand in all three goals for the Crisp-and-Kelp (two goals, one assist) and Luke Ivanovic capped off some impressive minutes of his own with a late goal in his USL Championship debut. Both sides of the ball came together perfectly for Monterey Bay in this one, with Nico Campuzano and the defense earning its first clean sheet of the season.
The first opportunity of the night arrived for the hosts in the form of a set piece in the 9th minute, but the dangerous ball into the box was cleared away by Carlos Guzmán. A few minutes later, OC broke out on a counter that ended with a shot by Ryan Doghman, but the attempt was saved by Nico Campuzano. Monterey Bay responded with a nearly 10 minute attacking spell that forced Orange County SC onto their heels. Three consecutive dangerous opportunities for the Crisp-and-Kelp led to corner kicks, but Monterey Bay saw multiple shots blocked to deny them the opening goal of the night despite the exciting onslaught of pressure. Orange County looked likely to score on the end of another dangerous set piece in the 33rd minute, but an incredible, save-of-the-week-esque stop by Campuzano with his outstretched left hand denied the hosts once again. Xavi Gnaulati fired a dipping ball on frame just before the end of the half from the top of the box, but it was pushed up and over the crossbar by the goalkeeper and the sides went scoreless into the break.
Monterey Bay started the second half with a solid spell of possession that led to a shot by Anton Søjberg in the 48th minute, but the opportunity was saved at the near post by the OC keeper. Orange County’s first corner of the match resulted in a header inside the box in the 55th minute, but the shot missed over the crossbar. Four minutes later, Mayele Malango let go of a grass burner aimed at the bottom left corner, but the goalkeeper managed to keep it out. A minute later, pressure from Paul led to a turnover by Orange County SC, but the shot from Søjberg missed over the top. The dam finally broke for Monterey Bay just seconds later when Søjberg found himself on the ball once again. This time, the Dane floated the ball over the top to Paul on the left side of the box, who fired the ball across the line on his second touch with the left foot to put the Crisp-and-Kelp up 1-0 in Irvine.
Then, receiving a pass from Wesley Fonguck inside the half circle, Adrian Rebollar found himself on the wrong side of a high boot from Doghman in the 65th minute. The referee showed an immediate red card and the hosts were left with 10 men for the final half hour. Just nine minutes later, Miles Lyons dribbled right through the heart of the defense before sliding it through to Paul for his second goal of the night and a 2-0 lead. Still in full control of the match, Monterey Bay looked poised with the lead. In the 84th minute, Pierce Gallaway played a speeding Ivanovic into the box with a nice ball over the top, but Ivanovic’s low cross towards Paul was snuffed out at the near post. Ivanovic had another look just a minute later, but his shot was saved by Colin Shutler. Then, after Paul rounded his defender down the left sideline in the final minute of the ninety, the ball found its way to Ivanovic once again – and this time the Australian forward buried it to put the stamp on an impressive 3-0 win away from home for Monterey Bay.
Up Next
Monterey Bay returns home to face Phoenix Rising FC in a 7 p.m. PT kickoff at Cardinale Stadium. The match will be broadcast locally via KION on FOX35 (46.2 over the air, 35 Dish, 47 DirecTV and 3/702 HD Xfinity), with live streaming available on CBS Sports Golazo Network via Paramount+, the CBS Sports app, CBSSports.com, and Pluto TV.
Additional Notes
- Arizona natives and fellow Barça Residency Academy alums Miles Lyons and Ilijah Paul teamed up for the second goal of the night.
- Missing the match due to injury were Diego Gutiérrez (lower body), Adam Larsson (lower body), and Jacob Muir (lower body). Joel Garcia Jr. was unavailable for selection to serve a one-match suspension for the red card he received in the club’s previous league match.
Information
Date: March 22, 2025
Venue: Championship Soccer Stadium; Irvine, California
Weather: Sunny and 63°F
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Orange County SC 0 0 0
Monterey Bay FC 0 3 3
MB: Ilijah Paul (Anton Søjberg) 60’
MB: Ilijah Paul (Miles Lyons) 74’
MB: Luke Ivanovic (Ilijah Paul) 90’
Lineups
Orange County SC (4-2-3-1): Colin Shutler; Pedro Guimaraes (Ben Barjolo, 64’), Tom Brewitt, Ashton Miles, Grayson Doody (Mouhamadou War, 81’); Kyle Scott, Nico Benalcazar; Ryan Doghman, Chris Hegardt, Roberto Molina (Ousmane Sylla, 64’); Ethan Zubak (Lyam MacKinnon, 90+1’)
Subs not used: Tetsuya Kadono, Daniel Garcia, Gavin Karam, Oliver Kurnik, Bryce Jamison
Monterey Bay FC (4-1-3-2): Nico Campuzano; Grant Robinson, Carlos Guzmán, Nico Gordon, Miles Lyons; Wes Fonguck (Pierce Gallaway, 84’); Mayele Malango, Xavi Gnaulati (Mobi Fehr, 84’), Adrian Rebollar (Ethan Bryant, 74’); Anton Søjberg (Luke Ivanovic, 67’), Ilijah Paul
Subs not used: Sam Gomez, Alex Lara, Alex Dixon
Stats Summary: OC / MB
Shots: 4 / 17
Shots on Goal: 3 / 7
Saves: 4 / 3
Corner Kicks: 5 / 6
Fouls: 7 / 16
Possession: 50.2% / 49.8%
Misconduct Summary
MB: Miles Lyons (caution) 32’
MB: Nico Gordon (caution) 53’
OC: Ryan Doghman (dismissal) 65’
MB: Wes Fonguck (caution) 70’
MB: Ilijah Paul (caution) 78’
Officials
Referee: Corbyn May
Assistant Referee: Noah Kenyawani
Assistant Referee: Bruno Rizo
Fourth Official: Abdu Razzaq Juma
