Monterey Bay FC’s Open Cup Run Ends Abruptly in the Second Round
SEASIDE, California (Tuesday, April 1, 2025) – Monterey Bay FC fell 2-1 to El Farolito SC in the Second Round of the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Cardinale Stadium. Xavi Gnaulati scored from the spot, but the visitors managed to scrap together two goals in the second half to steal the victory from the hosts.
Monterey Bay’s first chance of the match came in the 19th minute after the side won a corner kick on the right side. The corner was whipped in perfectly towards Alex Lara’s head, but his flick on missed just wide of the far post. Gnaulati got into the action with a shot from just beyond the box but his attempt missed over the crossbar. Another opportunity arose just seconds after when Gnaulati skillfully flicked the ball up and over his defender to get around him and into the box. The ensuing shot beat the goalkeeper but was cleared off the line by a defender. Ethan Bryant followed up with a shot of his own, but it ricocheted off the crossbar and Monterey Bay were somehow left without a goal. Then in the 28th minute, the referee pointed to the spot for a handball in the box by El Farolito SC, awarding the hosts a penalty. Gnaulati stepped up to the spot and buried it into the bottom left corner to give Monterey Bay the 1-0 lead. Just before the end of the half, a powerful shot by Mayele Malango forced the goalkeeper into a tough save at the near post and the half ended with the slight advantage to the hosts.
The visitors leveled the match just over 10 minutes into the second half with a goal by Zuluaga. Then at the end of a scramble inside the box that saw the ball hit the bar twice in-between multiple blocks by Monterey Bay FC defenders, El Farolito poked in the go ahead goal in the 83rd minute. Ethan Bryant took a corner for the hosts in the 87th minute that perfectly pinpointed Lara inside the box, but his header missed just over the crossbar. Then in the 5th minute of stoppage time, the ball fell nicely to Lara once again on the right side of the box for one final chance, but the defender’s right-footed shot missed wide of the right post and Monterey Bay FC’s U.S. Open Cup run came to an early end.
Up Next
Monterey Bay takes flight to the Motor City for a fixture this Saturday, April 5 against Detroit City FC at Keyworth Stadium in Week 5 of the 2025 USL Championship regular season. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. PT with live streaming of the match available on ESPN+.
Information
Date: April 1, 2025
Venue: Cardinale Stadium; Seaside, California
Weather: Cloudy and 51°F
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Monterey Bay FC 1 0 1
El Farolito SC 0 2 2
MB: Xavi Gnaulati (penalty) 28’
FAR: Andres Zuluaga (Gabriel Arias) 57’
FAR: Edgard Kreye 83’
Lineups
Monterey Bay FC (5-3-2): Sam Gomez; Miles Lyons, Jacob Muir (Ilijah Paul, 80’), Nico Gordon (Carlos Guzmán, 45’), Alex Lara, Joel Garcia Jr.; Pierce Gallaway (Wesley Fonguck, 60’), Ethan Bryant, Mobi Fehr; Mayele Malango (Adrian Rebollar, 45’), Xavi Gnaulati (Luke Ivanovic, 60’)
Subs not used: Dallas Odle, Grant Robinson
Misconduct Summary
MB: Xavi Gnaulati (caution) 14’
FAR: Herlbert Soto (caution) 63’
FAR: Jesus Martinez (caution) 66’
MB: Jacob Muir (caution) 69’
FAR: Andres Zuluaga (caution) 90+5’
Officials
Referee: Esad Omanovic
Assistant Referee: Salvador Reyes
Assistant Referee: Bhavik Dutt
Fourth Official: Turan Ozdemir
