Monterey Bay Continues Unbeaten Run, Secures Point in Lexington

LEXINGTON, Kentucky (Saturday, April 19, 2025) – Monterey Bay FC (4-1-2, 14 points) secured a point in a scoreless draw against Lexington SC (1-2-4, 7 points) at Lexington Sporting Club Stadium in Kentucky. Nico Campuzano recorded his third clean sheet of the season to extend the Crisp-and-Kelp’s unbeaten run to six matches in league play. That is now three consecutive matches that Monterey Bay has not allowed a goal on the road – a run of 320 minutes and counting over the last four contests.

Monterey Bay attacked down the left sideline seven minutes into the match with Ilijah Paul and Luke Ivanovic, a combination that resulted in Ivanovic winning an early corner. Ethan Bryant took the subsequent corner short to Joel Garcia Jr., who immediately fired off a shot from outside the box, but it carried itself just wide of the left post. Paul found space to drive down the left side again two minutes later before finding Ivanovic in the middle of the box, but the Australian forward’s right-footed shot after turning past his defender was saved by the goalkeeper. Lexington SC saw its first attempt on goal with a powerful low shot by Speedy Williams in the 14th minute from just above the center of the box, but it was saved by Campuzano.

The 33rd minute saw a wild sequence that began with Paul in a one-man attack in space. Paul played the ball into the box at the end of his run, but it was intercepted by the hosts and immediately turned into a counter the other way. At the other end, Lexington’s Nicolas Firmino looked to score with a left-footed shot just inside the box from the right side, but the shot was blocked by Nico Gordon inside the six to keep the match level. Then in the 40th minute, Ivanovic played the ball back across the box toward Bryant, but the shot was missed wide and the half ended scoreless.

Four minutes into the second half, Lexington’s Cory Burke found himself past the defense and inside the box, but his shot was disrupted from behind with a last-ditch effort to keep the hosts off the board. Monterey Bay controlled possession for several minutes following, pinning Lexington back deep in their own half, but the visitors could not make it count. With the match as open as it had been all night, the hosts saw another dangerous opportunity off the foot of Marcus Epps, but it was once again scooped up by Campuzano. The aforementioned goalkeeper had another of many heroic moments so far this season in the 64th minute. Firmino found himself in space in the middle of the box and looked to have the opening score, but Campuzano managed to keep it out with an incredible save. Over the next five minutes, Monterey Bay had the home side buried inside their own half for an extended stretch once again, but the Seasiders could still not capitalize on the pressure.

In the 75th minute, two second-half substitutes combined to create a dangerous opportunity for the Crisp-and-Kelp. Mayele Malango showcased his speed with a run past his defender down the left flank before whipping the ball into the box towards Mobi Fehr who slid in to get a foot on it, but the attempt missed over the top of the crossbar. Lexington SC looked to have the winner in the 85th minute off a cross that took a deflection on its way into the back of the net, but a forward deemed to be in an offside position attempted to play the ball, officially wiping the goal off the board. Monterey Bay then earned one last free kick after drawing a foul in the 5th minute of added time. With everyone up for the final kick of the match, the long ball in missed everybody on its way past the back line and the contest ended scoreless – extending the Crisp-and-Kelp’s unbeaten run to six matches in league play.

Up Next

Monterey Bay FC turns its attention to New Mexico United in Albuquerque for a midweek contest on Wednesday, April 23. Kickoff from Isotopes Park is set for 6:00 p.m. PT, with live streaming available on CBS Sports Golazo Network via Paramount+, the CBS Sports app, CBSSports.com, and Pluto TV. Listen live on SiriusXM FC Channel 157.

Additional Notes

Monterey Bay welcomed Luther Archimède back to the pitch for the first time following an eleven month absence after sustaining a knee injury nearly a year ago on May 7, 2024.
Defender Sami Guediri made his Crisp-and-Kelp debut as a second-half substitute in the match.
Missing the match due to injury were Alex Dixon (lower body), Xavi Gnaulati (upper body), Diego Gutiérrez (lower body), and Grant Robinson (lower body).

Information

Date: April 19, 2025
Venue: Lexington SC Stadium; Lexington, Kentucky
Weather: Cloudy and 76°F

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F

Lexington SC 0 0 0
Monterey Bay FC 0 0 0

Lineups

Lexington SC (4-2-3-1): Logan Ketterer; Kiera Sargeant (Michael Adedokun, 61’), Kendall Burks, Gael Gilbert, Joe Hafferty; Devon Williams, Sofiane Djeffal; Braudillo Rodrigues, Nicolas Firmino (Elliot Goldthorp, 73’), Marcus Epps; Cory Burke
Subs not used: Brooks Thompson, Daniel Barbir, Jacob Greene, Edrey Caceres, Cameron Lancaster

Monterey Bay FC (4-4-1-1): Nico Campuzano; Joel Garcia Jr., Carlos Guzmán, Nico Gordon, Miles Lyons (Sami Guediri, 81’); Luke Ivanovic (Mayele Malango, 73’), Wesley Fonguck, Ethan Bryant (Pierce Gallaway, 62’), Adrian Rebollar; Anton Søjberg (Mobi Fehr, 61’), Ilijah Paul (Luther Archimède, 80’)
Subs not used: Sam Gomez, Alex Lara

Stats Summary: LEX / MB

Shots: 14 / 9
Shots on Goal: 4 / 1
Saves: 1 / 3
Corner Kicks: 6 / 4
Fouls: 11 / 15
Possession: 48.8% / 51.2%

Misconduct Summary

LEX: Kendall Burks (caution) 45+2’
LEX: Speedy Williams (caution) 56’

Officials

Referee: Thomas Snyder
Assistant Referee: Matt Trotter
Assistant Referee: William Gaither
Fourth Official: Josh Braunstein