Monterey Bay Draws 1-1 with Miami FC in Seaside
SEASIDE, California (Sunday, May 4, 2025) – Monterey Bay FC (4-2-3, 15 points) shared the points with Miami FC (2-4-0, 6 points) in a 1-1 match on Star Wars Night at Cardinale Stadium, presented by Taylor Farms. Sami Guediri and Mayele Malango combined to create a near-perfect opportunity for Ilijah Paul and he converted to give Monterey Bay its lone goal of the night.
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Monterey Bay struck first just nine minutes into the match when Malango found himself with possession in space on the right side. Malango worked his way to the end line and fired the ball across the face of the six yard box to Paul, who smashed it into the back of the net to put the Crisp–and-Kelp ahead 1-0 early on. Two minutes later, Adam Larsson played another ball into the box toward Paul, this time on the right side. Paul cut back to left to create room for a shot, but his left-footed curling effort missed just wide of the far post. Larsson created more trouble for Miami with three efforts on goal in the span of two minutes, but the defense stood tall to deny the first two, and his header on the third opportunity missed just wide of the right post. In the 27th minute, Monterey Bay won a free kick from 25 yards out above the right corner of the box. Luke Ivanovic whipped the ball toward goal, but his shot ricocheted off the crossbar to once again deny a second for the hosts. Miami FC’s first real opportunity of the night came in the 34th minute following an interception in the home side’s half, but Nico Campuzano laid out to stop the shot with his outstretched right hand. With Miami pushing for the equalizer, Campuzano made another incredible save in first half stoppage time, stopping a low shot with both gloves right at the goal line to preserve Monterey Bay’s 1-0 at the break.
Right off the second half kick off, Campuzano’s long ball deflected off of Miami forward Francisco Bonfiglio. With the ball now at his feet, Bonfiglio attempted to chip the goalkeeper to level the match, but caught outside of his box, Campuzano smartly headed the ball away to keep Miami off the board. In the 62nd minute, Malango sparked another attack down the left flank before playing the ball to Ivanovic on the other side of the box, but his shot was saved by the goalkeeper. Adrian Rebollar intercepted a pass at midfield five minutes later and found Larsson in space on the right, but Larsson’s shot was parried away by the keeper. Miami FC found the equalizer it had long been searching for in the 87th minute with Bonfiglio’s score on the end of a corner to bring the match to its final score of 1-1.
Up Next
Monterey Bay FC embarks on what will officially become its longest road trip to date next weekend, traveling more than 2,600 miles to face Rhode Island FC at the brand-new Centreville Bank Stadium on Saturday, May 10. Kick off is set for 1 p.m. PT with live streaming available on ESPN+.
Additional Notes
- Missing the match due to injury was Xavi Gnaulati (upper body), Diego Gutiérrez (lower body), and Anton Søjberg (lower body).
Information
Date: May 4, 2025
Venue: Cardinale Stadium; Seaside, California
Weather: Clear and 58°F
Attendance: 4,179
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Monterey Bay FC 1 0 1
Miami FC 0 1 1
MB: Ilijah Paul (Mayele Malango) 9’
MIA: Francisco Bonfiglio (Cristian Vázquez) 87’
Lineups
Monterey Bay FC (4-1-3-2): Nico Campuzano; Sami Guediri (Miles Lyons, 77’), Carlos Guzmán (Alex Lara, 68’), Nico Gordon, Joel Garcia Jr.; Wesley Fonguck; Mayele Malango, Adrian Rebollar, Luke Ivanovic (Pierce Gallaway, 77’); Adam Larsson (Ethan Bryant, 68’), Ilijah Paul (Luther Archimède, 56’)
Subs not used: Sam Gomez, Mobi Fehr
Miami FC (4-4-2): Felipe Rodrigues; Jonathan Ricketts, Nicolas Cardona (Deian Veron, 73’), Daltyn Knutso, Bolu Akinyode; Diego Mercado (Ricardo Rivera, 77’), Allen Gavilanes (Lucas Melano, 56’), Matias Romero, Sebastian Blanco (Cristian Vazquez, 73’); Francisco Bonfiglio, Tobias Zarate (Michael Lawrence, 56’)
Subs not used: Rafael Martell, Alejandro Mitrano, Victor Arana, Francesco Celeste
Stats Summary: MB / MIA
Shots: 14 / 16
Shots on Goal: 5 / 9
Saves: 9 / 4
Corner Kicks: 4 / 6
Fouls: 17 / 17
Possession: 43.6% / 56.4%
Misconduct Summary
MB: Ilijah Paul (caution) 17’
MIA: Tobías Zárate (caution) 19’
MIA: Jonathan Ricketts (caution) 50’
MB: Carlos Guzmán (caution) 60’
MIA: Ricardo Rivera (caution) 90+5’
Officials
Referee: Brad Jensen
Assistant Referee: Zach McWhorter
Assistant Referee: Bhavik Dutt
Fourth Official: Robert Vincze
