Monterey Bay Falls 2-0 to Rising FC in Phoenix
PHOENIX, Arizona (Saturday, May 17, 2025) – Monterey Bay FC (4-3-4, 16 points) was defeated 2-0 by Phoenix Rising FC (3-3-4, 13 points) at Phoenix Rising Stadium on Saturday night. The night began with Mayele Malango suffering an injury in pregame warmups that forced him out of the starting lineup at the last minute, and ended just as unfortunately with Monterey Bay ultimately suffering its third defeat of the campaign.
The match began with 20 plus minutes of central possession for both sides with chances few and far in between. In the 22nd minute, Monterey Bay looked to create an opportunity when Mobi Fehr found himself with space to operate down the middle, but his pass into Sami Guediri on the left sideline was just out of reach. Luke Ivanovic took the first shot of the night for the visitors in the 27th minute, but the shot from the top of the box missed wide of the left post. Phoenix Rising FC looked dangerous in the 34th minute. After pushing Monterey Bay’s back line deeper into their own half with an extended spell of possession, Phoenix’s Ihsan Sacko spun around his defender inside the box before firing off a shot from a tough angle on the endline, but Nico Campuzano was there to parry it away at the near post and match went scoreless into the half.
Monterey Bay started the second half quicker than it started the first, earning a corner less than two minutes in. Wes Fonguck dangerously whipped it right onto the far post, but the ensuing header missed over the top of the bar. Continuing its control of the match to start the second 45, Monterey Bay took another earned corner short to Fehr, who then crossed the ball in from the short corner, but a Phoenix defender just managed to get his head on the ball to clear it away before Ilijah Paul could make contact. The home side responded by forcing two possession changes in the Seasiders final third, but both opportunities were thwarted by the captain Nico Gordon. In the 57th minute, Phoenix’s Dariusz Formella fired off a shot from inside the box, but the attempt was saved by Campuzano. Adrian Rebollar intercepted a pass in the 58th minute and drove all the way down the pitch on the right side. Rebollar cut back to his left to get a better angle, but a defender caught up to the run and cleared it out to deny the chance.
The hosts eventually bagged the opener in the 65th minute. Following a corner, the ball popped straight up into the air, and though Campuzano was in position to catch it on its way down, the ball was poked past him by Phoenix’s JP Scearce to put Rising FC ahead 1-0. Phoenix doubled its lead in the 88th minute with a goal from long distance by Ryan Flood to bring the scoreline to 2-0. Monterey Bay immediately responded with an opportunity a minute later when Alex Dixon crossed a great ball into the box towards Adam Larsson, but he was unable to connect cleanly and the chance was missed. In the second minute of added time, Monterey Bay held some possession that led to Grant Robinson whipping the ball into the six yard box towards Paul, but he was just unable to connect and the ball continued out for a goal kick. Later, Dixon earned a corner for Monterey Bay with a nifty move to beat his defender to the endline in the final minute of added time. The corner was taken short to no avail, and the match ended 2-0 in favor of the home side.
Up Next
Next up, Monterey Bay FC returns home to Seaside for an interconference battle against Louisville City FC on Saturday, May 24. It will be Hometown Heroes Night at Cardinale Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. PT. 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 ESPN+.
Additional Notes
- Pierce Gallaway replaced Mayele Malango in the lineup due to an injury in pregame warmups.
- Also missing the match due to injury was Xavi Gnaulati (upper body), Diego Gutiérrez (lower body), Alex Lara (upper body), and Anton Søjberg (lower body).
Information
Date: May 17, 2025
Venue: Phoenix Rising Stadium; Phoenix, Arizona
Weather: Partly cloudy and 85°F
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Phoenix Rising FC 0 2 2
Monterey Bay FC 0 0 0
PHX: JP Scearce 65’
PHX: Ryan Flood (Jamison Ping) 88’
Lineups
Phoenix Rising FC (4-3-3): Patrick Rakovsky; Braxton Montgomery, Carl Sainte (Ryan Flood, 75’), Axel Essengue, Collin Smith; Hope Avayevu (Alejandro Araneda, 90+6’), JP Scearce, Noble Okello (Jamison Ping, 60’); Dariusz Formella, Ihsan Sacko (Darius Johnson, 60’), Damian Rivera (Jearl Margaritha, 75’)
Subs not used: Jan Villegas, Alexander Balanzar De la Cruz, Pierce Rizzo, Cyrus Kowall
Monterey Bay FC (4-2-3-1): Nico Campuzano; Sami Guediri, Carlos Guzmán, Nico Gordon, Joel Garcia Jr.; Wesley Fonguck (Miles Lyons, 86’), Pierce Gallaway (Adam Larsson, 45’); Luke Ivanovic (Grant Robinson, 59’), Mobi Fehr, Adrian Rebollar (Alex Dixon, 82’); Ilijah Paul
Subs not used: Sam Gomez, Jacob Muir
Stats Summary: PHX / MB
Shots: 14 / 5
Shots on Goal: 7 / 0
Saves: 0 / 5
Corner Kicks: 8 / 4
Fouls: 11 / 14
Possession: 45.1% / 54.9%
Misconduct Summary
MB: Carlos Guzmán (caution) 30’
MB: Joel Garcia Jr. (caution) 41’
MB: Pierce Gallaway (caution) 44’
MB: Mobi Fehr (caution) 45+1’
MB: Grant Robinson (caution) 71’
MB: Adrian Rebollar (caution) 80’
PHX: JP Scearce (caution) 90’
MB: Alex Dixon (caution) 90+2’
Officials
Referee: Trevor Wiseman
Assistant Referee: Chris Schurfranz
Assistant Referee: William Aten
Fourth Official: Mark Novosel
