Monterey Bay Completes Season Sweep of Orange County SC with 2-1 Victory at Cardinale Stadium

SEASIDE, California (Friday, July 11, 2025) – Monterey Bay FC (5-7-4, 19 points) earned a 2-1 win over in-state Western Conference rivals Orange County SC (5-6-2, 17 points) on Ag & Country Night at Cardinale Stadium. Luke Ivanovic and Grant Robinson combined for the opening score in the first half, and Anton Søjberg and Diego Gutiérrez united in the second half to give the Crisp-and-Kelp its third consecutive victory over Orange County – successfully completing the season sweep over the club from Irvine.

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Monterey Bay opened the match on the front foot, earning back-to-back corners in the 12th minute of the match. On the second corner, a scramble for the loose ball resulted in a shot from close range by Nico Gordon, but the attempt was blocked. The hosts created another opportunity less than a minute later when Mayele Malango floated the ball into the box towards Ivanovic, but his header was caught by the goalkeeper at the far post. In the 15th minute, Monterey Bay found itself inside the opponents box once again. This time, Wes Fonguck fired a right-footed shot aimed at the top-right corner, but it was a great reaction to parry it away by Orange County’s goalkeeper Colin Shutler. Malango whipped another one into the box in the 29th minute that found Adrian Rebollar at the far post, but his attempt at a first-time volley missed high and wide. In possession on the left side in the 39th minute, Robinson whipped a dime into the box. In perfect position, the ball fell perfectly to Ivanovic at the far post, and the forward headed it into the back of the net to give Monterey Bay the lead. Four minutes later, Ivanovic attempted to double the lead by firing an absolute missile from beyond the box on the right side, but his shot just missed the top left corner and the half ended 1-0 in favor of MBFC.

That lead was short-lived, however, as it only took five minutes into the second half for Orange County to equalize. A series of quick passes helped OC slice through the Monterey Bay defense, leading to Nico Benalcazar finding himself all alone on goal before burying the shot into the right corner to bring the match to 1-1. But the visitors’ excitement lasted just three minutes, as Monterey Bay responded straightaway. Second-half substitute Gutiérrez stepped onto the pitch and immediately played a dangerous ball into the box from the left side when Søjberg flew in from seemingly out of nowhere to redirect it with his head and bury the eventual game-winner into the back of the net to give Monterey Bay the permanent 2-1 advantage. With the third meeting between the two California-based sides becoming more and more physical, Orange County’s Stephen Kelly was shown a straight red for an elbow above the neck on Gutiérrez to leave the visitors with 10 men for the final 20 minutes. OC responded to the dismissal with renewed energy, leading to an opportunity in the 79th minute that looked to be yet another equalizer, but Sam Gomez was there to deny the shot at the right post, and Fonguck cleared the spilled ball away to secure the 2-1 win for Monterey Bay.

Up Next

Monterey Bay FC heads out on the road for a midweek match against FC Tulsa at ONEOK Field in Oklahoma on Wednesday, July 16. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. PT, with live streaming available on ESPN+.

Additional Notes

Monterey Bay FC debuted its new ag-inspired third kits in the match, aptly dubbed the Land kit.
Missing the match due to injury were Nico Campuzano (lower body), Pierce Gallaway (upper body), and Ilijah Paul (lower body).

Information

Date: July 11, 2025
Venue: Cardinale Stadium; Seaside, California
Weather: Clear and 62°F
Attendance: 3,080

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F

Monterey Bay FC 1 1 2
Orange County SC 0 1 1
MB: Luke Ivanovic (Grant Robinson) 39’
OC: Nico Benalcazar (Ousmane Sylla) 51’
MB: Anton Søjberg (Diego Gutiérrez) 54’

Lineups

Monterey Bay FC (4-2-3-1): Sam Gomez; Grant Robinson, Nico Gordon (Alex Lara, 78’), Jacob Muir, Joel Garcia Jr.; Wesley Fonguck, Mobi Fehr; Mayele Malango (Diego Gutiérrez, 51’), Adrian Rebollar, Anton Søjberg (Xavi Gnaulati, 78’); Luke Ivanovic (Adam Larsson, 65’)
Subs not used: Dallas Odle, Carlos Guzmán, Sami Guediri

Orange County SC (4-3-3): Colin Shutler; Nico Benalcazar, Tom Brewitt, Vuk Latinovich, Ryan Doghman (Nicola Ciotta, 82’); Ousmane Sylla (Cheick Kone, 89’), Kevin Partida (Koa Santos, 82’), Stephen Kelly; Cameron Dunbar (Mouhamadou War, 73’), Ethan Zubak, Bryce Jamison (Chris Hegardt, 45’)
Subs not used: Tetsuya Kadono, Ashton Miles, Gavin Karam, Benjamin Barjolo

Stats Summary: MB / OC

Shots: 12 / 7
Shots on Goal: 4 / 4
Saves: 3 / 2
Corner Kicks: 7 / 5
Fouls: 15 / 14
Possession: 41.4% / 58.6%

Misconduct Summary

MB: Wes Fonguck (caution) 58’
MB: Luke Ivanovic (caution) 63’
OC: Stephen Kelly (dismissal) 69’
MB: Sam Gomez (caution) 76’
OC: Nicola Ciotta (caution) 88’

Officials

Referee: Brad Jensen
Assistant Referee: Seth Martin
Assistant Referee: Fernando Fierro
Fourth Official: Andrew Hanks