Monterey Bay Defeated by Tampa Bay at Al Lang Stadium
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Saturday, October 4, 2025) – Monterey Bay FC (7-14-7, 28 points) was defeated 4-0 by Eastern Conference foe Tampa Bay Rowdies (8-13-6, 30 points) in the fourth edition of the interconference Battle of the Bays at Al Lang Stadium.
The hosts created an early opportunity that forced Nico Campuzano into some early heroics just five minutes into the match. Forrest Lasso directed a point blank shot on frame from inside the six, but Campuzano was there to stonewall the chance. Monterey Bay immediately got out onto the counter afterwards with Luke Ivanovic in space down the right flank, but his cross into the box was unable to connect cleanly with Johnny Klein. Wes Fonguck intercepted an errant pass off of the goal kick immediately following, but his shot from the top of the box was saved by Bill Hamid. Tampa Bay forced Campuzano into another fantastic save in the 11th minute, this time in a diving effort to his left. However, the visitors did not immediately escape danger. The ball stayed in play following the save, and the Rowdies looked to smash it back in from a tight angle with Campuzano now out of position, but Miles Lyons was there for the rescue, emphatically clearing it off the line. Tampa Bay took the lead in the 35th minute with a right-footed daisy-cutter into the bottom right corner by Woobens Pacius after Monterey Bay turned the ball over inside their own half and the hosts entered the break in front 1-0.
Monterey Bay looked to level the score eight minutes into the second half with a nice run in behind by Tarik Scott, but the run ended with his right-footed shot being blocked off his foot by a Rowdies defender. Just past the hour mark, Tampa Bay doubled its lead to 2-0 after a long throw in. The initial throw was improperly cleared by the visitors, and Daniel Crisostomo slid it past Campuzano and into the back of the net. Then in the 73rd, Tampa Bay made it three on the end of another botched clearance inside the box. Pacius fired the loose ball on frame only to see Campuzano save it, but the rebound fell right back to Pacius who then buried it on his second attempt. Looking to pull one back for the Seasiders in the 83rd minute, Ethan Bryant made a move inside the box on the right side before whipping the ball on frame, but his shot was saved. Tampa Bay put the stamp on the evening with a fourth goal, this time by Manuel Arteaga, to bring the match to its final score of 4-0 in favor of the hosts.
Up Next
Monterey Bay returns to action on Saturday, October 18 against Eastern Conference side Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC at Cardinale Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. PT and will be broadcast locally on KION (46 & 23 over the air, 46 Dish, 27 DirecTV and 5/705 HD Xfinity), with live streaming available on ESPN+.
Additional Notes
- Mayele Malango returned to international duty with Malawi for two additional upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, making him unavailable for selection in tonight’s match. Missing the match due to injury were Nico Gordon (lower body), Ilijah Paul (lower body), and Adrian Rebollar (upper body).
Information
Date: October 4, 2025
Venue: Al Lang Stadium; St. Petersburg, Florida
Weather: Rainy and 81°F
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Tampa Bay Rowdies 1 3 4
Monterey Bay FC 0 0 0
TBR: Woobens Pacius (Thomas Vancaeyezeele) 35’
TBR: Daniel Crisostomo 62’
TBR: Woobens Pacius 73’
TBR: Manuel Arteaga (Paul Marie) 88’
Lineups
Tampa Bay Rowdies (3-4-3): Bill Hamid; Aarón Guillén, Forrest Lasso, Thomas Vancaeyezeele; Juan Azócar (Alexander Rodriguez, 90+4’), Blake Bodily (Joseph Skinner, 90’), Alex Méndez, Daniel Crisostomo (Luis Alvarez, 78’); Manuel Arteaga (Charles Sharp, 90’), Paul Marie (Nick Moon, 90+4’), Woobens Pacius
Subs not used: Ethan Bandré, Robert Castellanos
Monterey Bay FC (4-2-3-1): Nico Campuzano; Grant Robinson (Joel Garcia Jr., 79’), Carlos Guzmán, Jacob Muir, Miles Lyons; Wesley Fonguck (Mobi Fehr, 72’), Pierce Gallaway; Johnny Klein, Xavi Gnaulati (Ethan Bryant, 71’), Luke Ivanovic (Anton Søjberg, 71’); Tarik Scott (Sami Guediri, 57’)
Subs not used: Dallas Odle, Sam Gomez
Stats Summary: TBR / MB
Shots: 13 / 10
Shots on Goal: 7 / 2
Saves: 2 / 3
Corner Kicks: 3 / 6
Fouls: 15 / 19
Possession: 49.8% / 50.2%
Misconduct Summary
MB: Carlos Guzmán (caution) 10’
TBR: Daniel Crisostomo (caution) 43’
TBR: Tampa Bay bench (caution) 45+3’
MB: Tarik Scott (caution) 54’
MB: Miles Lyons (caution) 68’
Officials
Referee: Brandon Stevis
Assistant Referee: Mateusz Dulski
Assistant Referee: Diego Lucio
Fourth Official: JJ Bilinski
