Match Recap: Monterey Bay FC 2-3 Lexington SC
SEASIDE, California – Monterey Bay FC fell 3-2 to Lexington SC at Cardinale Stadium, despite a pair of goals from Zackery Farnsworth and Diego Otoya as the Crisp-and-Kelp battled until the final whistle.
Lexington opened the scoring early, but Monterey Bay responded and continued to fight throughout the match. The visitors added a second before halftime, putting the Crisp-and-Kelp in a difficult position heading into the second half.
Monterey Bay continued to push for a way back into the match, and Otoya provided a crucial moment late in the contest when he found the back of the net in the 85th minute. Despite the late push, Lexington held on to secure all three points.
“I thought we fought hard. Three unlucky goals, but, um, we’ve got to keep working. The team knows how to score. I felt good about the goal, but we wanted the 3 points. We just got to keep building on this,” Otoya said.
The match also marked a special milestone for Monterey Bay Academy product Angel, who made his professional debut for the Crisp-and-Kelp.
“Well, it’s a dream come true. I’ve been working for this moment my whole entire life, and I’m glad I got the opportunity,” Angel said.
Head Coach Alex Covelo emphasized the importance of regrouping and learning from the difficult result as Monterey Bay looks ahead.
“The first thing that we need to do is to move forward, to recover ourselves psychologically, because that’s difficult today,” Covelo said. “The second one is to keep working and try to avoid those mistakes that penalize us a lot.”
Covelo also highlighted Otoya’s first professional goal and Angel’s debut as two positives from the match.
“Diego found his first goal, which is important, and obviously the debut of Angel who is part of the academy,” Covelo said.
The Crisp-and-Kelp will look to respond in their next match as the regular season continues.
