March 18, 2023 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Monterey Bay FC News Release
SEASIDE, California – Monterey Bay F.C. (1-1-0, 3 points) fell by a goal at home to Eastern Conference side Louisville City FC (2-0-0, 6 points) at Cardinale Stadium.
The match began slowly as both sides played their way into the game. The visitors created a dangerous chance from the left side In the 17th minute of the match, but the ensuing shot was blocked away by Morey Doner on the left side of the six-yard box to keep Louisville City off the board. Monterey Bay F.C. earned its first chance in the 24th minute when Sam Gleadle found himself in space with a ball beyond the back line, but the goalkeeper ran off his line and out of the box to deny Gleadle’s shot. The Union came close with another opportunity in the 37th minute, but Chase Boone’s shot from the top of the box missed to the right of the frame.
Louisville City scored three minutes into the second half after a scramble in the box found the feet of Brian Ownby, who tucked it inside the right post to take the 1-0 lead. Louisville City then went down to 10 men after Ownby was shown his second yellow in the 67th minute, leaving the Union with a one-man advantage for the final 23 minutes of the match. In the final moments of the match, second-half substitute Jason Johnson received a ball in from Doner and got his head onto it as the Union pushed for the equalizer, but the header was saved to preserve the 1-0 shutout for the visitors.
Up Next: Monterey Bay F.C. hits the road for the first away match of the regular season at the location of the Club’s final match of its inaugural campaign last year – Rio Grande Valley FC. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. local time on Friday, March 24 at H-E-B Park in Edinburg, Texas.
Notes:
– Defender Alex Lara made his regular season debut for the Union as a second substitute.
– After officially signing with the Club on Friday, forward Chuy Enriquez made his debut for Monterey Bay F.C. as a substitute in the 85th minute of the match.
– Midfielder James Murphy earned his first start of the campaign after coming off the bench in the season opener against Hartford Athletic.
– Missing the match due to injury were Simon Dawkins (knee) and Grant Robinson (hamstring).
Match: Monterey Bay F.C. vs Louisville City FC
Date: March 18, 2023
Venue: Cardinale Stadium; Seaside, California
Weather: Cloudy and 56 degrees
Attendance: 3,019
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Monterey Bay F.C. 0 0 0
Louisville City FC 0 1 1