June 29, 2024 – United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Monterey Bay FC News Release
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado – Monterey Bay F.C. (6-8-4, 22 points) was defeated 1-0 by Switchbacks FC (7-6-3, 24 points) at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs. Despite the result, Antony Siaha had himself a career night. The Cameroonian goalkeeper recorded a new season-high in saves with nine, tying his career best mark and equaling the most saves in a single match in Club history – a record Siaha set himself back on March 24, 2023, against Rio Grande Valley FC. In addition, new loanee Ousseni Bouda made his debut in Crisp and Kelp, a promising shift after entering the match as a second-half substitute.
A few minutes after Alex Dixon had an early shot blocked inside the box, Colorado Springs’ Ronaldo Damus earned a chance of his own in the opposite box, but his shot missed wide of the right post. In the 20th minute, Aidan Rocha fired a shot on frame from distance that had eyes for the top-left corner, but Siaha – the league’s leader in saves – rose up to knock it away, foreshadowing his performance to come. A minute later, Monterey Bay endured a scary few moments as Damus fired off a shot from the left side, but Siaha did enough to redirect it off the left post. From there, Siaha managed to punch it out of the box, but it landed at the feet of Yosuke Hanya, who then quickly fired off another shot – this time hitting the other post before Siaha could finally cover it up. Later in the half in the 39th minute, the referee pointed to the spot on what looked to be a clean tackle by Kai Greene, and Damus converted the penalty to give the home side the 1-0 lead at the halftime break.
Hanya came close to scoring again less than two minutes into the second half, but Siaha’s dive to his right stopped the shot once more. Tristan Trager intercepted a pass in the Switchbacks’ half in the 54th minute, but his shot from the top of the box just missed the top right corner. In the 66th minute of the match, Bouda made his Crisp-and-Kelp debut as a substitute. Looking to make an immediate impact, Bouda had possession at the top of the box just three minutes into his debut shift, but his right-footed shot following some fancy footwork to create space above the box was blocked. In the 71st minute, Maalique Foster had an opportunity to double the hosts’ lead from just outside the six, but his shot missed wide to the right. In the final moments of stoppage time, Monterey Bay earned one…