A lapse proves costly as Monterey Bay F.C. falls 2-1 at home.

A Hugh Roberts header gave Monterey Bay F.C. and early advantage, but two goals just before halftime were enough to hand Rio Grande Valley FC the win on Saturday, May 14 at Cardinale Stadium in Seaside.

Despite the 2-1 deficit, Monterey Bay put on a strong defensive effort for the second consecutive home game. And on the attack, the Union repeatedly tested the Toros, even after going a man down after Robbie Crawford drew a second yellow midway through the second half.

“I think we should have at least had a draw with the chances we created,” Monterey Bay head coach Frank Yallop says. “We kept going to the end and on another night we could have had a tie.”

The opening goal came off a corner in the 20th minute. Crawford delivered the ball to the middle of the box where a soaring Roberts connected. 

“We've been working on set pieces for a while now,” Roberts explains. “We've got some good size on this team, so it's all about putting the ball into hopeful or dangerous areas.” The home side created two more opportunities in the first half, but Christian Volesky’s shot in the 34th minute cleared the top right corner and Walmer Martinez lobbed a header just wide a moments later.

Down 2-1 in the second half, Monterey Bay looked to be the more dangerous side. Volesky was on target with a header off a pass from Chris Cortez in the 53rd minute, but Toros goalkeeper Colin Miller made a diving save. A free kick by Seku Conneh in the waning moments of regulation was also gathered in.

“They’ve only given up five or six goals in eight games, so we knew it wasn't going to be easy to find the net,” Grant Robinson points out. “They really locked us down in the second half and we had trouble breaking through. Defense is something they pride themselves on and they did a good job.”

Rio Grande Valley created fewer chances throughout the match. But Emilio Ycaza managed to elude MBFC goalkeeper Carlos Herrera in the 42nd minute to even the score. In stoppage time a moment of disorganization allowed the Toros’ Robert Coronado space for the eventual game-winning goal.

A poor clearance at the start of a Monterey Bay counterattack left the back line out of shape.

“We were all out of sorts because everyone was trying to get up the field,” Roberts says. “We were caught in a bad position starting from the clearance and then from there it was like a domino effect.”

The injury bug has been particularly ravenous and bit again on Saturday. Herrera left just before the halftime whistle. Midfielder Arun Basuljevic went out earlier in the first. Simon Dawkins, Sam Strong and Rafi Díaz were unavailable due to injury.

It was a contentious contest, with referee Michael Radchuck showing nine yellow cards to the two sides and the officials calling a total of 38 fouls. The red drawn by Crawford for handball was textbook, but might have been whistled as just a foul by some referees. Crawford was just a few feet away when the ball was kicked and had no time to react.

More than 3,000 fans showed up for the second home game in the team’s history, down from 5,000-plus the weekend prior. But the noise level matched the opener.

“They actually know the game of soccer,” Roberts says of the fans. “Every time we get out of a situation or move the ball well, we hear them clapping and cheering. We hear the oohs and ahhs and it makes us want to be even more creative and just play our game. We appreciate all of it.”

“We are going to give everything for 90 minutes every single game, so if you guys stick with us, we'll keep going and keep giving our best,” Robinson adds, addressing the supporters. “I think our energy levels were great, it just wasn’t our day.”

Monterey Bay F.C.'s record is now two wins, seven losses and zero ties so far this season. They travel to Louisville on Saturday before returning home May 28 to host Colorado Springs.