Second half outburst leads Monterey Bay F.C. to 4-2 win over Colorado Springs.

Two spectacular goals capped a second half onslaught as Monterey Bay F.C. chased Colorado Springs from Cardinale Stadium 4-2 on Saturday night.

Sam Gleadle, Adrien Rebollar and Chase Boone added to an account opened in the first half by Hugh Roberts to secure the win. Meanwhile, a solid defensive effort forced the visitors to fire off target 11 times.

Yet it was the artistry of two Union goals that electrified the crowd of 3,359.

The most improbable of these was scored by Boone in stoppage time. A throw in from Grant Robinson into the corner sailed long. Boone tracked it down with a back heel, barely keeping the ball in play. From the endline, he launched a shot that seemed destined to careen off the near post. Instead, the ball curled around the wood and tucked inside the far post to give Monterey Bay a comfortable 4-1 cushion.

Rebollar’s goal in the 73rd minute, putting Monterey Bay on top 3-1 at the time, was the result of tremendous individual effort. It started when he picked off the ball deep in Switchbacks’ territory.

“I saw the centerback try to give a square ball and I think I read it well,” the Union midfielder says. After two touches to close in on the 18 yard box and beat two defenders. “I took a shot earlier that wasn’t on frame, but I felt like this one was going to be a good one.”

The Switchbacks had shut out Monterey Bay 1-0 earlier this year in Colorado Springs. And they took control early at Cardinale Stadium. As the half approached, however, the hosts began to gain momentum.

A minute before the end of regulation in the first, James Murphy drove the ball on target from a free kick. Colorado Springs goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell punched it away, but only as far as Kai Greene who reset the attack.

Greene found Boone, who popped the ball into the path of a flying Roberts. Always deadly in the air, Roberts drove it home.

“I think we nullified a lot of their attacking plays and then broke very well and finished out chances,” explains Monterey Bay head coach Frank Yallop. “We are very dangerous on the break and we got those goals that sealed the game.”

After Gleadle scored in the second with an assist from Christian Volesky to make it 2-0, the visitors responded to cut the lead in half. The goal by Switchbacks’ Hadji Barry appeared to wrest control of the back away from MBFC, but only for a few minutes.

“It’s always a bit of a letdown,” Gleadle says. “But just the belief in the guys and each other—I think that’s huge and it showed again today. We perked ourselves up and got a few more goals.”

With the win, the Union knocked off the top teams in the Eastern and Western conferences on back to back weekends and improve to 4-0-7 on the season. Yallop’s squad have captured three of their past four matches.

Monterey Bay is back in action on Saturday night, welcoming Oakland to Cardinale Stadium. Kickoff is at 7pm.