Three minutes doom Monterey Bay F.C. as Sacramento squeaks by, 2-1.

During 87 minutes of regulation time, Monterey Bay F.C. played well enough to gain and then hold a 1-0 lead at Cardinale Stadium on Saturday night. Over a three minute span, however, Sacramento Republic FC scored twice, handing the home side a 2-1 defeat.

For the Union, it marked the third time in as many games the team has been edged by one goal. At Sacramento in May, the Union also fell short 2-1.

“When we take the lead, it’s almost like a curse for us,” observes defender Hugh Roberts. “We’ve been having those one to zero leads and letting them slip away. It’s a mentality thing that we’re trying to figure out.”

Until the 74th minute, Monterey Bay turned away almost every threat before it materialized. Sacramento had managed just one shot on target, a diving save by goalkeeper Carlos Herrera.

But striker Maalique Foster, who entered the game as a substitute 10 minutes earlier, quickly became a pest—and then turned deadly. He caught Roberts on the wrong side and took advantage, blasting the ball past Herrera from short range. In the 76th minute, Foster climbed above Morey Doner for a ball played across the box and headed it home.

“I’m not going to stand here and say I’m frustrated, but I am,” Monterey Bay head coach Frank Yallop points out. “I think that we had a great game plan. We just couldn’t do it for 90 minutes.”

After taking the lead, the visitors packed up in the 18-yard box, committing to the defensive. Unable to find space, Monterey Bay managed just one good opportunity for an equalizer in the final 10 minutes of regulation.

That came in the 80th minute, when Doner targeted Arun Basuljevic with a cross. But the ensuing header glanced inches wide.

“They were playing very compactly,” says Walmer Martinez. “We needed to be a little more patient on the ball and wait for the right moment to attack and it didn’t happen that way.”

Martinez created the Union’s initial advantage with a bit of hustle in the 33rd minute. Mobi Fehr drove into space on the left wing and dished the ball to the top of the box. Sacramento’s center backs managed to nick it away, but Martinez raced to the loose ball, lunging at it with an outstretched leg.

In a desperate bid to stop Martinez, Sacramento’s Duke Lacroix slid in hard, knocking the ball into the net for an own goal, putting Monterey Bay ahead 1-0.

“I knew that the ball was in a dangerous area and I had to follow through—and that’s what I did,” Martinez explains. “I was in the right place at the right time.”

With the loss, the Union fall to 4-0-11 on the season. Since knocking off Louisville City and Colorado Springs—two of the USL Championship’s top squads—on back to back weekends at the end of May, Monterey Bay has now suffered four consecutive defeats, all by narrow margins.

“It’s going to take that one victory where we’re scratching and crawling,” Roberts says. “It’s going to be an ugly win—that’s the one that will get us over our hump.”

But the streak hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm of supporters. On Saturday 3,604 fans turned out, the largest crowd since the home opener.

The Union plays host to New Mexico United on Saturday, July 2. Kickoff at Cardinale Stadium is set for 7pm.