MONTEREY—Watsonville native Adrian Rebollar scored one goal for Monterey Bay F.C. in its 4-2 victory against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC at Cardinale Stadium on Saturday night.
Rebollar was named the Man of the Match after he was a nuisance in the midfield for Colorado Springs throughout the match.
The midfielder won nine duels and drew four fouls, capping off his performance with four tackles and two interceptions.
One of those interceptions led to a goal in the 73rd minute for Monterey Bay F.C. Union (4-7-0, 12 points), which handed Colorado Springs (8-2-0, 24 points) its first road loss of the season.
“It was just about making sure that the energy was high,” Rebollar said. “We all had to make sure we were on our front foot, ready to intercept passes and just be ready for battle. Our guys were all for it, all 90 minutes we were giving 100% and that’s ultimately the best thing we could do, just try our hardest.”
Monterey Bay F.C. scored a season-high four goals to beat one of the top teams in the USL Championship Western Conference, following a stellar performance in a 2-0 win against Louisville City F.C. (8-2-3, 27 points)—the top team in the Eastern Conference.
The Union became the first USL Championship expansion club to win in Louisville since Birmingham Legion FC did it in 2019.
“It shows the league and ourselves what we’re capable of,” Rebollar said. “We are learning and growing, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Monterey Bay F.C. head coach Frank Yallop was pleased with the results.
“Overall, we were really sharp tonight,” he said. “We played a very good team obviously in Colorado with not only their record, but they’re also a very exciting and tough team to play against. I think we nullified a lot of their attacking plays and then broke very well and finished our chances. It was a very good game and an entertaining match. Both teams had a lot of chances, but I think we deserved to win tonight.”
The Union got things started when Chase Boone settled the ball in the air with his left foot then flicked it on with his right to a waiting Hugh Roberts, who smashed the headed ball across the line to give the Union the 1-0 lead at the halftime break.
Six minutes into the second half, James Murphy sent a ball into Christian Volesky at the top of the box.
Volesky held position and then laid the ball off to a streaking Sam Gleadle, who flicked the ball with the outside of his right foot past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net to double the Union’s lead.
“Christian [Volesky] and I have been working a lot together in training. Obviously last game in Louisville and now here at home, the same thing happened,” Gleadle said. “We have good movement with each other and know where each other is going to be, so it was good to get another one with him, and good to be at home as well. It’s another big team, we showed that we can play against them and come out with three points. I’m really pumped with the guy’s effort, guys coming off the bench, and of course the crowd was great for us to push us through.”
Switchbacks FC pulled one back in the 54th minute with a goal by Hadji Barry to cut the hosts lead to 2-1.
Monterey Bay F.C. extended the lead again in the 73rd minute when Rebollar stepped in front of a pass to intercept the ball in a dangerous position.
He took two dribbles before unloading with a right-footed shot from the top of the box into the left side of the net to bring the score to 3-1.
“I saw the center back try to give a square ball, and I think I read it well,” Rebollar said. “I took my touch into space, saw both defenders coming at me and then I felt like I needed to take a shot. I took a shot earlier that wasn’t on frame, but I felt like this one was going to be a good one and obviously I came out with a goal. It was a great feeling.”
In the third minute of stoppage time, Boone collected an over-the-top ball from a throw-in by Grant Robinson with a back heel to keep the ball in play.
With the ball rolling just inside the endline, Boone powerfully curled the ball around the near post and inside the far post that gave the Crisp and Kelp its fourth goal of the night.
Moments before the final whistle, Elvis Amoh scored a second for the Switchbacks and the match ended 4-2 in favor of the Union.
Gleadle said the home crowd played a huge factor in such a big game and he’s excited to see what’s in store for the rest of the season.
“We have a lot of home games coming up now, so we’re very excited about that,” he said. “Every game is a big game, but we have some really big ones coming up. San Antonio, Oakland here—big rivalry. I’m expecting the crowd to be here again and be loud. I think it helped us get through it today.”
