Monterey Bay Strikes in Stoppage Time to Earn Crucial Point in El Paso
USL Monterey Bay FC

Monterey Bay Strikes in Stoppage Time to Earn Crucial Point in El Paso

Published on August 16, 2025 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Monterey Bay FC News Release


EL PASO, Texas - Monterey Bay FC (6-10-5, 23 points) leaves El Paso with a point following a 2-2 draw with Locomotive FC (7-5-7, 28 points) at Southwest University Park. Adrian Rebollar opened the scoring on Johnny Klein's first assist for the club in the first half, and Anton Søjberg stunned the home crowd with the latest regular season goal in the run of play in MBFC history in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

The hosts earned a free kick inside the half circle just four minutes into the match, but the shot was blocked by the wall for Monterey Bay. The visitors came right back, earning a free kick of their own just outside the left side of the box with Luke Ivanovic drawing the foul in the 8th minute. Xavi Gnaulati looked to shoot from the spot with his right foot, but the ball missed the far post by mere inches. Two minutes later, a driving run into the box by Sami Guediri led to a one-on-one with the keeper for Ivanovic, but his shot aimed to sneak under the goalkeeper was unfortunately blocked by the leg of Jahmali Waite and out for a fruitless corner. Then in the 21st minute, Gnaulati received the ball at the halfway line and found Klein in space deep in the opponents half. Klein surveyed the defense and played the ball into Rebollar at the top of the center circle. After a touch to settle the ball, Rebollar fired off a powerful strike to give the Crisp-and-Kelp a 1-0 lead away from home. But less than two minutes later, the hosts equalized with a wicked free kick by Christian Sorto, bringing the score to 1-1. In the second minute of first half stoppage time, Joel Garcia Jr. found himself in space down the right sideline and continued his run into the box, but his attempt at goal from a difficult angle missed wide of the far post and the half ended level at a goal apiece.

El Paso looked to take over the lead just a minute into the second half with Sorto finding himself in space beyond the Monterey Bay back line, but his pass back across the box was deflected by Carlos Guzmán to deny the opportunity. In the 48th minute, the Crisp-and-Kelp looked to take the lead themselves when a short cross into the middle by Rebollar found Klein, but Klein's flicked-on header missed just wide of the left post. Monterey Bay earned a corner in the 51st that resulted in another opportunity, but the right-footed shot from Mobi Fehr missed to the right. In the 59th minute, Sorto curled the ball inside the left post to give Locomotive FC the 2-1 lead just before the hour mark. Locomotive FC looked to extend its lead in the 74th minute of the match with a shot by Memo Diaz, but Guzmán stuck his foot out to effectively block the shot and keep Monterey Bay within striking distance. Monterey Bay looked to equalize in the 81st minute with a series of opportunities on goal that started with Ivanovic finding himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper once again, but El Paso stood tall collectively to either save or block each of a handful of oncoming shots before Waite snuffed out a cross to put an end to the dangerous possession. Refusing to say die, Monterey Bay fought hard for an equalizer - and in the dying embers of the match, Alex Lara played the ball to Mayele Malango on the left side of the box. With his first touch, Malango fired the ball into the middle of the box. Making a forceful run into the center of the box, Søjberg beat his defender to the ball and then skillfully hit it with his left foot on his first touch, sneaking the ball past the goalkeeper and inside the right post to level the match at 2-2 and pack up a hard-fought point for the Crisp-and-Kelp.

Up Next

Monterey Bay FC returns home for a Western Conference bout with San Antonio FC next Saturday, August 23 on Back to School Night at Cardinale Stadium. Kickoff in Seaside is set for 7:00 p.m. PT. The match will be broadcast locally via KION on Central Coast CW (35.1 over the air, channel 14 Xfinity), with live streaming available on CBS Sports Golazo Network via Paramount+, the CBS Sports app, CBSSports.com, and Pluto TV.

Additional Notes

Søjberg's goal (93:46) was the latest regular season goal in the run of play in club history, tying Christian Volesky's game-winner from the penalty spot (93:46) against Colorado Springs on August 26, 2023. The latest goal in club history in all competitions came off the foot of Jesse Maldonado (93:55) in extra time of the club's U.S. Open Cup match against LAFC earlier that season on May 9.

Missing the match due to injury was Sam Gomez (lower body), Jacob Muir (lower body), and Grant Robinson (lower body).

Information

Date: August 16, 2025

Venue: Southwest University Park; El Paso, Texas

Weather: Possible rain and 83°F

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F

El Paso Locomotive FC 1 1 2

Monterey Bay FC 1 1 2

MB: Adrian Rebollar (Johnny Klein) 21'

ELP: Christian Sorto 23'

ELP: Christian Sorto (Memo Diaz) 59'

MB: Anton Søjberg (Mayele Malango) 90+4'

Lineups

El Paso Locomotive FC (4-3-3): Jahmali Waite; Ricky Ruiz, Kofi Twumasi, Arturo Ortiz (Wahab Ackwei, 84'), Alvaro Quezada (Memo Diaz, 43'); Gabriel Torres (Tony Alfaro, 84'), Eric Calvillo, Frank Daroma; Amando Moreno, Roberto Avila, Christian Sorto (Robert Coronado, 73')

Subs not used: Sebastian Mora-Mora, Kenneth Hoban, Bryan Romero, Joseluis Villagomez, Mario Rodriguez

Monterey Bay FC (4-2-3-1): Nico Campuzano; Sami Guediri, Carlos Guzmán, Nico Gordon (Alex Lara, 66'), Joel Garcia Jr.; Wesley Fonguck (Ilijah Paul, 66'), Mobi Fehr; Johnny Klein, Xavi Gnaulati (Anton Søjberg, 56'), Adrian Rebollar (Mayele Malango, 65'); Luke Ivanovic (Ethan Bryant, 86')

Subs not used: Dallas Odle, Pierce Gallaway

Stats Summary: ELP / MB

Shots: 11 / 13

Shots on Goal: 3 / 6

Saves: 4 / 1

Corner Kicks: 6 / 3

Fouls: 9 / 17

Possession: 54.8% / 45.2%

Misconduct Summary

MB: Carlos Guzmán (caution) 22'

MB: Joel Garcia Jr. (caution) 28'

ELP: Arturo Ortíz (caution) 35'

MB: Adrian Rebollar (caution) 45+3'

MB: Sami Guediri (caution) 67'

MB: Nico Campuzano (caution) 90+6'

Officials

Referee: Nabil Bensalah

Assistant Referee: Christian Little

Assistant Referee: Clarence Clark

Fourth Official: Jay Schlesinger

Check out the Monterey Bay FC Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 16, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central