Birmingham Legion FC fell 2-0 on the road to Monterey Bay FC after a scoreless first half at Cardinale Stadium.
Monterey Bay controlled possession early and finished with a season-high 502 passes completed.
Legion’s defense held strong through the first 45 minutes, continuing a trend of limiting first-half goals this season.
The breakthrough came in the 60th minute as Riley Bidois finished off a chance assisted by Sebastian Lletget to make it 1-0.
Legion pushed for an equalizer late, with Sebastian Tregarthen forcing a save in the 82nd minute and Sebastián Saucedo creating multiple chances off the bench.
Monterey Bay sealed the match in the 77th minute when Eduardo Blancas scored off an assist from Ilijah Paul.
“Tough performance tonight for us. We did not start the game well and we lost too many duels. Give credit to Monterey Bay as they were better than us on the night and they finished their chances.” Birmingham Legion Jay Heaps says.
Samuel Shashoua led Legion in passes ending in the final third, while Sebastian Tregarthen recorded the most duels won for Birmingham.
Zack Farnsworth completed 85 passes for Monterey Bay, the highest total by a Monterey Bay player in a USL Championship match this season.
The result ends Legion’s five-match unbeaten streak in league play.
Legion will be returning home to Protective Stadium on Wednesday, June 3.
Hammer Down.
