Facing off against Monterey Bay for the first time, Legion came out with a confident 2-0 win
Birmingham, Ala. (October 8, 2023) – Birmingham Legion FC claimed victory over Monterey Bay FC in its last home game of the USL Championship regular season. Scoring two goals in the second half to earn the 2-0 win, tonight’s victory clinches the playoffs for the Black in Gold. That’s the fifth year in a row Legion have made the playoffs — every year of the young club’s existence.
Halftime ended 0-0 at Protective Stadium. The flow of the game was optimistic for the home side, who led ten shots to four, but the Legion could not find the back of the net. The second half was a different story. With seven shots and two on target, the Legionnaires hammered in two goals.
“We’re riding off the Memphis result as well and it was a really good effort there and I think it continued here,” said Legion Head Coach Tommy Soehn. “And this time of the year is when things just come together. And defensively, I think we were really strong and obviously we’re starting to get guys back to complement the roster and make it competitive. But overall, I was really pleased with our shape and our attitude going into the game.”
Birmingham beat its rivals Memphis 901 FC away from home in a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory prior to facing Monterey Bay.
The opening goal of the game came off of the boot of Juan Agudelo in the 60th minute. Winning the ball deep in the box near the visitor’s goal off of a pass made by Diba Nwegbo, Agudelo got on the end of a fortuitous bounce and slammed the ball off the crossbar and past the goal line. Protective Stadium roared, and Agudelo netted his fifth goal of the 2023 season.
The Black & Gold were not satisfied with its 1-0 scoreline, and scored a much-needed insurance goal twenty minutes later in the 80th minute. Prosper Kasim passed a ball out to Collin Smith at the top of the 18-yard box, and the 19-year-old skillfully glided past his man-marker with acceleration and put the ball in the far post with a powerful finish. Smith’s goal was his second of the season.
“This is all the work we put in the whole year,” said goalscorer Smith on what it means for the team to make the playoffs. “This is what we’ve been shooting for. So I was glad to obviously get a goal in front of the fans to obviously boost us into playoffs, but I couldn’t do that without the help of my teammates and the fans around us. So, yeah, it was great. It was awesome.”
“That’s just what I work on every day in training,” said Smith on the quality of the goal. “Just building that confidence, having that confidence in order to do it and kind of put it into action in the game. And so that’s what I was able to do. Obviously, my teammates supplied me with the ball and I was able to finish it. So, yeah, I was extremely happy with that. Extremely happy with it.”
Birmingham held out a clean sheet with Trevor Spangenberg in goal. Overall it was a very confident, dominant game for the hosts. Legion had 48.3% of possession, 84% passing accuracy, and 17 shots to Bay’s six.
“It wasn’t just today,” said Soehn. “It was Memphis as well. This is the time of year when things have to come together like that. And it’s been a trying year, there’s been ups and downs, but this is the time it needs to come together and it’s starting to look like a team that’s going to be hard to play against. Like I said, we’re getting guys back, but our attitude on the field, even losing Phanny at training yesterday, [Jake Rufe] stepped in and did a really good job.”
“You slid [Jake] over, and then Colin came in and did a really good job,” said Soehn. “I mean to be fair, all the subs that came in really impacted the game. And that’s a sign of a good team, is when you have a lot of pieces that can come in and then affect the result.”
Legion kicks off its next game against Charleston Battery on Saturday, October 14 at 4 p.m. It will be the last game of the regular season, and Birmingham is at a new level of confidence heading into the playoffs.
“[Winning the Championship] is always the ultimate goal,” said Smith on the confidence of the group. “But you can’t get too high. Can’t get too low. So we’re kind of keeping a settled head and just keep pushing, keep working every game, every training, and yeah, that’ll take us far. That’ll take us as far as possible.”
Match Details
| 1st Half | 2nd Half | |
| Birmingham | 0 | 2 |
| Monterey Bay | 0 | 0 |
Goals:
BHM – 60′ – #9 Juan Agudelo (assisted by #7 Diba Nwegbo)
BHM – 80′ – #4 Collin Smith (assisted by #10 Prosper Kasim)
Starting XI:
BHM – 4-1-4-1 – #18 Trevor Spangenberg; #13 Jake Rufe, #33 Moses Mensah, #21 Alex Crognale, #4 Collin Smith; #19 Enzo Martinez; #10 Prosper Kasim, #15 Tyler Pasher, #9 Juan Agudelo, #7 Diba Nwegbo; #28 Preston Tabort Etaka
To keep up to date on all things Legion FC, Legion encourages its fans to follow @bhmlegion on social media and keep an eye on bhmlegion.com and the Legion FC app. Download the Legion FC app today on Apple or Android, and sync our 2023 schedule to your calendar HERE.
