
SEASIDE, Calif. – A week after letting a two-goal lead slip away in the second half, Birmingham Legion FC once again found itself in a similar situation and, if anything, the odds of history repeating itself seemed not just possible, but even probable. Up a goal, but down a man for the final 19 minutes of regulation, The Three Sparks dug deep on the defensive end in not allowing another shot on target from Monterey Bay FC en route to a dramatic 2-1 road victory.
“Just an incredible team effort,” Legion FC coach Tom Soehn said after his club pushed its away record to 6W-3L-3D. “We seemed to find a way to bounce back after we let ourselves down. It showed a lot of character because we had a hard meeting after the last game and our guys responded to it, so I was really pleased and proud of them after a great performance where we were defensively sounds and created some really good opportunities.”
With its 10th win of the season in tow, Birmingham keeps pace in the USL Championship Eastern Conference standings as it remains tied on points with fourth place Indy Eleven and stays three points ahead of Rhode Island FC.
Kobe Hernandez-Foster registered his scoring account for 2024 with a long-range strike in the 33rd minute, while Stefano Pinho opened the second half with quite possibly the goal of the season in the 48th minute to push his team-high up to six goals in USLC play.
“When you go on the road and score two goals, you should win the game,” Soehn explained. “We had some looks that we missed on, but happy those went in, especially because they were really good goals that began with good ball movement to create them.”
Looking for a quick strike out of the second half, Dawson McCartney dribbled in from the left side and spotted Pinho at the top of the box, but the ball was deflected by a Monterey defender. Unfazed, the Brazilian forward reached back with his left foot to pop the ball in the air, setting him up to unleash a scissor kick that rippled the top right corner of the net to emphatically make it 2-0.
“That one was amazing and I had a perfect seat for it because I was right there,” Hernandez-Foster said of his teammate’s golazo. “He’s been scoring a lot for us and that one was a fantastic one because of the skill it took and it gave us the win.”
The scoring output was just enough to hang on.
Monterey Bay FC grabbed a one back in the 60th minute from Tristan Trager, and then the home-side found itself in on goal eleven minutes later with Alex Dixon making a run that forced Legion FC’s Alex Crognale to attempt a tackle from behind and just outside the box, drawing the red card.
“We just kept our composure and stayed together as a team after that happened.” Hernandez-Foster said. “It was quite a long 20 minutes and we knew we had to protect our goal as much as we could.”
It was the first red card from any Legion FC player this season and just the second of Crognale’s professional career.
Birmingham was already shorthanded on defense with captain Phanuel Kavita and Ramiz Hamouda both unavailable for selection. Jake Rufe moved from the midfield to pair with AJ Paterson on the backline, but while Monterey kept the ball in that area for the remainder of the match, the equalizing goal never came to fruition.
10-man Legion FC allowed just three total shots in the final 19 minutes of regulation – plus roughly seven minutes of stoppage time – with none of them coming on target and no shots allowed from the 79th minute on.
“We work on situations like that, although you hope it never is going to happen,” Soehn said of playing with 10 men. “It’s a three-quarter field exercise that we shore up defensively and went with a 4-4-1. The guys have done this before (in training), so they know the roles and they know how to shift and, thankfully, they couldn’t break us down.”
Things started off well enough for Birmingham, with Hernandez-Foster making the most of his first goal of the season.
After receiving a layoff from McCartney, the 22-year-old midfielder took a dribble and fired a low, piercing missile with his left foot from roughly 20 yards out. USL Championship saves leader Antony Siaha dove to his left, but the ball was already by him as it careened off the inside of the post and into the goal, giving Legion FC a 1-0 advantage.
“It was a happy feeling and it was one that I was looking forward to all season and I’m just glad it came in an important game,” Hernandez-Foster said of the goal. “We came out with a strong mentality and capitalized on our opportunities. It was an aggressive approach and it’s something that we needed to get the three points on the road.”
The goal marked the first time this year that Legion FC scored in the first half in consecutive matches. Overall, Birmingham was outshot 12-7, but had one more shot on target (4-3) despite Monterey Bay FC achieving 103 final third entries and 26 touches inside the opponent’s box.
With the victory, Legion FC has now avoided defeat in four straight matches for its longest unbeaten streak of the season.
Match Details
BOX SCORE | 1ST HALF | 2ND HALF | FINAL |
BHM (10W – 8L – 5D) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
MB (7W – 10L – 6D) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
LINEUPS
BHM: Van Oekel – GK, Mensah, Crognale, Paterson, Dodson, Rufe, Hernandez-Foster, Kasim (Perez 67′), McCartney, Pinho (Tabort Etaka 86′), Martinez – C
MB: Siaha – GK, Guzman, Lara, Greene – C, Doner, Rebollar, Fehr (Gnaulati 63′), Dixon, Ayon (Guerrero-Medina 86′), Martinez (Gonzalez 63′), Trager
GOALS
BHM: Hernandez-Foster 33′; Pinho 48′
MB: Trager 60′
DISCIPLINE
BHM: Hernandez-Foster (Yellow) 45′; Crognale (Red) 71′
MB: Rebollar (Yellow) 16′; Fehr (Yellow) 54′
NEXT UP
Having once again taken care of business on the road, Legion FC now returns to The Magic City for a second two-match homestand in a month. First up is Detroit City FC, who sits four points behind Birmingham in the table. The two teams met in Michigan on back in June with Legion FC pulling off a come-from-behind victory.
“It’s an important stretch for us, especially when you look at the standings,” Hernandez-Foster explained. “This was a great result, but now the focus is all about getting these wins at home and capitalizing from there.”
Kick-off for the special Flashback Friday match is set for 7:00 p.m. CT on August 16. Tickets can be purchased HERE.