Monterey Bay Union FC beat the Colorado Springs Switchbacks 2-1, ending a streak of nine games without a win on Aug. 26 at Cardinale Stadium on the California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) campus. The Union was down by 1 going into the second half but caught up with two penalty kick goals back to back.
The match was completely sold out filling 6000 seats in Cardinale Stadium. Every athletics team from CSUMB came to support Union for their back-to-school night game. “I’ve been observing the people that play in my position and kind of using them to get better,” said Tariq Alabi, a third-year player on CSUMB’s men’s soccer team.
In July the Switchbacks beat the Union 4-0 in an away game and MBFC gritted their way through an intense game to come out on top. The Switchbacks scored the first goal of the game in the second half but ultimately lost because of their excessive fouls and ended up with three red cards. Before the Union scored their second goal, a fight broke out and one of the Switchbacks defenders was ejected from the game.
When the opposing team is having a long possession of the ball, “we try to get the ball back and put them under pressure,” said Christian Volesky, center-forward.
Union will next play an away game against El Paso Locomotive FC on Saturday, Sept. 2.