Football Season Guide

Monterey Bay missed the playoffs for the 4th successive season last time out and are still waiting on their first visit to the post-season since the club graduated to USL level. After making a strong start, which saw them win 4 of their first 5 games, they completely collapsed thereafter, with just 4 more victories across all competitions in the remainder of the season. It was the 3rd successive season they have finished 11th. Despite last season’s poor form, the club have kept faith with manager Jordan Stewart, who has been in post for 18 months. Instead, there has been a real push to increase the depth and quality of the squad. As a lowly side, they have had to deal with some sizeable losses. Regular goalkeeper Nick Campuzano has departed but it’s really the attack that has required reconstruction due to the volume of players leaving. Luke Ivanovic, Anton Sojberg, Mayele Malango and Xavi Gnaulati all played more than 1000 minutes last season but have gone. Sojberg and Malango contributed more goals and assists than any other players in the squad. Offensively, Monterey need to improve. They’ll look to Ilijah Paul overcoming his physical issues that plagued him in the backend of last season. Equally, there are many new faces. Wesley Leggett, for example, scored 8 times for Loudoun in 2024 but is coming off a tough season in which he barely played. Omari Glasgow is a player to keen an eye on down the right after impressing with limited minutes in Loudoun. Nick Ross has been added to the midfield, and though historically he has provided an attacking threat, that is likely to be less in view given his veteran status. Monterey will also seek to tweak their defence to make themselves more competitive, although the 45 goals they conceded last season was competitive in the Western Conference. The additions of Zack Farnsworth, Kelsey Egwu and Stuart Ritchie would seem to add depth more than quality. In goal, meanwhile, they seem to be pinning their hopes on new arrival Fernando Delgado in an area that looks a weak link. He played 11 times for Birmingham Legion last season but averaged 1.73 goals against per 90 and had just 53.8% save percentage.