www.montereycountyweekly.com april 27-may 3, 2023 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 21 On a cold, misty night in early March, the rain is holding off just enough to offer a brief respite from the storms that have battered the Central Coast all winter. Just off Highway 1, right on the border where Seaside meets Marina, several thousand people—young and old, college students and families, couples on dates and friends on group outings—have braved the chill and made it out to Cardinale Stadium, formerly Freeman Stadium, on the CSU Monterey Bay campus. The occasion is the season opener for Monterey County’s newest and most significant pro sports team, Monterey Bay F.C. Last year was the first in the club’s existence after owner Ray Beshoff, an Irish-born California auto dealer with a passion for the game of soccer, moved his United Soccer League franchise from Fresno, struck an agreement with CSUMB and invested more than $12 million (with the help of co-investors like Taylor Farms founder Bruce Taylor) to transform the university’s dilapidated stadium into a 6,000-seat soccer-specific venue where people would pay to come watch his team play. With the move came an entirely new roster and a brand identity crafted specifically for the club’s new home—from a new name and crest, to a cyan-and-navy color scheme dubbed “Crisp and Kelp.” The first season had its ups and downs. The stadium wasn’t ready until two months into the season, forcing a newly assembled group of players to play their first seven games on the road, losing all but one. A midseason surge was followed by a poor stretch late in the year, and the team missed out on the USL Championship playoffs. Monterey Bay F.C. averaged more than 3,600 in attendance across their 17 home games in 2022—below the league average of around 5,000, but not bad for a team just establishing a footing in one of the smaller markets in the second tier of American pro soccer. For its 2023 opener against Hartford Athletic on March 11, the club reports 3,615 people in attendance. Several minutes before kickoff, fans are still filing into a stadium that, with its freshly painted finishes and its pristine (albeit artificial) turf, draws a sleek contrast to the minor league baseball stadiums and college football fields where some USL teams play. Behind one of the goals, 1st Capital Bank has sponsored a covered VIP lounge equipped with its own bar, buffet and an up-close view of the action. (You’ll usually find Beshoff, with his conspicuous white mane, perched on the edge of the section, intently watching every kick of the ball.) Behind the other goal, bleachers house a dedicated supporters’ section where a growing number of diehard fans are unfurling banners and setting up with drums and horns. And behind the supporters’ section, a large open-air pavilion houses an array of food and beverage vendors, virtually all of them local businesses: among them, Ivan’s Baked Potatoes, Tacos Don Beto and, largest of all, an Alvarado Street Brewery outpost featuring rows of biergarten-style benches that are still packed with people drinking and dining as kickoff approaches. Those who are slow to get to their seats pay for their tardiness when, less than two minutes into the game, new signing Alex Dixon—a diminutive yet speedy attacker with over a decade of experience in the USL and other American soccer leagues—makes a run into the box, receives a square pass from teammate Sam Gleadle, takes a touch that ricochets off two Hartford defenders, regains control of the ball and jabs it past the goalkeeper with his right foot to give MBFC an early lead. The half-full stadium erupts, fans waving white “rally towels” handed out before the game in celebration. It is the first of eight total goals scored on the night—the sort of prolific contest that would dispel soccer skeptics who have long discounted the sport as an uneventful, low-scoring game. Most importantly, Monterey Bay scores five of those goals, with Dixon netting three of them before halftime— the first “hat trick” in the club’s history—on the way to a 5-3 victory. As far as good starts to a season go, it would be hard to top it: An entertaining blend of style and substance, of exciting soccer and results on the scoreboard, and the perfect advertisement for getting more fans across the Left: Salinas native Ruben Ramirez helps lead songs and chants at MBFC games, where he plays a large drum at the front of the dedicated supporters’ section. Right: Monterey Bay F.C. forward Chase Boone rises for a header over a Hartford Athletic defender in the club’s 2023 season opener. The food and beverage options for fans at Cardinale Stadium are mostly local vendors like Alvarado Street Brewery, Tacos Don Beto and Ivan’s Baked Potatoes. Celia Jiménez Celia Jiménez Celia Jiménez
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