The Drop In

Monterey Bay FC has started the 2025 season as one of the hottest teams in the league. We knew Orange County SC would be a tough opponent, especially at The Champ, but the boys were more than up to the task. The 3-0 win was the best we have seen this team play under Jordan Stewart, and it has put the Western Conference on notice.

MBFC also started their Lamar Hunt US Open Cup run with a 4-0 over Inter San Francisco SC. They move on to the second round to face legendary amateur club El Farolito from San Francisco. The taqueria-based club won the US Open Cup in 1993. They are looking to regain their title as giant-killers when they visit Cardinale on April 2.

MBFC continues its USL Championship season when 10th-place Phoenix Rising visits Cardinale this Saturday. MBFC is looking for its third win in a row in this young season.

After a slow start to the season, it looks like Monterey Bay FC is quickly finding their footing under Jordan Stewart. It all started with a thrilling home opener against the Oakland Roots that saw the boys come back from an early deficit to win 3-2. MBFC then got their 2025 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup campaign going with an easy 4-0 win over International San Francisco. Seven goals in two matches have the boys feeling good and having fun. The rest of the Western Conference better take notice.

MBFC started the season on the road on a windy night in San Antonio. The defense again looked good under Jordan Stewart, but the offensive struggles continued. There are a lot of offensive options as the boys come back home to face Oakland Roots. The rain should be over by Friday so Cardinale should be rockin' on Saturday night. The matches against Oakland are always close but we think the boys want to put on a show for the home crowd.

MBFC finished the preseason on a high note with a 2-1 comeback win against Sacramento Republic. For this episode, we are celebrating the start of the regular season by returning to our studio space at XL Publichouse in Oldtown Salinas. Several weeks ago, the team had no keepers, but now we have three. Earlier in the week, MBFC announced they had signed former FC Tulsa goalkeeper Dallas Odle.

The season starts on the road and the basement of XL Publichouse will be where all the supporters groups are gathering to cheer on the boys as they open the season against San Antonio FC.

We finish off our Western Conference preview by talking about what we can expect from Las Vegas Lights, New Mexico United and defending champions Colorado Springs Switchbacks.

We finally got a chance to see Jordan Stewart's lineup or at least one version of it. Two of the newcomers scored as MBFC beat The Town FC 2-1 under sunny skies in Seaside. We also talk about the new kits released by Charly and wonder about the 3rd kit that is yet to be revealed.

Our Western Conference preview continues with a look at the Sacramento Republic and OCSC.

After several weeks of wondering, we finally have our answer about who will be the second goalkeeper we sign for the 2025 season. Nico Campuzano joins MBFC after spending last season with Lexington FC. Is he here to back up Sam Gomez, or do we have a tandem Siaha/Herrera situation building up again? Also, the attack keeps adding potential, as the team has announced the signing of forward Luke Ivanovic. The Australian spent last season with FC Lahti in Finland and joins 7 other forwards looking to make the MBFC offense a potent force in USL Championship.

This week, we say goodbye to some of the players who left in the offseason. We will miss all of them, but we are excited about the new signings. After three years of the same core, we are going to see a lot of new faces on the pitch this season.

We also continue our Western Conference preview with a look at Phoenix Rising and Oakland Roots.

After his Newcastle journey, we welcome Dan back for another season of The Drop In. We talk about the latest signings, Ilijah Paul and Miles Lyons, and how they might fit into this new-look MBFC squad for 2025.