San Antonio FC and Monterey Bay FC played out a goalless draw at San Antonio on Independence Day, a match defined far more by the referee's notebook than by anything produced in attack.
The first half set the tone early. San Antonio's Mitchell Taintor was cautioned in the 27th minute, and teammate Alex Crognale followed him into the book just three minutes later. Monterey Bay's Nico Gordon picked up a yellow of his own on the stroke of halftime, capping a fractious opening 45 minutes with nothing to show on the scoreboard.
The second half brought more of the same. Christian Sorto was booked in the 58th minute for San Antonio, with Joseph Batrouni joining him five minutes later. The hosts were racking up cautions at an alarming rate. Monterey Bay's Zackery Farnsworth was shown yellow in the 80th minute as the game grew increasingly scrappy down the stretch.
Stoppage time descended into chaos. Akeem Ward was cautioned for San Antonio in the 90th minute, and a flurry of bookings followed deep into added time. Taintor received a second yellow, while Monterey Bay's Paul Gindiri and Anisse Saidi were also cautioned as tempers boiled over. In total, the referee brandished 11 yellow cards across the 90-plus minutes — six to San Antonio, five to Monterey Bay — in what was a deeply ill-tempered affair that produced remarkably little quality in the final third.
The point does little for either side as both continue to search for consistency in the USL Championship standings.
USL Championship