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5 Things Monterey Bay FC Must Do Moving Forward

It’s been a disappointing start to the 2026 USL Championship season for the club but they are working to build towards something better

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After flying high with a dominant first half yesterday against AC Boise, Monterey Bay FC came back to earth in a hurry, going from a 3–1 first-half lead to losing the match 4–3. The disappointing and improbable loss after such a great showing in the first 45 minutes now leaves the club winless in 11 matches across all competitions to start the 2026 season. Let’s review five things the team must do moving forward to get out of their current slide.

1. After scoring just one goal in their first five matches, Monterey Bay has scored at least once in their next six games, totaling eight scores during that time. The Boise match represented the first time they have scored multiple times this season. This is a positive trend, which needs to continue developing. It’s helped that the club has clearly focused on Ilijah Paul, Omari Glasgow and Chris-Kevin Nadje as leads in their attack, using their combination of on-ball skill and athleticism to create opportunities. Continuing to build around this and improve is a must, as this continuity will also help establish roles for their teammates around them.
2. There needs to be a change in plan in goal. Starter Fernando Delgado has had moments of excellence throughout the season but also plenty of reminders, especially lately, that he’s still just 19. He has permitted 13 goals across his last five matches and has a total save percentage of just 57.8% across all competitions. There are several areas in his game that stand out in needing improvement. This includes: a. Building his confidence, as he noticeably can get deflated after a poor play or bad break. It’s incumbent on keepers to be able to forget the previous play and focus on the next. b. He needs to play big more consistently. Too often, his arms and legs are in tight to his body when facing oncoming shots, limiting the amount of area he can cover with his lanky frame. Opening up will shrink the area opposing attackers have to send shots. c. Finally, developing softer hands will go a long way in helping him and the defense in general. He continues to have difficulty catching and picking up shots, with ricochets and other loose balls in his box giving opponents unnecessary second and third chances. Delgado is a good player with several professional seasons already under his belt, and will continue to round into an even better player over time. However, continuing to rely on the teenager as “the man” appears to be counter-intuitive to his development. Rookie backup Ciaran Dalton’s shaky performance in his lone appearance this season against Colorado Springs indicates he is also not ready for a prime-time role. If possible, Monterey Bay needs a veteran keeper to take some starts and serve as a mentor for the two youngsters already on the roster.
3. New Head Coach Alex Covelo has already brought noticeable change to the team in his three games in charge. Major areas that are still works in progress are improving the team’s discipline on the pitch and their positioning. Nothing drives this point home better than the fact that Monterey Bay leads all of USL Championship with 159 fouls conceded, and are third with 27 yellow cards. Such stoppages in play allow their opponents to reset and get off set pieces, which all contribute to more scoring chances. Better positioning should result in less fouls. On the discipline end, this was personified by the second yellow Captain Nico Gordon received in the 73rd minute against Boise after retaliating off the ball on his man, who had just taken him to the ground. This resulted in his automatic ejection, leaving the team at an 11–10 man disadvantage over the final 17 minutes plus stoppage time, where Boise was able to score the game-winner. The club simply can’t put themselves in such situations where they’re inflicting their own wounds.
4. Building confidence isn’t specific to Delgado. It’s something the entire team needs to do together. During Covelo’s three matches, the team has played one good to excellent half in each, with the other being poor enough to result in losses in all three games. Neither an individual or a group can simply flip a switch and magically gain assuredness. However, the club must work together to not let a bad play or half deter them and shut off. The more they can get some swagger when things are on the upswing, and get ticked off when things are going badly, the more they will build confidence and become less prone to falling into team-wide funks.
5. With each of the past three matches being a tale of two halves, Monterey Bay has shown that they need to improve on making secondary adjustments. As their opponents change up their game plan, formations and other tactics to try and gain an edge, so must the MBFC squad become consistent in effectively countering those transitions. As the team becomes more comfortable under the guidance of Covelo, hopefully their resiliency will continue to grow, allowing them to be more adaptable to what’s thrown against them.

Simply put, fans want victories. Monterey Bay has not been able to deliver on that front so far this season. At the moment, they are not a plug and play postseason contender, they are a young team working to establish their foundation to hopefully build themselves into something much bigger and better moving into the future.

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