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Next Up for Monterey Bay FC- Reversing Their Woeful Road Games Track Record

What can’t MBFC seem to get results on the road in recent seasons, and what contributes to those struggles?

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In their fifth season of existence, Monterey Bay FC has already gone through front office overhauls, different coaches and rosters. Through it all, a constant has been their struggle to win on the road. Now, more than a year since their last USL Championship victory away from Cardinale Stadium, can the team find a way to get this oversized monkey off their back and find better consistency of play regardless of location?

Another bugaboo for Monterey Bay is that they have not yet made the playoffs. However, trips to the postseason are few and far between for clubs that can’t at least hold their own in road matches. This is something that MBFC has not only not mastered, the results have actually been getting worse.

In Monterey Bay history, they have played a total of 72 regular season league games on the road, resulting in a cumulative 14–13–45 record. However, since the start of 2024, their combined road record is an even worse 5–8–25. The last USLC game they have won away from Cardinale Stadium was March 22, 2025 when they beat Orange County 3–0. They have no wins in their 19 road matches since.

In reviewing the results, things haven’t been particularly close. Throughout their history, Monterey Bay has actually outscored opponents at home by a combined total of 99–88. However, things have gone off the track while on the road, given their 131–59 deficit in such matches. If the team could play every match in the welcoming embrace of the Seaside fans, their results might be much different. Alas, that’s not how the game works.

What has possibly contributed to the MBFC road woes?

Talent: Entering the 2026 season, most Monterey Bay squads have ranged between game and scrappy, but they’ve never fielded a team viewed as a true contender. USL Championship is an excellent level of soccer with many veteran players with vast professional experience. Unless you have the talent and a good game plan, taking down a team in their home domain is no easy task.

Confidence: When you lack belief in yourself, or even a certain swagger, failure can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more the team has struggled to find wins on the road, their expectations to succeed in such situations have dwindled, even if subliminally. With the abysmal results on the road, especially lately, every time they take the field away from home, it becomes an undeniable barrier for the team to overcome — both as individual players and as a collective unit.

Weather: Natives and visitors alike marvel at the mild cool weather of California’s Central Coast. There’s a lot of sun but the regular fog keeps the heat down. Between March and October, the length of the USL Championship season, Seaside averages daily temperature highs of 61–70 degrees (the thermometer rarely rises above the low 70s for any significant period of time) with stable humidity. Those conditions must be wonderful for players to train and play in.

However, the weather isn’t nearly so kind in the summer in so many other USL locations. During the same time period as listed above, many cities that Monterey Bay visits are much hotter and more humid. Consider the following examples: Sacramento- average daily temp highs of 66–92; San Antonio- average daily temp highs of 74–98; Indianapolis- average daily temp highs of 52–88; Lexington- average daily temp highs of 56–86. If you’re training and living in a cooler area and are then expected to go play a professional soccer match in a place that may have temperatures 20–30 degrees higher with possible greater humidity, that can be quite the shock to the system. This was most recently on display when the club traveled to a hot and sticky Tulsa and looked like they were running underwater in a not-that-close 2–0 defeat.

Travel: Located literally on the coast of California, Monterey Bay has one of the most grueling travel schedules in the league. Although their closest rival (Oakland) is a mere two-hour drive away, they also have to play conference rivals in far-away places like Lexington (2,396 miles), San Antonio (1,670 miles) and Tulsa (also 1,670 miles). That’s not to mention possible Eastern Conference foes like Rhode Island (3,192 miles), Brooklyn (3,006 miles), Miami (2,994 miles) and Tampa Bay (2,773 miles) — just to name a few.

Comfort and fatigue are major consideration for travelers. This is especially so for professional athletes. When combined with other factors potentially working against them, like talent, confidence and weather, the field continues to tilt away from MBFC.

Can Monterey Bay change their fortunes in road games? Most certainly. Although distance of travel and weather are things they have no real control over, talent level and confidence are areas where they can adjust and build. During the recent club’s hot streak where they’ve won four of their last five matches under new Head Coach Alex Covelo, they seem to be leaning into just that — developing and embracing their talent, while increasing their confidence in the process.

Perhaps the team can even find ways to try and combat the weather and the travel. Training in simulated hotter conditions or arriving in away cities a little earlier and/or in greater comfort are all small ways that might help close the gap between factors that have held Monterey Bay back from winning more frequently on the road.

It just takes one road win for the Seasiders to start a new narrative when it comes to their play away from home. Unfortunately, it’s been a very long time since they have carried all three points back with them from an opponent’s stadium. Hopefully, that will happen again soon and contribute to the team starting on a whole new trajectory towards becoming a consistent and dangerous side no matter where they play.

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