If you spent any time at Cardinale Stadium last October, you know the feeling. It’s that crisp, salty air blowing in from the Pacific, mixed with the collective sigh of a fan base watching their team grind out a 1-1 draw against Las Vegas Lights to cap off a season that just... didn't quite click.
Honestly, looking at the final Monterey Bay FC standings for 2025 is a bit of a gut punch for the Union faithful. Finishing 11th in the Western Conference isn’t exactly what anyone had on their bingo card after that hot start in March. But soccer is a weird, cruel game where the scoreboard doesn't always tell the whole story of the locker room.
Where Things Landed: The 2025 Reality Check
The "Crisp-and-Kelp" ended the 2025 USL Championship regular season with 29 points. To put that in perspective, they were a massive 28 points behind the Western Conference leaders, FC Tulsa. That’s a canyon-sized gap.
They finished with a record of 7 wins, 8 draws, and 15 losses.
The most frustrating part? The goal differential. They scored 30 goals but let in 42. You don’t need to be a math genius to see that a -12 differential is a recipe for a long offseason. It’s kinda wild when you remember they were sitting in 2nd place back in Week 4.
What went wrong? Injuries played a part, sure. But there was also a glaring lack of consistency. One week you’ve got Carlos Guzmán and Adrian Rebollar looking like world-beaters in a 3-1 win over Phoenix Rising, and the next, the team is struggling to find a single shot on target.
📖 Related: Why Netball Girls Sri Lanka Are Quietly Dominating Asian Sports
Breaking Down the West
The Western Conference was a meat grinder this year. While Monterey Bay was struggling to find its footing, teams like Sacramento Republic and New Mexico United were consistently picking up points.
- FC Tulsa: 57 points (Ran away with the West)
- Sacramento Republic: 48 points
- New Mexico United: 48 points
- ...
- Monterey Bay FC: 29 points (11th place)
It’s worth noting that they did manage to stay ahead of Las Vegas Lights, who propped up the bottom of the table with 27 points. Small victories, right?
Why the Monterey Bay FC Standings Don't Tell the Whole Story
Stats are cold. They don't show the flashes of brilliance from guys like Ilijah Paul, who snagged Player of the Week honors earlier in the season. They don't show the tactical shifts Jordan Stewart tried to implement mid-summer to stop the bleeding.
The reality is that Monterey Bay is still a young club in the grand scheme of the USL. They are building a culture in Seaside, and sometimes that involves a "sophomore slump" (or in this case, a junior one).
One thing that really hampered their standing was their form on the road. It’s tough to climb the table when you’re dropping points in places like Oakland and Colorado Springs. The home crowd at Cardinale is legendary—seriously, the atmosphere there is top-tier for this league—but you can’t rely solely on home cooking if you want to make the playoffs.
👉 See also: Why Cumberland Valley Boys Basketball Dominates the Mid-Penn (and What’s Next)
The 2026 Pivot: Out With the Old?
We are already seeing the front office move. They aren't sitting on their hands.
The signing of 19-year-old Mexican international Fernando Delgado is a massive signal of intent. If you’ve followed the USL for a minute, you know that goalkeeping can make or break your season. Bringing in a young, hungry keeper suggests they are looking to solve that -12 goal differential from the ground up.
Then there’s the transfer of Facundo Canete from MLS NEXT Pro. This is exactly the kind of move that changes Monterey Bay FC standings from "bottom feeder" to "playoff contender." They needed creativity in the midfield. They needed someone who could link the defense to the attack without losing the ball in dangerous transition areas.
The 2026 Schedule: A Fast Start is Mandatory
The league just dropped the 2026 schedule, and it’s a doozy. Monterey Bay opens at home on March 7 against their rivals, Oakland Roots.
Think about that.
✨ Don't miss: What Channel is Champions League on: Where to Watch Every Game in 2026
The very first game of the season is a NorCal derby. If they win that, the momentum shift will be palpable. If they lose, the "here we go again" whispers will start early. Two weeks later, they head to Sacramento. It’s a brutal opening stretch, but it’s also an opportunity to prove that the 2025 standings were a fluke.
Actionable Steps for the Union Faithful
If you’re a fan or a bettor looking at this team for the 2026 season, here’s how to process the current state of affairs:
- Watch the Goal Differential: Forget the wins and losses for the first month. Watch the "Goals Against" column. If Delgado and the backline can keep that number under 1.0 per game, they will be in the top eight.
- Monitor the Midfield Link-up: Keep an eye on Canete. His ability to find Ilijah Paul or Luke Ivanovic in space is the key to unlocking defenses that sat deep against Monterey last year.
- Home Fortress: Cardinale Stadium needs to be a place where teams hate to play. If they can turn those 2025 draws into 2026 wins at home, they gain 10-12 points automatically.
- The USL Cup Factor: Don't ignore the Prinx Tires USL Cup matches in April and May. These interleague games are a great way for the team to find a rhythm without the crushing pressure of league points, and they can serve as a "lab" for Coach Stewart to test new lineups.
The 2025 season is in the rearview mirror. It wasn't pretty, and the 11th-place finish hurts. But with the roster overhaul currently underway and a schedule that tests their mettle immediately, the 2026 version of this team could look very different.
Basically, don't count the Crisp-and-Kelp out just yet. The climb back up the Western Conference starts in March, and the foundation being laid right now is a lot sturdier than the final 2025 table suggests.