SACRAMENTO >> Building blocks for next season are not what’s on the minds of players chasing playoff dreams this year.

Time, however, is not on the side of Monterey Bay F.C., as its postseason hopes have a faint heartbeat.

While a late goal enabled them to salvage a 2-2 tie Wednesday at playoff-bound Sacramento, the Union dropped back four points in their quest for the eighth and final spot after Orange County and Phoenix both pulled out wins.

As a result, Monterey Bay F.C. will have to win its final two matches and hope Orange County and Phoenix go winless in their final three matches to create a log jam for the final two slots in the Western Conference of the United Soccer League Championship.

The Union (8-14-10) will close the season hosting playoff-bound Colorado Springs, before ending the regular season in Tulsa. The 10 ties this season is a franchise record.

On the heels of an 11-game winless streak that stretched 89 days, the Union have knocked off defending USL champion Phoenix and tied defending Western Conference champion Sacramento in the span of four days.

After going six straight matches without a goal, Monterey Bay F.C. has produced four in its past two matches, with Morey Doner slicing one through the net in extra time to escape Sacramento with a tie.

The Union had come into the game 0-2-0 this year against Sacramento, having fallen 2-0 in the USL season and 2-0 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Doner, who assisted on the game-winning goal last Saturday in Phoenix, produced his first goal on an assist from captain and two-time Union Defensive Player of the Year Kai Greene.

Doner was making his 100th consecutive start, the longest streak in USL history. It was also Monterey Bay F.C.’s 100 career match, and Walmer Martínez’s 100th career appearance for the club.

The Union are still playing without the team’s top two leading scorers in Tristan Trager (injury) and Alex Dixon (illness). Dixon set the single-season franchise record for goals in 2023.

Staring at a 1-0 deficit 15 minutes into the match, the Union tied it when Xavi Gnaulati took a pass from Watsonville native Adrian Rebollar and drilled it from the left corner for his first goal.

Sacramento came into the match having won its last three over the Union, with its last loss to its California rivals coming at home in 2023.

The Union also played without goalie Antony Siaha. While active as a backup, he missed his fifth straight match. Siaha still leads the USL in saves with 102. For the first time since Aug. 17, the club gave up two goals.