PHOENIX >> Hold off on those eulogies. Monterey Bay F.C. still has a pulse.

Mired in a franchise record 11-game winless drought that had stretched back to July 6, as well as a six-match scoreless drought, it all came to a halt Friday night — on the road no less.

New coach Jordan Stewart is likely walking around feeling like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders after the Union secured a 2-1 win over defending United Soccer League Championship finals champion Phoenix.

Equally critical for Monterey Bay F.C. was the three points it produced moved them to within two points of the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot, currently occupied by Orange County, and three points out of the seventh spot.

The Union’s final three matches are against defending Western Conference champion Sacramento, as well as Tulsa on the road and Colorado tSprings at Cardinale Stadium.

Monterey Bay F.C. will visit Sacramento in a rare Wednesday meeting. It has dropped two matches to the Republic this season, falling 2-0 in USL play, and 2-0 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Sacramento and Colorado Springs are likely playoff-bound, while Tulsa currently sits one point in front of Monterey Bay F.C. with 34 points. The Union are 0-3 against the three teams this year, having been outscored 5-0.

Stewart, who took over for the fired Frank Yallop on Aug. 5, had gone 0-5-3 as Monterey Bay F.C. (8-14-9) struggled to find a new identity, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.

The Union, who came into their battle against Phoenix No. 23 out of 24 teams in scoring in the USL, had gone over 600 minutes without a goal before Mobi Fehr ended the historic drought with a goal 15 minutes into the match.

Fehr’s fourth goal of the season came on an assist from Morey Doner. Monterey Bay F.C. produced a second goal in the 44th minute when the ball slipped through the Phoenix goalies’ hands after hitting the crossbar, staking them to a 2-0 lead.

For a Union defense that had given up a goal of less eight times during their 11-match winless streak, a two-goal lead allowed them to play with fire, as goalie Carlos Herrera stopped everything in his path until the 84th minute of the match.

Herrera has compiled an 81.7 percent save percent in his six starts for the Union, with three shutouts. As a team, the franchise has held nine opponents without a goal this year.

Having come into the match 3-9-2 overall on the road this year, the Union’s last victory also came on the road when they beat Pittsburgh.

The win enabled Monterey Bay F.C. to sweep the season series from the defending champions, with the overall series between the two Western Conference rivals knotted at 2-2-2.

The injury-depleted Union played the match without seven players, including Tristan Trager and Alex Dixon, who have combined for 12 of the team’s 26 goals this year.

Doner’s assist was his 10th of the career for Monterey Bay F.C.

While Alex Lara made his 100th career appearances in the United Soccer League.