TULSA >> FC Tulsa has been a thorn in the side of Monterey Bay FC since its inception.

That trend continued Wednesday as the Union couldn’t make an early one-goal lead stand up, falling 2-1 to the Western Conference leaders in Tulsa.

The setback left the Union winless in five career matches against FC Tulsa at 0-3-2.

Despite the setback, Monterey Bay FC (6-8-4) remains in seventh place in the Western Conference of the United Soccer League Championship with 22 points — just one point from jumping into the top four.

The Union, who have never made the playoffs, have dropped three of their past four matches on the pitch and are 2-6-0 over their last eight games in conference play. The top eight teams in each conference advance to the postseason.

With 12 regular-season matches left, the Union won’t return to USL play until Aug. 6 when they host Tulsa. They will visit AV Alta FC on July 26 in their final USL Jägermeister Cup.

Tulsa (8-3-4) has been one of the hottest teams in the USL over the past two months, having gone 4-0-2 over its past six matches to take a one-point lead in the Western Conference with 28 points.

For the second straight week, Tulsa came back from a deficit, producing a pair of goals in a span of two minutes to erase a 1-0 deficit in the 47th and 48th minutes of the match.

Having snapped a three-game skid last week with a 3-2 decision over Orange County, the Union rode that momentum into Tulsa, using a goal from Mayele Malango in the opening minutes to take a 1-0 lead.

Malango, who has four goals on the year, took a pass from USL Team Championship Player of the Week honoree Grant Robinson for a brief lead.

The Union nearly tied the match in the 60th minute when Nicholas Gordon took a pass from Watsonville native Adrian Rebollar and hit the post on a header.

Sitting in third place in the Western Conference when the match began, Tulsa leapfrogged over New Mexico United and second place San Antonio, which were both idle.

As dominant as Monterey Bay FC has been at home this fall (5-2-1), it has struggled on the road in USL play at 1-6-3. Its only win on the road was a 3-0 decision over Orange County on March 22.