With the opening game of the NISA regular season less than two weeks away and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup second-round match versus San Diego Loyal on April 5, Albion San Diego head coach Diego Gomez feels optimistic about his team’s outlook for 2023.
Gomez was announced in February as Albion’s new head coach with his team already completing its preseason schedule against opponents that included LA Galaxy and Xolos de Tijuana. San Diego Loyal, on the other hand, has already played four regular season matches and currently sits in third-place place in the USL Championship western conference standings.
“The team is very motivated for the game against San Diego Loyal,” said Gomez. “I know the U.S. Open Cup is a historic competition in this country. The players are ready for it and we are very excited.”
Gomez, who grew up admiring legendary Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, retired after years as a goalkeeper himself, which all started in his youth playing at Barcelona and Real Madrid. The 33-year-old native of Salamanca, Spain then coached in the A.C. Milan youth setup in Hong Kong and was later appointed delegate of UE Sant Andreu’s Juvenil squad and has gained experience coaching around the world most recently at Queensboro FC in New York.
“At the end of the day it doesn’t matter that San Diego Loyal has played more matches than we have,” he added. “It’s 90 minutes that we are on the field with no excuses, so we are going to put forward our best effort.”
A win versus San Diego Loyal would be quite the emotional boost for Albion San Diego and its fans considering the NISA season opener against Chattanooga FC at Canyon Crest Academy is on April 16. Last year’s run to the championship match has set a high bar for Albion this time around knowing it will play 14 of its 24 regular season games at home.
“We have a good balance of experience and youth on this team,” Gomez concluded. “At the same time, we have younger players who are hungry. I think the dynamics of our team are really good and we hope to go as far as possible in the playoffs again.”
The U.S. Open Cup match against San Diego Loyal is Wednesday at the SDSU Sports Deck at 7 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Ken Maranion (Raine Photography)
