Albion San Diego extended its undefeated streak to eight games, seven in league play, after a dramatic 1-1 draw with LA Force on Saturday.
Albion took the lead in the 47th minute when midfielder Pablo Pelaez took a short pass from forward Alioune Diakhate, which caught the Force defenders by surprise and Peleaz calmly placed the ball past goalkeeper Brandon Gomez.
“LA is always a tough matchup for us. We’ve got a history of some great games going back a number of years,” said Albion San Diego head coach Ziggy Korytoski. “I thought we controlled the game and the space very well in the first 45 minutes and made a couple of adjustments at the half that led to us taking the lead.”
LA Force increased its attacking pressure in the second half with forward Edwin Rivas taking advantage in the 79th minute to tie the match after a close-range shot that beat goalkeeper Ben Roach. Roach would come up with a huge save in the final moments when he deflected a shot from inside the box with a diving one-handed save to rescue the point for his team.
Albion now plays Chattanooga FC on Wednesday, Sept. 7 at The Cage on the campus of Cal State San Marcos in the biggest game of the season. A victory for Albion means they take over second place in the NISA standings only behind Cal United Strikers, currently in first.
“Chattanooga is a very talented team,” Korytoski added. “It will take our group being fully committed to each other and our game plan over the 90 minutes. I believe the game will have a playoff-type feel to it on Wednesday.”
LOYAL
San Diego Loyal fell to Monterey Bay on the road 3-1 Saturday in its second match against the expansion USL Championship team.
SD Loyal took the lead in the 19th minute when midfielder Nick Moon beat the one-on-one coverage inside the box and placed the ball by the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Antony Siaha. Monterrey responded towards the end of the half with a goal from midfielder Sam Gleadle in the 45th minute off a deflection that went towards the San Diego goal where Gleadle was able to take all the way into the box and beat goalkeeper Koke Vegas.
Monterey Bay extended the lead in the 60th minute thanks to a goal from forward Christian Volesky and started to take control of the game after that. To make matters worse for San Diego Loyal, defender Kyle Adams got a red card in the 68th minute putting them one man down for the remainder of the game.
Monterey Bay put the match on ice in the 88th minute when Gleadle scored the insurance goal taking advantage of his team having the numerical advantage on the pitch.
San Diego now finds itself one point ahead of Colorado Switchbacks for second space in the standings with the team, led by head coach Landon Donovan, next facing western conference leader San Antonio FC on Saturday, Sept. 10 at Toyota Field. The last time these two teams faced each other was on Aug. 6 at Torero Stadium with San Diego Loyal coming out with a 3-0 victory.
ADG FC
ADG FC opens the 2022 UPSL regular season on the road at Chula Vista as it takes on Rebels SC on Sunday, Sept. 11. The team is returning from a memorable 2021 season with several players from the San Diego Sockers back on the roster once again including brothers Ismael and Manuel Rojo. ADG will play a total of 10 regular season matches with the home opener being on Sept. 17 at San Diego Mesa College versus Escondido FC.
Hector Trujillo has been covering soccer starting with the San Diego State University men’s soccer team in 2003 for The Daily Aztec. A graduate of SDSU where he received his B.A. and M.A. degrees, Trujillo has a lifelong passion for playing and writing about the beautiful game.
Photos courtesy of San Diego Loyal, David Frerker, and Carlos Hernández
