Albion San Diego defeated the reigning NISA champion Michigan Stars 1-0 at Romeo Stadium on Tuesday afternoon extending its undefeated streak to six games, which includes three-straight victories. Albion also became the first road team to beat Michigan with the two sides settling for a 1-1 draw in their previous meeting on June 24 at Canyon Crest Academy Stadium.

The Stars had the first clear scoring opportunity in the 19th minute when Robert Juncaj took a shot from close range that hit the crossbar and bounced out of danger. Albion goalkeeper Ben Roach made himself noticed in the 43rd minute by deflecting a header from defender Ezer Browne from five yards away.

One of the biggest moments of the game came just seconds later when Browne, who was already on a yellow card, was given a red card after fouling midfielder Daniel Bedoya on a breakaway opportunity. This allowed the visitors to have more possession and better control of the tempo, which they eventually capitalized on in the 73rd minute when Bedoya took a pass from teammate Corey Lundeen and took a right-footed shot from outside the box that beat goalkeeper Tatenda Mkuruva.

Roach continued coming up big for his team in the second half keeping Michigan from scoring after a great save on a shot from midfielder Hunter Olson in the 66th minute and a quick reaction to prevent a scoring chance from forward Leon Maric in the final minutes. The former UC Santa Barbara standout now has five clean sheets in his last six games giving up just one goal during that span.

Albion San Diego has 24 points and a stranglehold on the second-seed only trailing the top-seeded Chattanooga FC with 31 points. Albion will return to California finishing its road trip versus LA Force on July 31 before opening a six-game homestand versus Club de Lyon starting on Aug. 8 at Canyon Crest Academy Stadium.

Photo courtesy: John Cocozza Photography