Albion San Diego came out with an impressive 2-0 victory over Salt City Union at Canyon Crest Academy Stadium on Sunday, June 18 to take over the third spot in the NISA standings thanks to a brace from recently acquired forward Aleksandar Gluvacevic.

The team, led by head coach Diego Gomez, was coming off a scoreless draw versus the Maryland Bobcats in its previous match on June 15 with goalkeeper Ben Roach now having a third clean sheet so far this season.

Albion took the early lead in the 34th minute when Gluvacevic put away a rebound from close range that came from an excellent cross into the box by midfielder Daniel Bedoya that Salt City goalkeeper Michael Mejia was unable to control.

The visitors did not capitalize on the limited scoring opportunities they had in the first half and decided to bring in former Albion forward Alioune Diakhate in the second half to try and tie the game.

The home team fed off the crowd and stood strong on defense in the second half keeping Salt City at bay with Gluvacevic taking advantage of a miscommunication between Mejia and his teammates recovering a turnover in the box and slicing the ball with a bending left-footed shot in the 53rd minute for the 2-0 lead.

Among the other standout players for Albion were midfielders Shinya Kadono and Corey Lundeen along with defender Ernest Mitchell who prevented counterattacks by Salt City from turning into potential scoring opportunities.

Albion has 14 points after nine matches only behind the Maryland Bobcats with 16 points after 10 matches and Chattanooga FC with 23 points after nine matches. Albion now gets ready to take on the defending champion Michigan Stars on June 24 at Canyon Crest Academy Stadium in a rematch of the 2022 NISA championship match.

Photo courtesy: John Cocozza Photography