Albion San Diego came out with a dramatic 1-0 win at home over LA Force on Sunday, May 15, at Canyon Crest Academy Stadium, which marks the second victory of the season over its rival.

Both teams were in need of a win with Albion having lost its last two matches while LA had gone winless in its first five while just one goal during that span.

“We want to be effective going side to side. If we can keep the ball for extended periods of time then we get to a moment of playing channel to channel and things open up. For us, it’s about the discipline to get to those areas that we want to exploit,” said Albion head coach Ziggy Korytoski.

San Diego goalkeeper Ben Roach had another great performance for his team that included saves in the 13th minute when he punched the ball out of the box after the visitors had broken through the defensive line, and again in the 20th minute deflecting a close-range shot from five yards out by forward Chandler Hoffman.
The home team had two clear scoring chances in the first half as well, first in the 28th minute when a strike inside the box from midfielder Walter Varela went over the crossbar and another chance in the final seconds of the half when a point-blank shot by defender Eduard Puga was blocked by the LA Force defense.

“We always have to come out and look to create chances for wins regardless of our opponent,” said Puga. “If we keep pushing for goals early it gives us a chance to be successful the rest of the season.”

The warm weather was also a factor that took a toll on the players, forcing a break in play just 22 minutes into the match with LA Force needing to use their first substitution.

San Diego pushed the pace to start the second half creating two counterattack opportunities that came close to opening up the scoresheet. After another break, a few minutes later, which required another substitution from LA, the tempo of the match increased with the midfield seeing a lot of action and players battling out to create opportunities for their forwards.

This action allowed Albion to exploit its speed up front in the 84th minute when forward Mayele Malango recovered a loose ball and patiently waited to cross the ball to teammate Alioune Diakhate, who made a run into the box heading it past goalkeeper Brandon Gomez for the winning score.

The victory gives Albion San Diego six points in its first five matches, two points behind Bay Cities FC, which has played seven games overall and sits in third place in the Western Division.

Albion will travel to Arizona where it will face Valley United FC for the third time this season on Saturday, May 21, before returning home to take on Bay Cities FC on June 4.

Photo courtesy of David Frerker