Albion San Diego and Michigan Stars will meet each other again in the NISA postseason, but this time it will be in the semifinal round at Romeo Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Albion will be looking for some revenge after Michigan came out with the 1-0 victory in last year’s championship match.
“I think the three times we’ve played them this season our team has been the better side,” said Albion San Diego head coach Diego Gomez. “I think it’s about remaining positive and knowing we already beat them at their place.”
There were three meetings between Albion and Michigan during the regular season with one victory for and two draws for San Diego including its regular season finale at Canyon Crest Academy on Oct. 15. There was only one other team that the Stars lost to at home this season besides Albion San Diego with the other being the Maryland Bobcats who did it twice.
The defending champion earned its trip to the semifinals after finishing as the second-seed, which earned them a bye in the quarterfinal round. Albion made it to the semifinals after finishing as the fourth-seed and knocking out the fifth-seeded Maryland Bobcats in a game that was decided by penalty kicks (8-7) on Oct. 28 at Canyon Crest Academy.
“It’s about winning and it doesn’t matter whether it’s in regulation or in extra time or in penalties,” Gomez added. “We want to win this game and make it to the final. We’re not interested in talking or creating conflict, we’re focused on playing the best game we can and go for it.”
The Stars are led on the offensive end by forward Leon Maric who finished with 15 goals and just one goal behind the eventual Golden Boot winner Markus Naglestad. Albion San Diego was led in scoring by forward Cyrus Tran who finished with six goals during the regular season and midfielder Daniel Bedoya who finished with five.
“Leon (Maric) and Hunter Olson have been really good this year for them,” Gomez said. “Maric is very tall and is good at attacking in space, so when we’re attacking we can’t lose focus on his position in order to cut his run. A key to the game is to stay focused in transition and that is one of the things we’ve been working on.”
The winner on Saturday will take on the winner of the other semifinal between top-seeded Chattanooga FC and sixth-seeded Flower City Union on Sunday at Finley Stadium. Flower City earned its trip to the semis after upsetting third-seeded LA Force at Harbor College on Oct. 29.
Photo by John Cocozza Photography
