Albion San Diego came out with its most important win of the season after a 3-0 victory over the Michigan Stars on Saturday evening at Canyon Crest Academy Stadium.

Albion took the lead in the 18th minute when midfielder Walter Varela scored on a close-range header that beat goalkeeper Tatenda Mkuruva. The assist came from a beautiful pass by teammate Alioune Diakhate who was covered by three defenders at the time but was still able to get it through in between them.

Albion had most of the possession in the first 45 minutes with goalkeeper Ben Roach being called upon a few times to defend his net, which included two great saves to end the half allowing his team to take the 1-0 into halftime.

The match became much more wide open with Michigan desperately trying to get the tying goal to start the second half allowing Albion more space on the counterattack. The home team took advantage in the 60th minute when forward Mayele Malango crossed the ball inside the box that Mkuruva deflected to the waiting foot of Diakhate for his 10th goal of the season and the 2-0 lead.

Albion put the game away in the 69th minute when Varela found Malango streaking down the field past defender Kyle Nelson and placing the ball in the top corner of the net past the outstretched arm of Mkuruva for the 3-0 lead, which turned out to be the final score.

“I was really happy for the guys, Ben (Roach) played really well in the moments that he needed to,” said Albion San Diego head coach Ziggy Korytoski. “It also showed the firepower that we have in this line-up. I’m very happy with this complete effort and now it’s time to get back to work.”

The victory puts Albion back in third place of the NISA standings ahead of the Michigan Stars and trailing only Chattanooga FC and California United Strikers who they face on Saturday, Sept. 17 at Championship Stadium in Irvine. The last time these two teams met was on Aug. 20 with the match ending in a 1-1 draw.

“I thought we played them very well at their place last time,” Korytoski added. “I thought we left a little bit of the game on the table there. As long as we can stay focused on what we need to do with and without the ball, I like our chances against anybody.”

SAN DIEGO WAVE

San Diego Wave Fútbol Club lost an absolute heartbreaker to the defending NWSL champion Washington Spirit 4-3 on Saturday at Audi Field, which combined with other scores over the weekend, dropped the team from first to third place in the standings.

After taking the lead in the 7th minute thanks to an impressive goal by Jaedyn Shaw, San Diego gave up three unanswered scores finding themselves behind 3-1 at halftime.

After some adjustments to start the second half, the team, led by head coach Casey Stoney, came back with fury to draw even thanks to two goals from forward Alex Morgan in the 57th minute off a penalty kick conversion and 82nd minute off a corner kick header. Morgan’s two goals were her 14th and 15th of the season placing her four ahead of Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns) and Diana Rosario Ordóñez (North Carolina Courage) for the league lead.

Just when it seemed that the Wave would rescue a valuable road point, midfielder Emily van Egmond was called for a penalty after making contact inside the box with forward Tara McKeown in the 7th minute of added time. The Spirit ended up winning the game when Ashley Hatch converted the penalty kick in the 100th minute of play even though goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan guessed correctly almost getting her hand on the shot.

Despite the loss, San Diego Wave is only one point behind league leader Kansas City Current and tied in points with Portland Thorns but with a worse goal differential. The Wave now gets ready for its inaugural home match at Snapdragon Stadium versus Angel City FC, which is currently in seventh place and one point behind Chicago Red Stars from the final playoff spot.

“I think we were worthy of a point,” said Stoney. “I’m disappointed for the players because I think they massively fought to get back in the game, and they showed huge spirit and character, but obviously, our luck ran out in the end with the penalty.”

SAN DIEGO LOYAL

San Diego Loyal lost a tough game 1-0  to western conference leader San Antonio FC  at Toyota Field on a 30th-minute goal from forward Ignacio Bailone.

The Loyal had defeated San Antonio 3-0 in their previous match at Torero Stadium on Aug. 6 and had several chances to at least come out with the draw on Saturday.

Their clearest chance to score came on a penalty kick conversion attempt in the 60th minute from midfielder Alejandro Guido after forward Thomas Amang had been fouled inside the box just moments earlier. San Antonio goalkeeper Jordan Farr was up to the task by blocking the conversion to try to keep his team in the lead.

Despite the loss, San Diego Loyal got help from Detroit City FC, which defeated the Colorado Switchbacks 2-1 on the road allowing San Diego to remain in second place a point ahead of Colorado.

“We certainly had enough chances to score,” said Loyal head coach Landon Donovan. “We did enough, I think, to get something from the game. I thought it was a really good game, I thought our guys played and competed well and I can  live with that.”

San Diego Loyal now returns home to play conference rival Phoenix Rising on Saturday, Sept. 17 at Torero Stadium. The last time these two sides met was on March 26 in Arizona with San Diego coming out with a 3-2 win.

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.

Albion San Diego photo courtesy of David Frerker; San Diego Loyal photo courtesy of Loyal; San Diego Wave photo courtesy of San Diego Wave Fútbol Club.