San Diego Wave, San Diego Loyal, and Albion San Diego each clinched home playoff games for the opening round of the postseason in their respective leagues after the results on Saturday.
San Diego Wave came out with a scoreless draw versus the North Carolina Courage at WakeMed Soccer Park as the team, led by head coach Casey Stoney, was coming off a 2-0 road victory over the Portland Thorns on Sept. 30.
The Wave also clinched a bye for the quarterfinal round with the point versus North Carolina having already secured at least the second-seed but are still alive for finishing as the top-seed, along with winning the Supporters’ Shield, with a home victory over Racing Louisville on Oct. 15 coupled with a Portland draw or loss to Angel City. The last time San Diego Wave and Racing Louisville played each other ended in a scoreless draw at Lynn Family Stadium on June 9.
San Diego Loyal came out with a dominating 4-2 victory over the Oakland Roots at Torero Stadium in the last home regular season game for the team, led by head coach Nate Miller, as it guaranteed itself finishing at least with the fourth-seed in the western conference. SD Loyal got goals from midfielder Joe Corona in the 17th minute, a brace from forward Ronaldo Damus with goals in the 19th and 25th minutes, and a goal from midfielder Adrien Perez in the 44th minute.
The “Haitian Sensation,” as Damus has been affectionately nicknamed by the fans, has scored five times over the last three matches, which includes a hat-trick versus Monterey Bay on Sept. 30. The two goals for Oakland came courtesy of defender Bryan Tamacas in the 13th minute and teammate Emrah Klimenta, who previously played for SD Loyal, in the 82nd minute.
San Diego Loyal still has a chance to finish as high as the second seed with a road victory over the Las Vegas Lights on Oct. 14 combined with a San Antonio loss or draw against Indy Eleven. SD Loyal can also finish in third place depending on the result between Orange County SC and Monterey Bay.
Albion San Diego came out with a 1-1 draw against Flower City Union, which guarantees at least the fourth seed in the NISA standings come playoff time. Albion took the lead in the 48th minute when a shot from forward Cyrus Tran bounced off the crossbar as teammate Alexander Dalou beat the Flower City defenders by heading the rebound into the back of the net.
Albion could have had an opportunity to go up 2-0 just a few minutes later, but what appeared to be a handball inside the box was not called on the home team, which allowed it to stay in the match. The tying score came in the 98th minute, despite only five minutes of added time being signaled by the fourth official, with midfielder Logan Lee taking advantage of a deflection from a free-kick and shooting the ball from five yards out that beat goalkeeper Ben Roach.
Despite the dramatic ending, Albion still has an outside chance of finishing as the second seed and a more realistic chance at finishing as the third seed if it can beat the Michigan Stars in the regular season finale at Canyon Crest Academy on Oct. 15 and get some help from either LA Force or Gold Star FC Detroit.
Photos by San Diego Wave FC, San Diego Loyal, John Cocozza Photography
