ALBION SC REMAINS UNDEFEATED WITH 3-3 TIE AGAINST FC HASENTAL

Albion SC Pros and FC Hasental took the pitch Saturday night in an epic clash between the old guard from Thousand Oaks (CA) and the new in San Diego (CA). The undefeated Albion SC Pros looked to advance to 7-0-3 on the season as they had already defeated FC Hasental on the road in April by a score of 3 to 1. FC Hasental came into the game looking to knock the Albion Pros from the ranks of the unbeaten.

Before the match began we spoke with Albion SC Pros HC Ziggy Korytoski on his pregame thoughts. “We are really excited about tonight. The preparation has been good. The guys are ready to step in. Obviously we are dealing with a few suspensions/injuries and will be lacking a few key players for tonight’s game. It has been a terrific year for us in our inaugural season and we are expecting more of it tonight.”

FC Hasental got off to a fast start. FC Hasental’s Cameron Artigliere gave them the lead in the 14th minute of the game with a beautiful shot from just inside the box. Hasental had control of the game early until a red card was issued to FC Hasental’s Joel Contreras for fouling Tre Hayes of Albion Pros in the box. The 20-year-old hero from last week’s 3-2 victory over SoCal SC Felipe Liborio would take the PK. He would not have the same result as last week’s game when he made the game winning PK goal in the 80th minute. This time Liborio would miss the kick wide left.

16 minutes later, FC Hasental’s Cameron Artigliere would strike yet again. Artigliere fired a rocket on a free kick from 30 yards out to give FC Hasental a 2-0 lead over the Albion SC Pros in the 39th minute. FC Hasental was on fire making the home crowd worried as the Albion Pros looked like a lackluster team and not the undefeated team they are.

Two minutes of stoppage time was added to the clock before the half. Albion Pros showed some intensity as they got one goal back thanks to David Luquen scoring on an Albion Pros corner kick. Albion Pros would head into the half trailing FC Hasental 2-1.

During the 49th minute of last night’s contest The Deep End (Albion SC Pros) fan group broke out into song. They invited the fans to sing along with them as they sung “You Are My Sunshine” to honor the victims of the Orlando Shootings.

Three minutes later David Luquen would score his second goal of the game on a beautiful cross by Felipe Liborio. 52 minutes into the game the scoreboard would read Albion SC Pros 2 and FC Hasental 2.  In the 62nd minute of the game FC Hasental would regain the lead on a goal by Jonathan Martinez. Albion SC Pros goalkeeper Jean Antoine came out of the box running towards Martinez attempting to make the save. The ball rolled by the diving Antoine thus giving Martinez an open net and an easy goal. Hasental had a 3-2 lead over the undefeated Albion Pros with 28 minutes remaining in the game.

Albion Pros began to play with urgency for remaining 25 minutes of the game looking to remain undefeated in NPSL Southwest Conference play. With 10 minutes remaining in the game Albion Pros trailed FC Hasental 3-2. Albion Pros would not go down without a fight. Albion Pros let off some rocket shots from 30 yards out just missing the goal. The momentum of the game shifted in favor of FC Hasental to Albion Pros in the 82nd minute. In the 82nd minute we had a significant injury to a Hasental player. Play was stopped for about six minutes as the injured player was evaluated by medical staff and was helped off the pitch. Hasental playing with 10 men was now down to 9 men as they ran out of subs. This would be the end of the Hasental attack as they would be playing on their heels for the remainder of the game.

FC Hasental would play the last eight minutes of the game attempting to protect their one goal lead. Albion Pros kicked it into high gear for the final 8 minutes of the game with a two player advantage. In the 88th minute Albion Pros scored the equalizer on a beautiful header by Trey Heyes assisted by Luan Oliveira. Six minutes of stoppage time would be added to the game. Albion Pros continued to attack the Hasental goal with no success. As the final whistle blew the scoreboard read Albion SC Pros 3 and FC Hasental 3. This was the highest scoring game in the history of Mission Bay Stadium as six goals were scored. FC Hasental played a great game against statistically the best goalkeeper in the NPSL in Jean Antoine. Antoine had played eight league games only allowing two goals. You read that right: just two goals in eight games. FC Hasental scored three goals against Jean Antoine in 90 minutes.

After the match I spoke with FC Hasental GK Chase McQueen to get his thoughts on the game. “To tell you the truth this game feels like a loss. We went down a man in the first half due to a red card. In the last 15 minutes we lost another man due to injury and had already used all of our subs. It was a tough one but we walk away with a point.“

Next weekend Albion SC Pros looks to remain undefeated and lock up home field advantage in the playoffs at. Temecula FC on Tuesday and Saturday at Corinthians. Four of the six Albion SC Pros victories have come on the road. Next weekend FC Hasental travels to Riverside (CA) to take on 2nd place Coras USA.