Albion PROS Fall To Chula Vista FC in Dramatic U.S. Open Cup Matchup
Albion PROS’ first trip to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open was cut short on Wednesday as the club lost to fellow San Diego side, Chula Vista FC.
Next up: In Round Two of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on May 17 Chula Vista will take on the L.A. Wolves FC (USASA)
In a hard fought matchup at Mission Bay Stadium in San Diego, Chula Vista FC advances to the Second Round of the annual tournament and looks to mirror its performance in 2015. 
Related Article: L.A. Wolves Win U.S. Open Cup First Round
Soccer News: The 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup‘s First Round is over — and all over the country, the games attracted soccer fans and offered tons of excitement and drama. In San Diego, the quest to compete in the 104th year of this historic tournament ended for Albion PROS who hosted Chula Vista FC Wednesday, May 10th at Mission Bay Stadium
Chula Vista FC has advanced to the Second Round to be played on Wednesday, May 17 after defeating Albion SC PROS, 3-2 in a wild match up of strength and wits.
Albion PROS, a member of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), competed in their first ever U.S. Open Cup match versus the SoCal Premier League side.
The game was marred by a red card issued in the 16th minute for Violent Conduct and it set the tone for the entire match. Albion PROS defender Luke Staats received a red card and the team was forced to play a man down for nearly 80% of the match.
“When we went down a man early on, it obviously changed the game plan,” said Ziggy Korytoski, Head Coach of Albion PROS. “When you go down, the game changes.”
Despite Chula Vista holding the player advantage, the match remained scoreless for an extraordinary length of time — until the 74th minute of play.
Alberto Diaz was able to put the visiting side on the scoreboard first. Diaz was true to form and changed the fate of the match — Diaz earned the best Amateur Player of the 2015 US Cup as well as the Best Adult Cal South player the same year.
Chula Vista’s Gilberto Perez-Lopez earned a second yellow card for a foul in the box — leading to his red card in the 77th minute and his ejection. Unfortunately, Albion PROS were not able to covert the rewarded penalty kick.
“Just two minutes later, Lopez was sent packing when he committed a hand ball in the box, resulting in a follow-up penalty kick. The second attempt was coolly converted by Luan Oliveira to bring things level in the 79th minute.”
The Albion PROS’ fans went wild — along with the exuberant players who raced to the side of the field and were greeted with adoring spectators.
“Last night’s energy was awesome from players, and fans,” said J Hector Diaz, Head Coach of Chula Vista FC. “Our vision was to create this type of environment for our soccer community in San Diego — back in 2011.”
“Our first trip into the Open Cup was in 2015. Yesterday, we took another step forward in creating a soccer culture similar to what exists around the world.”
“While it’s always great to win against your local rival, it is our community as a whole won last night,” said Diaz.
Additional Albion PROS vs Chula Vista FC U.S. Open GAME details:
- Chula Vista’s Gilberto Perez-Lopez earned a red card in the 77th minute for chopping down David Luquen with Luan Oliveira capitalizing off a penalty kick to bring the match level.
- Jaime Veron gave Chula Vista the 2-1 advantage in the 88th minute when he headed home a rebound following a Jean Antoine save.
- Then Oscar Hernandez scored a great rebound for Chula Vista in stoppage time to increase their lead to 3-1.
- A comeback goal by Albion’s Tre Hayes late into stoppage time was not enough to turn the tide as the match ended 3-2.
It was an unfortunate and heartbreaking loss in the last minutes of the game for Albion. The excitement in the stadium was intense.
With more than 800 Albion youth players coming to the stadium before the game to cheer for their NPSL team, it was a very special,”European-style” soccer night — and, not one usually seen in the USA.
“Both sides of the stadium were packed … they know that professional soccer is coming here in San Diego and there’s people who want to support soccer in this city,” said Albion forward Amani Walker who has been selected as the ninth Mitre National Player of the Week for the 2017 NPSL season.
Despite the defeat, the game will be forever engrained in the club’s memories and part of the continued culture of Albion SC PROS.
“Just to look up and see the turnout from both clubs,” said Korytoski. “It was tremendous.”
Chula Vista’s last U.S. Open Cup run was in 2015, which saw them beat FC Tuscon and Arizona United — now known as Phoenix Rising SC. The San Diego club will take on L.A. Wolves FC (UPSL) in the Second Round scheduled for May 17th.
Match details will be announced in the coming days.
