Goalkeeper Alan Cruz was the man of the match for Bay Cities FC in their 1-1 draw with Albion San Diego on Sunday afternoon. He made 6 saves, including 4 after Bay Cities was reduced to 10 men after Josiah Romero was red carded with 26 minutes remaining.
Bay Cities started out strong, earning 3 corner kicks in the first few minutes and the first shot on goal in the 11th minute. Josiah Romero’s shot on a breakaway hit the near post and was scooped up by a San Diego defender. The opportunity was set up by a through ball from the Bay Cities half by Carlos Gomez-Zavala.
But as the match went on, San Diego became the aggressor, showing no signs of a three-week layoff since their most recent league match on May 21.
They got on the board first in the 14th minute, on an attack along the left side. Pablo Pelaez dribbled to the edge of the penalty area and sent a ball into the box as Alioune Diakhate was making his run. Diakhate eluded Bay Cities’ Victor Romero, Jr. and stretched out his right leg to redirect the ball just inside the far post.
San Diego’s Eduard Puga had another clear chance 2 minutes later, but Malik Shaheed deflected his shot wide.
Bay Cities equalized in the 17th minute. Gomez-Zavala made a run along the right edge of the penalty area. He paused at the touchline and slid a short pass to a trailing Josiah Romero, who placed it in the roof of the net for his sixth goal of the season.
San Diego goalkeeper Ben Roach’s toughest save came in the 21st minute, when Andres Jimenez’s shot deflected off of Daniel Vicente. Roach had to change direction and grab the ball before it got behind him.
The hosts nearly took the lead in first half stoppage time, but Cruz made a key save on a back post header by Ernest Mitchell.
Bay Cities created few chances in the second half, but Cruz kept the hosts off of the scoreboard. His first save came on a soft header by Diakhate in the 54th minute.
Things got worse for Bay Cities when received Josiah Romero earned his second yellow card in the 64th minute, 9 minutes after receiving his first.
But Cruz was able to stop 4 potential game-winners in the final 10 minutes. In the 83rd minute, he was initially only able to deflect Pelaez’s shot from distance, but was quickly able to pounce on it before it went over the touchline.
Two minutes later, Harold Hanson made a run from the right side. He got around Victor Romero, Jr., but Cruz was waiting for him at the near post.
In the 88th minute, Jonathan Bazaes chest trapped the ball just outside the six-yard box and blasted a shot that Cruz could only redirect over the bar.
And in stoppage time, Walter Varela’s shot from distance bounced off of Cruz’s chest and he quickly pounced on the rebound.
With the result, Bay Cities retains a 4 point lead over Albion for second place in NISA’s West Division. They return to action on June 18 when they return home to take on Chattanooga FC.
