01 Jul PROS shutout SoCal SC in final home match
SAN DIEGO – Calif. The Albion SC PROS continued their push for the playoffs in their final home match of the season with a 2-0 victory over SoCal SC on July 1 at Mission Bay Stadium.
Aggressive play between both teams began almost immediately with several tackles at the midfield. The referees called a combined 13 fouls in the first 20 minutes of play. With a high number of midfield fouls, the action in front of goal remained relatively low. At the close of the first half, the PROS and SoCal remained locked 0-0.
“[In] first half we were actually pretty good. We created a number of chances … We didn’t give much away,” said Head Coach Ziggy Korytoski.
At the start of the second, Korytoski subbed out the PROS newest addition Townsend Meyer in favor of forward Tre Hayes. “It was more tactical [to not put Tre in until the second half]. We wanted to make sure we controlled midfield and out-possessed them and wore them down,” said Korytoski.
In minute 52, Hayes connected with Sean Callan for the first PROS goal of the night, eliciting a roar from the already raucous PROS fan base.
After several shots on goal by Hayes in the minutes to follow, Hayes finally found the back of the net in the 62nd minute with a well-timed assist from Michael Turner. “When I got in the game … I just wanted to be a nuisance the whole time I was in,” said Hayes. “I was blessed enough to do that and come away with a goal.”
After their second clean sheet of the season against SoCal SC, the PROS now prepare for their final regular season match on the road against Corinthians USA on Saturday, July 8. Against Corinthians USA, the PROS look to extend their unbeaten streak to 10 games.
“Going into Corinthians, obviously we want to max out with our points and make sure we put ourselves in a position to be that sixth seed if not even a little bit better,” said Korytoski. “[Looking ahead to] playoffs, we know that we’re a good team, that we can beat anyone in the country on any given day. We have that much depth and talent on our roster.”