The San Diego Loyal returns to Torero Stadium on Sunday to play its first home game since March following the restart of the 2020 USL Championship season amid the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
The Loyal will put its modest 2-0-1 record on the line when it hosts the L.A. Galaxy II at 7 p.m.
Though the match will be closed to the public, the locals hope to continue to impress in their inaugural season.
The first-year side got a measure of its potential after defeating the host Real Monarchs SLC, 1-0, in last Saturday’s official USL Championship restart weekend.
Grant Stoneman scored the only goal of the match in the 17th minute following a corner kick by teammate Jack Metcalf.
How big was the win for the visitors? The Monarchs are the defending league champions.
The match was played at Major League Soccer’s Rio Tinto Stadium amid a temperature of 96 degrees.
A limited number of fans were permitted inside the stadium due to health safety protocols.
It was the first match for the Loyal since March 11 when it defeated the Tacoma Defiance, 2-1, in a road match played behind closed doors.
The Loyal leads the realigned Group B standings with seven points.
The Monarchs, who compete in the realigned Group C, fell to 0-2 to start the season.
The Galaxy II enters Sunday’s match with a 1-1-1 record. Phoenix Rising FC is 2-0 while both the Las Vegas Lights FC and Orange County FC have both played just one match, both ties.
Local locos
The Loyal announced prior to last Saturday’ match that it had signed defender Jordan Chavez, goalkeeper Austin Guerrero and forward Ben Spencer for the remainder of the USL championship season, pending league and federation approval.
Chavez (Mater Dei Catholic High School) and Guerrero (Otay Ranch High School) are both Chula Vista natives.
Chavez spent most of his professional career playing for local clubs, including Albion SC and Chula Vista FC.
A three-time first team all-league performer as a prep with the Crusaders, he made 74 appearances during an ensuing four-year playing career at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
Guerrero most recently played for Portland Timbers U23s after stints with UANL Tigres, Altamira FC and Puebla FC. He played NCAA Division I men’s soccer for the University of Portland from 2007-10.
Spencer joins the Loyal after playing for Phoenix Rising FC and internationally for the United States U18 team.
Fans are encouraged to sign up for updates and news via SDLoyal.com and #SDLoyal.
Great indoors
The Major Arena Soccer League’s Board of Directors recently announced it has voted to conclude the 2019-20 season following the suspension of play in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The MASL board voted to recognize the Monterrey Flash as Western Conference regular season champion and the Florida Tropics as the Eastern Conference regular season champion.
The Ron Newman Cup championship playoffs were cancelled.
The Flash finished atop the Western Conference for the third consecutive season after producing a 20-2 record in 2019-20 with 11 home wins.
The second-year Tropics finished atop the Eastern Conference standings with an 18-3 record and +87 goal-differential.
The San Diego Sockers finished runner-up to the Flash in the Western Conference standings with a 15-6 record and +20 goal-differential.
Veteran Kraig Chiles led the Sockers in season scoring with 22 goals and 11 assists for 33 points in 19 games, followed by Slavis Ubiparipovic with 14 goals and 10 assists for 24 points, Leonardo De Oliveria with 17 goals and nine assists for 23 points.
Veteran Brian Farber finished fourth in team scoring with 16 goals and six assists for 22 points while Cesar Cerda followed with eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points. Brandon Escoto finished sixth in team scoring with eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points.
Goalkeeper Boris Pardo finished 11-5 with a 4.90 goals-against average and 69.3 save percentage.
The Sockers are holding their annual Kick with the Pros camp (ages 5-15) on Aug. 3-6 at Poway USA Sportsplex. Camps run from 9 a.m. to noon. To register, visit sdsockers.com/camps
In other club news, the Sockers loaned Raymundo Contreras to Ukrainian club KMB in Kiev on June 11 and signed top scoring free agent Gordy Gurson on July 2.
Contreras, 32, will compete for KMB for 70 days in the Ukrainian Mini-Football League after appearing in 18 games with the Sockers in 2019-20.
Kiev is serving as the host city for the 2021 World Mini-Football World Cup. The 2019 WMF World Cup champion Mexico featured eight Sockers and two coaches, including assistant coach Rene Ortiz, who coaches girls soccer and serves as a physical education instructor at Hilltop High School.
Gurson, 28, joins the Sockers after previously playing with five MASL clubs. Known as “Kid Dynamite,” Gurson earned honors as the 2014-15 MASL Rookie of the Year. He is a three-time member of the United States National Arena Soccer Team, having represented Team USA at the WMF World Cup in 2015 (United States), 2017 (Tunisia) and 2019 (Australia).
SD Loyal’s Stoneman and Atuahene on USL Championship’s Team of the Week for Week 3
The USL Championship announced on Tuesday (July 14) that Phoenix Rising FC forward Solomon Asante had been voted the Championship’s Player of the Week for Week 3 of the 2020 season.
The reigning Championship Most Valuable Player picked up where he left off from his Week 1 performance, notching two goals and one assist to lead Rising FC to a 4-0 victory against the LA Galaxy II on Saturday night at Casino Arizona Field. Asante now has three goals and three assists in Phoenix’s opening two games of the season.
Asante earned 74 percent of the ballot for his performance. Indy Eleven’s Tyler Pasher finished second on 29 percent after notching his third goal of the season in the Eleven’s 2-0 victory against Saint Louis FC on Saturday.
The Championship’s Player of the Week is selected by the USL National Media Panel, which is made up of representatives from each media market in the Championship.
USL Championship Team of the Week – Week 3
GK – Evan Newton, Indy Eleven: Newton recorded a four-save shutout as the Eleven took a 2-0 victory against Saint Louis FC, and was solid with his distribution, completing 23 of 31 passes including 7 of 15 long passes.
D – Grant Stoneman, San Diego Loyal SC: Stoneman recorded his first goal in the Championship, and was solid on the back line, completing 90 of 97 passes, winning 3 of 4 duels and registering two clearances as SD Loyal defeated Real Monarchs SLC on the road.
D – Neveal Hackshaw, Indy Eleven: Hackshaw won 11 of 15 duels, made eight recoveries and completed 52 of 59 passes in addition to his late insurance goal that wrapped up victory for Indy against Saint Louis.
D – Owusu-Ansah Kontoh, Phoenix Rising FC: Kontoh was good at both ends of the field, registering three interceptions and five clearances while also notching a pair of key passes in the attacking end.
M – Jordan Dover, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC: Dover scored the opening goal for the Hounds, completed 27 of 35 passes overall and recorded two interceptions and two clearances in the side’s victory against Louisville City FC.
M – Saalih Muhammad, New Mexico United: Muhammad not only scored a wonderstrike to put New Mexico on top in Colorado Springs but was sharp throughout while completing 44 of 49 passes and winning 5 of 6 duels and aerial duels overall.
M – Leo Fernandes, Tampa Bay Rowdies: Fernandes scored a late game-winner as the Rowdies edged out Atlanta United 2 while completing 42 of 51 passes and recording three shots and three key passes.
M – Robbie Mertz, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC: The Pittsburgh native scored what proved to be the game-winner in the Hounds’ big road win against Louisville City FC.
F – Francis Atuahene, San Diego Loyal SC: Atuahene scored both goals on four shots overall as SD Loyal took its first victory in club history in the lone game of Week 2 prior to the season suspension against Tacoma Defiance.
F – Tyler Pasher, Indy Eleven: The Canadian scored in his fourth consecutive game dating back to 2019 and recorded nine shots and three key passes overall in the Eleven’s 2-0 victory against Saint Louis FC on Saturday.
F – Solomon Asante, Phoenix Rising FC: The reigning Championship MVP continued his hot start with two goals and one assist in Rising FC’s 4-0 victory against the LA Galaxy II on Saturday.
Bench: Kyle Morton (STL), Ayoze (IND), Dylan Mares (ELP), Ropapa Mensah (PIT), Tumi Moshobane (SD), Junior Flemmings (PHX), Chris Wehan (NM)
SD Loyal Announces Broadcast Talent, Regional Broadcast Details
All matches will broadcast on The CW San Diego, along with every match on ESPN+
The San Diego Loyal announced its its full TV schedule for its revised 2020 season on Thursday (July 16). The city’s new men’s professional soccer team will air all of its weekend matches locally on The CW San Diego and every match on ESPN+. Select matches determined by the USL Championship will broadcast nationally on ESPN networks.
Besides announcing broadcast details, the team named its broadcast talent for its inaugural season. Jack Cronin will serve as play-by-play Announcer after more than 13 years’ experience calling matches for various sports at the University of San Diego as well as the California State Soccer Championships for Spectrum Sports. Cronin also works as an anchor and reporter at NewsRadio 600 KOGO, hosting San Diego’s Evening News and the Darren & Jack Show with fellow SD Loyal broadcaster, Darren Smith, every weeknight.
Aside from duties as SD Loyal’s senior advisor, Hall of Famer and World Cup and Olympic champion Shannon MacMillan will serve as the primary analyst.
Complementing the TV broadcast talent, “The Unnamed Prematch Show” and “The Unnamed Postmatch Show” will air on SD Loyal’s Facebook Live 30 minutes before and after matches. Fans are encouraged to watch and engage with hosts Jordan Carruth and Darren Smith who will be live from Torero Stadium during home games, and Stone Brewing at Liberty Station during away games.
Jordan Carruth, who will also serve as backup play-by-play Announcer, joins after serving as a sports broadcaster in San Diego for more than a decade and is currently the lead play-by-play voice on the Mountain West Network for San Diego State University. He also works as the lead sports anchor for LiveXLive Media and co-hosts the Unnamed Soccer Podcast. Jamaican soccer player, Amani Walker, and Univision sports reporter, Ricardo Jimenez, will round out the full broadcast team.
For more information and to view the revised 2020 schedule, visit sdloyal.com and #SDLoyal.
Major League Soccer tabs new expansion timeline
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| Major League Soccer announced on Friday (July 17) a new timeline for the inaugural seasons of three of the four expansion clubs. The new timeline is the result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the commencement of business operations and stadium development of these clubs and will give the clubs an appropriate timeline for a successful launch.
Austin FC remains on schedule to begin competition in 2021 as planned. Charlotte, originally scheduled to begin MLS play next season, will now debut in 2022. St. Louis and Sacramento will begin play in 2023 instead of 2022. The decision was made by MLS Commissioner Don Garber, in conjunction with the league’s Expansion Committee. Austin FC, which unveiled the club’s brand in August 2018 and was formally announced in January 2019 — well ahead of the other expansion teams — remains on schedule to debut in 2021. The club had made significant progress on its sporting, business, and stadium objectives before the onset of the pandemic. “We have always taken a thoughtful and strategic approach to our expansion planning and have delivered successful launches for every new club,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber asid. “It is important for each club to take the necessary time to launch their inaugural MLS seasons the way their fans and communities deserve. With the extra year to make up for what has been a challenging 2020, these teams will be well-positioned for their debuts and for long-term success.” Charlotte, St. Louis and Sacramento were each awarded MLS expansion teams in the second half of 2019. Owned by David Tepper, Charlotte’s MLS team was announced in December. Sacramento Republic FC, owned by Ron Burkle, Matt Alvarez and Kevin Nagle, were granted an expansion team in October. Led by Carolyn Kindle Betz and the first female majority ownership in league history, St. Louis was awarded an MLS team in August. |
