San Diego Loyal SC

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San Diego Loyal SC
San Diego Loyal SC logo.svg
Full nameSan Diego Loyal Soccer Club
FoundedJune 20, 2019;5 years ago (2019-06-20)
DissolvedOctober 22, 2023;12 months ago (2023-10-22)
Stadium Torero Stadium
Capacity6,000 [1]
OwnerAndrew Vassiliadis [2]
Warren Smith
Landon Donovan
DeAndre Yedlin [3]
Executive VP Landon Donovan
League USL Championship (2020–2023)
2023 3rd, Western Conference
Playoffs: Conference Quarterfinals
Website https://www.sdloyal.com/

San Diego Loyal SC was an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California. The team was founded by Warren Smith and Landon Donovan. San Diego Loyal made its debut in 2020 as an expansion team in the USL Championship. The team played its home games at Torero Stadium. The Loyal shut down following the 2023 season after failing to find a long-term home venue.

Contents

History

On June 20, 2019, San Diego was awarded an expansion team in the USL Championship to debut in 2020 or 2021. [4] [5] Warren Smith, one of the co-founders of Sacramento Republic, was named the president of the new club. [6] [7] Former USMNT, LA Galaxy and San Jose Earthquakes player Landon Donovan was named the executive vice president of soccer operations. [6] [7] He was named as the club's first manager on November 14. [8] The team's name and crest were developed through fan engagement to reflect the interests of the city. [7] On March 7, 2020, the team played their first competitive match, a 1–1 draw against Las Vegas Lights at their home stadium, Torero Stadium. [9]

The Loyal forfeited a league match against LA Galaxy II on September 25, 2020, following an alleged use of a racial slur by Omar Ontiveros against Elijah Martin, one of the Loyal's black players. The match had been played to a 1–1 draw and Ontiveros was later suspended for seven matches by the USL Championship. [10] A week later, the team forfeited another match against Phoenix Rising by walking out after halftime following the alleged use of a homophobic slur against Collin Martin, an openly gay player, by Junior Flemmings. [11] [12] As a result of the two forfeits, the Loyal failed to qualify for the USL playoffs. [13]

The team reached the playoffs in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, but never advanced beyond the first round. Donovan was later replaced as head coach by former assistant Nate Miller in December 2022. [14] [15]

On August 24, 2023, owner Andrew Vassilanis released a statement that he would shut down the team, [14] and the USL announced that it would transfer the franchise rights of the Loyal due to an inability to find a "viable near- and long-term stadium solution", with the 2023 season set to be the club's last. [16] The team had searched for a venue to replace Torero Stadium but were unable to find suitable facilities in San Diego County; a plan to relocate to Santa Barbara was also considered. The announcement came three months after Major League Soccer announced a San Diego expansion team that would begin play in 2025 as San Diego FC. [14] The club qualified for the USLC Playoffs and played their final match in the Western Conference Quarterfinals on October 22 at Torero Stadium. Loyal lost 4–3 in extra time to Phoenix Rising, who eventually became the champions of the USLC Playoffs. [17]

Stadium

The team signed a three-year letter of commitment to play at Torero Stadium, with a series of one-year options for the following four years. [7] The team initially focused on building a fan base and brand at Torero, noting that the stadium could be expanded to a capacity of 8,000. [18] Moreover, the team noted the possibility of sharing the prospective Snapdragon Stadium, at a 35,000 capacity, as a potential site for future years if they could have cultivated the fan support for it. [18]

Supporters

The officially recognized supporter groups were The Locals and the Chavos de Loyal. [19]

Sponsorship

PeriodKit manufacturerShirt sponsor
2020–2021 Adidas [20] Stone Brewing
2022 Charly [21] Rocket League
2023BluPeak Credit Union [22]

Players and staff

Final roster

As of July 27, 2023 [23]
No.Pos.PlayerNation
2 MF Morgan Hackworth Flag of the United States.svg  United States
3 DF Elijah Martin Flag of the United States.svg  United States
4 DF Carlos Guzmán Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
5 DF Grant Stoneman Flag of the United States.svg  United States
6 MF Charlie Adams Flag of England.svg  England
7 MF Blake Bodily Flag of the United States.svg  United States
8 FW Ronaldo Damus (on loan from GIF Sundsvall)Flag of Haiti.svg  Haiti
9 FW Evan Conway Flag of the United States.svg  United States
10 MF Alejandro Guido Flag of the United States.svg  United States
11 MF Tumi Moshobane Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa
13 DF Camden Riley Flag of the United States.svg  United States
14 FW Adrien Perez Flag of the United States.svg  United States
15 MF Joe Corona Flag of the United States.svg  United States
16 DF Jackson Kasanzu Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania
17 MF Collin Martin Flag of the United States.svg  United States
18 FW Elliot Collier Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
20 MF Nick Moon Flag of the United States.svg  United States
21 DF Ebenezer Ackon Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana
23 DF Michael Chilaka Flag of Israel.svg  Israel
25 GK Koke Vegas Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
50 MF Xavi Gnaulati Flag of the United States.svg  United States
60 GK Duran Ferree Flag of the United States.svg  United States

Management and staff

As of December 2, 2022 [24] [25]
Technical Staff
EVP of soccer operations Landon Donovan
Head coach Nate Miller
Assistant coachTim Daniels
Goalkeeping coachMatt Hall
Senior advisor Paul Buckle
Senior advisor Shannon MacMillan
Front office staff
ChairmanAndrew Vassiliadis
President & CEOWarren Smith

Team records

Year-by-year

As of October 23, 2022
San Diego Loyal SC
Season USL Championship Playoffs U.S. Open Cup Top Scorer 1 Head CoachTeam Captain(s)
PWLDGFGAPtsPosPlayerGoals
2020 166551718234th, Western
Group B		Did not qualify Cancelled Flag of the United States.svg Rubio Rubin 7 Flag of the United States.svg Landon Donovan Flag of the United States.svg Sal Zizzo
2021 32141265143483rd, Pacific Conference Quarterfinals Cancelled Flag of South Africa.svg Tumi Moshobane 10 Flag of England.svg Charlie Adams
Flag of the United States.svg Sal Zizzo
2022 34181066855602nd, Western Conference Quarterfinals 3rd Round Ulster Banner.svg Kyle Vassell 14 Flag of England.svg Charlie Adams
2023 3416996143573rd,

Western

 Conference Quarterfinals 3rd Round Flag of Haiti.svg Ronaldo Damus 15 Flag of the United States.svg Nate Miller

^ 1. Top Scorer includes statistics from league matches only.

Head coaches

CoachNationalityStartEndGamesWinLossDrawWin %
Landon Donovan Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States November 14, 2019December 2, 202286393017045.35
Nate Miller [26] Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States December 2, 2022October 22, 20233717119045.95

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References

  1. ↑ Zeigler, Mark (September 16, 2019). "Second-division USL team in San Diego prepares to start in 2020". The San Diego Union-Tribune . Archived from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  2. ↑ "USL San Diego Announces Andrew Vassiliadis As Chairman" (Press release). USL Championship. October 2, 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  3. ↑ "DeAndre Yedlin Joins San Diego Loyal SC Ownership Group" (Press release). San Diego Loyal. May 20, 2021. Archived from the original on September 17, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  4. ↑ "United Soccer League Awards USL Championship Franchise in San Diego Market". USL Championship (Press release). June 19, 2019. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Landon Donovan to bring pro soccer to San Diego". fox5sandiego.com. June 19, 2019. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  6. 1 2 "Executives". www.uslsandiego.com. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Landon Donovan, Warren Smith bring USL to San Diego". Sports Illustrated . Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  8. ↑ "San Diego Loyal Announces Landon Donovan as Manager". San Diego Loyal SC (Press release). Archived from the original on November 16, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  9. ↑ Loyal, S. D. (March 7, 2020). "Recap: San Diego Loyal Makes Debut with 1–1 Draw against Las Vegas Lights FC". San Diego Loyal SC. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  10. ↑ Ziegler, Mark (September 25, 2020). "San Diego Loyal forfeit soccer game to protest racial incident". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  11. ↑ Ziegler, Mark (October 1, 2020). "San Diego, Phoenix soccer teams trade accusations, denials in alleged homophobic incident". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  12. ↑ Bumbaca, Chris (October 1, 2020). "San Diego Loyal forfeits match after opposing player allegedly directed homophobic slur at Collin Martin". USA Today . Archived from the original on October 3, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  13. ↑ Ziegler, Mark (September 30, 2020). "San Diego Loyal walks off field after alleged homophobic slur; Phoenix player issues denial". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  14. 1 2 3 Ziegler, Mark (August 24, 2023). "San Diego Loyal to shut down; owner asks fans to 'celebrate and not mourn' pro soccer team over final games". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  15. ↑ Krasovic, Tom (December 2, 2022). "Landon Donovan is no longer SD Loyal's coach". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  16. ↑ "USL to Transfer San Diego Franchise Rights" (Press release). USL Championship. August 24, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  17. ↑ Zeigler, Mark (October 22, 2023). "Overtime goal sinks Loyal's season in playoffs, ends club's run in San Diego". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  18. 1 2 "Second-division USL soccer team coming to San Diego". San Diego Union-Tribune. June 19, 2019. Archived from the original on June 19, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  19. ↑ Rico, Carlos (March 8, 2023). "8 of the most important things to know about San Diego Loyal SC in 2023". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Kitted Out: SD Loyal Announces Partnership with Adidas". USLChampionship.com Staff. January 18, 2020. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  21. ↑ SC, San Diego Loyal (January 18, 2022). "SD Loyal Announces Apparel Partnership with Charly". San Diego Loyal SC (Press release). Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  22. ↑ "SD Loyal Announces BluPeak Credit Union as Front-of-Kit Sponsor". San Diego Loyal SC (Press release). February 1, 2023. Archived from the original on February 21, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  23. ↑ "2021 Roster". sdloyal.com. San Diego Loyal SC. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  24. ↑ "Administration". San Diego Loyal SC. Archived from the original on November 16, 2019. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  25. ↑ "Technical Staff". San Diego Loyal SC. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Landon Donovan Elevated to Full Time Role as Executive VP of Soccer Operations". SD Loyal Communications. December 2, 2022. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
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