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San Diego Loyal SC

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San Diego Loyal SC was an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California, that competed in the USL Championship. The team was founded by Warren Smith and Landon Donovan; it made its debut in 2020 as an expansion team. 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.

San Diego Loyal SC
Full nameSan Diego Loyal Soccer Club
FoundedJune 20, 2019; 5 years ago (2019-06-20)
DissolvedOctober 22, 2023; 12 months ago (2023-10-22)
StadiumTorero Stadium
Capacity6,000[1]
OwnerAndrew Vassiliadis[2]
Warren Smith
Landon Donovan
DeAndre Yedlin[3]
Executive VPLandon Donovan
LeagueUSL Championship (2020–2023)
20233rd, Western Conference
Playoffs: Conference Quarterfinals
Websitehttps://www.sdloyal.com/

History

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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

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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

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

Sponsorship

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Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2020–2021 Adidas[20] Stone Brewing
2022 Charly[21] Rocket League
2023 BluPeak Credit Union[22]

Players and staff

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Final roster

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

Management and staff

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As of December 2, 2022[24][25]
Technical Staff
EVP of soccer operations Landon Donovan
Head coach Nate Miller
Assistant coach Tim Daniels
Goalkeeping coach Matt Hall
Senior advisor Paul Buckle
Senior advisor Shannon MacMillan
Front office staff
Chairman Andrew Vassiliadis
President & CEO Warren Smith

Team records

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Year-by-year

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As of October 23, 2022
San Diego Loyal SC
Season USL Championship Playoffs U.S. Open Cup Top Scorer 1 Head Coach Team Captain(s)
P W L D GF GA Pts Pos Player Goals
2020 16 6 5 5 17 18 23 4th, Western
Group B 		Did not qualify Cancelled   Rubio Rubin 7   Landon Donovan   Sal Zizzo
2021 32 14 12 6 51 43 48 3rd, Pacific Conference Quarterfinals Cancelled   Tumi Moshobane 10   Charlie Adams
  Sal Zizzo
2022 34 18 10 6 68 55 60 2nd, Western Conference Quarterfinals 3rd Round   Kyle Vassell 14   Charlie Adams
2023 34 16 9 9 61 43 57 3rd,

Western

Conference Quarterfinals 3rd Round   Ronaldo Damus 15   Nate Miller

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

Head coaches

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  • Includes USL Regular Season, USL Playoffs, U.S. Open Cup. Excludes friendlies.
Coach Nationality Start End Games Win Loss Draw Win %
Landon Donovan   United States November 14, 2019 December 2, 2022 86 39 30 17 045.35
Nate Miller[26]   United States December 2, 2022 October 22, 2023 37 17 11 9 045.95

References

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  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. ^ a b "Executives". www.uslsandiego.com. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d "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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b "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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