SD Loyal lose 3-1 to Reno 1868 FC
ESPN
Torrero Stadium- San Diego, California
The San Diego Loyal lost their third match in a row on Saturday night. This time it was at the hands of the Reno 1868 FC at USD Torero Stadium.
The Loyal dropped to third place in Group B of the USL Championship with the loss. Reno 1868 FC traveled to San Diego and handed the Loyal very easily in a 3-1 loss on Saturday night.
San Diego scored their first goal since July 25th, after going scoreless in their last three matches, when Carlos Alvarez scored in the 65th minute. Alvarez received a pass from Francis Atuahene just inside the top of the penalty box, beat one defender, turned and shot the ball into the back of Reno’s net.
Earlier in the 16th minute, Reno FC opened the scoring with a counter-attack that ended in a one on one shot by Foster Langsdorf that evaded the dive of Loyal goalie Austin Guerrero.
Reno scored again when the Loyal misplayed a defensive clearance that Reno midfielder Tucker Bone intercepted and shot on an open goal. That caught the Loyal out of position in the 56th minute and ended up being the deciding score.
Despite being two goals down, San Diego fought for opportunities to score, and in the 65th minute, the Loyal broke through for their first goal in August.
After their goal, the Loyal kept on pushing, and in the 73rd minute, Atuahene sent a low sharp cross through the 5-yard box that was just out of reach of Loyal midfielder Jack Metcalf who was crashing the back of the net.
After a few more relentless San Diego attacks, Reno caught San Diego’s defense off guard and scored a late goal that clinched the win for Reno.
In the 85th minute Reno substitute forward, Aidan Apodaca scored the gut-busting goal as he dribbled the ball into the box and took Guerrero out of position to his left and shot the ball into the right corner of the goal. San Diego never gave up and kept on trying to score, but Reno ended the match by holding The Loyal to only one goal.
Reno FC 1868 earned 18 points in the USL Championship and remain at the top of Group A. San Diego’s loss leaves them grasping to their eleven points for another week, and in third place in Group B.
The Loyal’s next match is against Group B’s second-place position holder Orange County SC on August 29th at 7 pm in Anaheim at the Championship Soccer Stadium.
Tony Fantano is a native and current resident San Diegan who is all about pushing the city of San Diego to its full potential nationally and internationally. Tony earned a Bachelor’s in broadcasting and journalism from San Francisco State, where he learned the importance of civic pride. Tony wants to inspire readers everywhere to be their greatest and help each other pursue personal and civic prominence.