San Diego Loyal falls to Las Vegas Lights 2-1
Credit: SD Loyal
Las Vegas earns their first win against the Loyal in three seasons
Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there! For the fathers that came to Torero Stadium with their family to enjoy some Sunday afternoon soccer … they were surely not disappointed.
The San Diego Loyal did everything they could to put on a show for the fans. The atmosphere was electric, and the fans were loud all afternoon. The crowd certainly made their presence known.
This match got right to it. The Loyal started the scoring early. Right after Jack Blake missed the penalty kick just seven minutes into the match, seconds later, Alejandro Guido launched a deep shot from at least 25 yards out.
Guido stunned Vegas with a perfect attempt, and that goal turned Torero into a frenzy.
Lights, camera, Guido. #SDvLV | @AEGuido pic.twitter.com/xgzJ6JfWPY
— San Diego Loyal (@SanDiegoLoyal) June 19, 2022
This was just Guido’s second goal of the season, but it came at a perfect time in front of his family and friends.
Guido mentioned after the match that this is something he wants to improve on.
“During the past games I wasn’t taking a lot of shots,” Guido said. “I thought it was something I could improve. Landon was getting on me about not scoring enough goals, so I was like ‘I got to start shooting more’ and that was my first instinct.”
The San Diego native must be impressed with that goal.
Manager Landon Donovan expressed his thoughts on the player that Guido is.
“Guido plays in different roles for us,” Donovan said. “When he is higher up on the field we expect him to be more dangerous. When he is deeper on the field he helps us in a lot of different ways. His value is that he can play in a variety of spots and be impactful. He is unique in this league. He can score a goal like that and not many guys can.”
That lead would not hold long for the Loyal. Cal Jennings snuck past the Loyal defenders and put one into the back of the net about 10 minutes later. Jennings has scored his third goal against the Loyal in the last three matchups. Jennings is becoming a real problem for the Loyal.
The end of the half finished as both teams desperately tried to take the lead into the half. The Loyal created many chances but couldn’t connect on one.
The second half started with the same pace. However, the Lights were the first to score in the second 45. Daniel Trejo scored his 8th goal of the season as he found his way into the box and snuck one past Austin Guerrero. Vegas had a 2-1 lead with under 20 minutes to play.
That would pretty much do it. The Loyal kept trying to even the score but felt short. Abraham Romero played a fantastic game defending the Loyal as he blocked multiple shots. The real MVP for the Lights this afternoon was Romero and his ability to keep the Loyal from controlling the match.
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Donovan expressed his thoughts after the match.
“Obviously nobody likes losing,” Donovan said. “I think played a pretty good game to be honest. We didn’t play well in the last two minutes which was frustrating. And you have to give (the Lights) credit they defended well especially at the end. Their keeper was really good and that’s how you get a win.”
This was not the result the Loyal wanted, but they still have a chance to take six more points to end their homestand. San Diego will host Indy XI next Saturday, June 15, at 7 p.m.
Chris is a graduate of the University of San Diego. He is the former Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris has covered the San Diego Loyal, and now covers San Diego State Men’s Basketball. He also contributes regularly about the Padres. Chris is an athlete and is a huge fan of San Diego sports.