San Diego Loyal Preview vs. RGV Toros
Credit: EVT Sports
San Diego Loyal looks to keep the momentum going against RGV Toros
On Saturday, July 23, the San Diego Loyal will face off against the Rio Grande Valley Toros.
The Loyal picked up a dominant 3-0 victory over the Colorado Springs Switchbacks, who were incredibly short handed.
The Loyal have been involved in chippy games of late, picking up a red card in three of their last four matches. However, their opponents have picked up four red cards in the last four matches as well, as they’ve won four of five.
The Monday night victory over Colorado Springs vaulted the Loyal into third place in the Western Conference, just two points off the Switchbacks for second.
Last Time Out
In their aforementioned last match against Colorado Springs, the Loyal were dominant. The match was re-scheduled after an earlier postponement between the two sides. Colorado had played just three days earlier and only had a 12-player squad.
The Switchbacks could make just one substitution, while a pair of red cards gave the Loyal a massive advantage. Thomas Amang, Tumi Moshobane, and Jack Blake found the goals, while Koke Vegas put together a clean sheet in the win.
The Loyal outshot Colorado 20-4 and had the ball for 70% of the match, in complete and utter domination.
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Meet the RGV Toros
The Toros have struggled this season, finding themself in tenth place in the Western Conference. They have also not won in their last four matches, sitting five points out of the playoff places.
Back in May, the Toros pulled off a victory over the Loyal. Kyle Vassell fired a first-half penalty home, putting San Diego out front. However, Emilio Ycaza scored twice in the final 15 minutes, which gave the Toros the win.
Ycaza, along with Frank Lopez and Robert Coronado, lead the Toros with four goals apiece. The Toros’ 24 goals are the least amount of goals per game of any team in the Western Conference. However, they do have a solid defense, which ranks fifth in the Conference. If the Loyal’s attack, which has 13 goals in their last five matches, can stay hot, San Diego can handle Rio Grande FC with ease.
It’ll be a critical match for the Loyal, who is in the midst of their best season in franchise history. They’ll look to stay hot as a needy RGV Toros team come to town searching for their first win in five matches.
Sam is a Senior in High School. He has been writing for three years, and started at EVT in June of 2021. He’s headed to Syracuse’s Newhouse School of Communications in the fall of 2023.