SD Loyal SC lose 3-1 to Tacoma Defiance, start season 0-0-3
Credit: SD Loyal
The San Diego Loyal lose their third straight match to start the 2021 season. The Loyal are outscored eight to two so far on the season.
San Diego failed to earn any points on the season through their first three matches of 2021. This is the longest losing streak in the club’s two years in the USL Championship.
Manager Landon Donovan issued a 4-4-2 starting 11 with goalkeeper Trey Muse starting against his former team. Defender Hunter Ashworth started his first game after being signed to the club earlier in the day. Forward Ben Spencer started his first match of the season.
Both clubs looked rusty early on. The pitch seemed wet, and the players were not keeping their feet for the first few minutes. As play kept going, both sides started playing aggressively and made it difficult to keep possession.
The first half didn’t provide much offensive action for the Loyal but did they have a few chances in the first 45 minutes. Spencer put one in the back of the net off the deflection in the 31st minute, but the side official ruled him offside. In the 43rd minute, fullback Jack Metcalf distributed a cross toward Spencer, and he tired for the header attempt — but was caught by the keeper Christian Herrera. San Diego had 12 shots with four on target in the first half.
Midfielder Jack Blake started strong for the Loyal in the first half. He played aggressively the whole time and distributed the ball well. He also had one of the four shots on target for the Loyal, with Spencer also creating opportunities.
Tacoma scored the first goal of the match in the 44th minute by midfielder Jose Carlos Anguiano. It came as a surprise as the Defiance didn’t have any rhythm during the first 40 minutes but were able to sneak past the Loyal defenders and put one behind their former teammate Muse. Tacoma only managed to get off four shot attempts but made one count when it mattered.
San Diego wouldn’t let this lead last at all as right when the second half started. The Loyal evened the score thanks to Metcalf in the 51st minute. Midfielder Charlie Adams sent a missile to the keeper, and Metcalf took advantage of the rebound.
The English footballer delivered for the Loyal to give them their second goal of the season.
What a creative pass here from @The_Charlie10 to set up @JackPezMet for his first SD Loyal goal. 😉#TACvSD | 1-1 pic.twitter.com/D9tCRJYje0
— San Diego Loyal (@SanDiegoLoyal) May 14, 2021
The match continued to be a back-and-forth grind as both teams desperately wanted to win. The Defiance scored the go-ahead goal in the 71st minute to take a 2-1 lead with under 20 minutes to play. Defiance added on again during stoppage time to put the nail on the coffin.
The Loyal ran out of juice and couldn’t get back into the match before time expired. It was a hard-fought effort for the Loyal, but they couldn’t earn their first win of the season just yet.
The next match for the Loyal is Saturday, May 22, at 4:30 p.m. They will head to Louisville, Kentucky, for their fourth-straight away match to start the season to take on Louisville FC.
Additional News and Notes
- San Diego finished with 24 shots with eight on target. Tacoma shot 12 with four on target. Tacoma took advantage of their opportunities as the Loyal did not.
- Jordan Chavez entered to start the second half for his professional and Loyal debut. He replaced defender Hunter Ashworth.
- There is no injury update on defender Grant Stoneman as of now.
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.