SD Loyal SC match preview against Real Monarchs SLC

San Diego Loyal SC vs. Real Monarchs SLC

Torero Stadium – University of San Diego

Kickoff at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, August 7, 2021

TV – ESPN+, Fox 5 San Diego, Azteca 33

The San Diego Loyal return home to face the winners of the 2017 regular-season USL Championship.

The Loyal will take a quick break from Pacific Division play as they host a squad from the Mountain Division (also a part of the Western Conference).

The Loyal (7-6-3) sit in third place in the division with 24 points and a (-1) goal difference. Salt Lake City (3-10-4), on the other hand, remains in last place in their division with 13 points and a (-13) goal difference.

Despite winning the title a few seasons ago, SLC has taken a step down since then.

In a league like the USL Championship, it is difficult to remain at the top every season. Many players are coming and going, and you hardly keep the same core for consecutive seasons. It is every player’s goal to reach a higher stage at some point in their careers, but the USL is a great place to start.

With that being said, the USL is also a great place to play younger footballers that are on a loan from bigger clubs. For instance, goalkeeper Trey Muse who is currently third in saves in the entire USL. Muse led the league for the entire season until last Sunday. Muse earns a majority of the starts and is on loan from MLS side Seattle Sounders.

Last Time Out

The Loyal defeated LA Galaxy II 2-0 last Sunday, August 1. Corey Hertzog and Tumi Moshobane scored for San Diego as they earned their second clean sheet of the season. Interestingly enough, Muse was not the keeper for either of those wins. The backup keeper Austin Guerrero, earned both of the clean sheets so far this season.

𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠, 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜.

No accidents here. The whole team dug deep to earn this win and clean sheet on the road. 💪 pic.twitter.com/EdSeWwtCGa

— San Diego Loyal (@SanDiegoLoyal) August 2, 2021

Guerrero would also be named to the USL Team of the Week for his performance.

The Loyal are back in the win column and hope to remain there against one of the worst teams in the USL this weekend.

What to expect in the second matchup between these two squads 

These two clubs met last season, and the Loyal came away with a narrow 1-0 victory. It was the first match since returning for the COVID-19 break, and it couldn’t have gone a better way for San Diego.

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As for Saturday, expect the Loyal to be aggressive all match. The defense for SLC is one of the worst in the league, and that should call for some goals on the San Diego side.

The Loyal are yet to ever score more than three in a single match, and this could be a great time to score four or more to adjust their (-1) goal difference on the season.

SLC has lost four of their last five matches.

Chris Spiering

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.