San Diego Loyal SC

San Diego Loyal Soccer Club was an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California, that competed in the USL Championship. The team was founded by Warren Smith and Landon Donovan; it made its debut in 2020 as an expansion team. The team played its home games at Torero Stadium. The Loyal shut down following the 2023 season after failing to find a long-term home venue.

San Diego Loyal SC

Full name	San Diego Loyal Soccer Club
Founded	June 20, 2019; 5 years ago (2019-06-20)
Dissolved	October 22, 2023; 15 months ago (2023-10-22)
Stadium	Torero Stadium
Capacity	6,000[1]
Owner	Andrew Vassiliadis[2] Warren Smith Landon Donovan DeAndre Yedlin[3]
Executive VP	Landon Donovan
League	USL Championship (2020–2023)
2023	3rd, Western Conference Playoffs: Conference Quarterfinals
Website	https://www.sdloyal.com/
Home colors Away colors Third colors

History

On June 20, 2019, San Diego was awarded an expansion team in the USL Championship to debut in 2020 or 2021.^[4][5] Warren Smith, one of the co-founders of Sacramento Republic, was named the president of the new club.^[6][7] Former USMNT, LA Galaxy and San Jose Earthquakes player Landon Donovan was named the executive vice president of soccer operations.^[6][7] He was named as the club's first manager on November 14.^[8] The team's name and crest were developed through fan engagement to reflect the interests of the city.^[7] On March 7, 2020, the team played their first competitive match, a 1–1 draw against Las Vegas Lights at their home stadium, Torero Stadium.^[9]

The Loyal forfeited a league match against LA Galaxy II on September 25, 2020, following an alleged use of a racial slur by Omar Ontiveros against Elijah Martin, one of the Loyal's black players. The match had been played to a 1–1 draw and Ontiveros was later suspended for seven matches by the USL Championship.^[10] A week later, the team forfeited another match against Phoenix Rising by walking out after halftime following the alleged use of a homophobic slur against Collin Martin, an openly gay player, by Junior Flemmings.^[11][12] As a result of the two forfeits, the Loyal failed to qualify for the USL playoffs.^[13]

The team reached the playoffs in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, but never advanced beyond the first round. Donovan was later replaced as head coach by former assistant Nate Miller in December 2022.^[14][15]

On August 24, 2023, owner Andrew Vassilanis released a statement that he would shut down the team,^[14] and the USL announced that it would transfer the franchise rights of the Loyal due to an inability to find a "viable near- and long-term stadium solution", with the 2023 season set to be the club's last.^[16] The team had searched for a venue to replace Torero Stadium but were unable to find suitable facilities in San Diego County; a plan to relocate to Santa Barbara was also considered. The announcement came three months after Major League Soccer announced a San Diego expansion team that would begin play in 2025 as San Diego FC.^[14] The club qualified for the USLC Playoffs and played their final match in the Western Conference Quarterfinals on October 22 at Torero Stadium. Loyal lost 4–3 in extra time to Phoenix Rising, who eventually became the champions of the USLC Playoffs.^[17]

Stadium

The team signed a three-year letter of commitment to play at Torero Stadium, with a series of one-year options for the following four years.^[7] The team initially focused on building a fan base and brand at Torero, noting that the stadium could be expanded to a capacity of 8,000.^[18] Moreover, the team noted the possibility of sharing the prospective Snapdragon Stadium, at a 35,000 capacity, as a potential site for future years if they could have cultivated the fan support for it.^[18]

Supporters

The officially recognized supporter groups were The Locals and the Chavos de Loyal.^[19]

Sponsorship

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
2020–2021	Adidas[20]	Stone Brewing
2022	Charly[21]	Rocket League
2023		BluPeak Credit Union[22]

Players and staff

Final roster

As of July 27, 2023^[23]

No.	Pos.	Player	Nation
2	MF	Morgan Hackworth	United States
3	DF	Elijah Martin	United States
4	DF	Carlos Guzmán	Mexico
5	DF	Grant Stoneman	United States
6	MF	Charlie Adams	England
7	MF	Blake Bodily	United States
8	FW	Ronaldo Damus (on loan from GIF Sundsvall)	Haiti
9	FW	Evan Conway	United States
10	MF	Alejandro Guido	United States
11	MF	Tumi Moshobane	South Africa
13	DF	Camden Riley	United States
14	FW	Adrien Perez	United States
15	MF	Joe Corona	United States
16	DF	Jackson Kasanzu	Tanzania
17	MF	Collin Martin	United States
18	FW	Elliot Collier	New Zealand
20	MF	Nick Moon	United States
21	DF	Ebenezer Ackon	Ghana
23	DF	Michael Chilaka	Israel
25	GK	Koke Vegas	Spain
50	MF	Xavi Gnaulati	United States
60	GK	Duran Ferree	United States

Management and staff

As of December 2, 2022^[24][25]

Technical Staff
EVP of soccer operations	Landon Donovan
Head coach	Nate Miller
Assistant coach	Tim Daniels
Goalkeeping coach	Matt Hall
Senior advisor	Paul Buckle
Senior advisor	Shannon MacMillan
Front office staff
Chairman	Andrew Vassiliadis
President & CEO	Warren Smith

Team records

Year-by-year

As of October 23, 2022

San Diego Loyal SC
Season	USL Championship								Playoffs	U.S. Open Cup	Top Scorer 1		Head Coach	Team Captain(s)
	P	W	L	D	GF	GA	Pts	Pos			Player	Goals
2020	16	6	5	5	17	18	23	4th, Western Group B	Did not qualify	Cancelled	Rubio Rubin	7	Landon Donovan	Sal Zizzo
2021	32	14	12	6	51	43	48	3rd, Pacific	Conference Quarterfinals	Cancelled	Tumi Moshobane	10		Charlie Adams Sal Zizzo
2022	34	18	10	6	68	55	60	2nd, Western	Conference Quarterfinals	3rd Round	Kyle Vassell	14		Charlie Adams
2023	34	16	9	9	61	43	57	3rd, Western	Conference Quarterfinals	3rd Round	Ronaldo Damus	15	Nate Miller

^ 1. Top Scorer includes statistics from league matches only.

Head coaches

• Includes USL Regular Season, USL Playoffs, U.S. Open Cup. Excludes friendlies.

Coach	Nationality	Start	End	Games	Win	Loss	Draw	Win %
Landon Donovan	United States	November 14, 2019	December 2, 2022	86	39	30	17	045.35
Nate Miller[26]	United States	December 2, 2022	October 22, 2023	37	17	11	9	045.95

References

1. Zeigler, Mark (September 16, 2019). "Second-division USL team in San Diego prepares to start in 2020". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
2. "USL San Diego Announces Andrew Vassiliadis As Chairman" (Press release). USL Championship. October 2, 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
3. "DeAndre Yedlin Joins San Diego Loyal SC Ownership Group" (Press release). San Diego Loyal. May 20, 2021. Archived from the original on September 17, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
4. "United Soccer League Awards USL Championship Franchise in San Diego Market". USL Championship (Press release). June 19, 2019. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
5. "Landon Donovan to bring pro soccer to San Diego". fox5sandiego.com. June 19, 2019. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
6. "Executives". www.uslsandiego.com. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
7. "Landon Donovan, Warren Smith bring USL to San Diego". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
8. "San Diego Loyal Announces Landon Donovan as Manager". San Diego Loyal SC (Press release). Archived from the original on November 16, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
9. Loyal, S. D. (March 7, 2020). "Recap: San Diego Loyal Makes Debut with 1–1 Draw against Las Vegas Lights FC". San Diego Loyal SC. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
10. Ziegler, Mark (September 25, 2020). "San Diego Loyal forfeit soccer game to protest racial incident". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
11. Ziegler, Mark (October 1, 2020). "San Diego, Phoenix soccer teams trade accusations, denials in alleged homophobic incident". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
12. Bumbaca, Chris (October 1, 2020). "San Diego Loyal forfeits match after opposing player allegedly directed homophobic slur at Collin Martin". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 3, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
13. Ziegler, Mark (September 30, 2020). "San Diego Loyal walks off field after alleged homophobic slur; Phoenix player issues denial". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
14. Ziegler, Mark (August 24, 2023). "San Diego Loyal to shut down; owner asks fans to 'celebrate and not mourn' pro soccer team over final games". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
15. Krasovic, Tom (December 2, 2022). "Landon Donovan is no longer SD Loyal's coach". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
16. "USL to Transfer San Diego Franchise Rights" (Press release). USL Championship. August 24, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
17. Zeigler, Mark (October 22, 2023). "Overtime goal sinks Loyal's season in playoffs, ends club's run in San Diego". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
18. "Second-division USL soccer team coming to San Diego". San Diego Union-Tribune. June 19, 2019. Archived from the original on June 19, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
19. Rico, Carlos (March 8, 2023). "8 of the most important things to know about San Diego Loyal SC in 2023". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
20. "Kitted Out: SD Loyal Announces Partnership with Adidas". USLChampionship.com Staff. January 18, 2020. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
21. SC, San Diego Loyal (January 18, 2022). "SD Loyal Announces Apparel Partnership with Charly". San Diego Loyal SC (Press release). Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
22. "SD Loyal Announces BluPeak Credit Union as Front-of-Kit Sponsor". San Diego Loyal SC (Press release). February 1, 2023. Archived from the original on February 21, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
23. "2021 Roster". sdloyal.com. San Diego Loyal SC. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
24. "Administration". San Diego Loyal SC. Archived from the original on November 16, 2019. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
25. "Technical Staff". San Diego Loyal SC. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
26. "Landon Donovan Elevated to Full Time Role as Executive VP of Soccer Operations". SD Loyal Communications. December 2, 2022. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2022.

External links

• Official website