San Diego Loyal head north to face Orange County SC
Orange County SC vs. San Diego Loyal
Saturday, May 6 at 7 pm
TV: ESPN+
The San Diego Loyal and Orange County SC meet for the first time this season. These two squads have formed a rivalry against one another, and there is a lot of history in the short seasons of their existence.
Head coach Nate Miller and the Loyal are coming off their first home loss of the season. El Paso Locomotive defeated SD 2-1 as they controlled the match for most of the way through. The Loyal scored the equalizer in the 61st minute, but El Paso took the lead right back just four minutes later.
Tumi Moshobane scored his 2nd goal of the season as the rest of the attacking players couldn’t get into rhythm.
You know what time it is. ⌚️#SDvELP | @Tumi_Scara10 pic.twitter.com/ErhLsb6oTz
— San Diego Loyal (@SanDiegoLoyal) April 30, 2023
As a result of the loss, the Loyal are now (4-2-2) with 14 points which places them 4th in the Western Conference.
Orange County is off to a rough start once again in 2023. After winning the title in 2021, OC has yet to really be dominant. They are (1-4-3) with six points on the season and 11th in the conference.
It’s been a busy month of April for the Loyal, who are happy to be starting a new month in May. They have won only one of their last four matches and are looking to get back on track against a favorable opponent. OC has lost three straight matches and scored just one goal in all three of those matches.
This is a big match for the Loyal as they have just one more home match before a few straight on the road again. They are two points down of Colorado Springs and El Paso, so a win on Saturday could move them up the standings. El Paso just defeated Colorado Springs 3-2 Friday night.
The Loyal have an opportunity to start the month off strong by scoring a lot of goals against a team with a -5 goal difference. If that is the case, then the Loyal will be right in the hunt for the top seed in the West once again.
Chris is a graduate of the University of San Diego. He is the former Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris is also an athlete and is huge fan of San Diego sports. Chris has covered the San Diego Loyal, and contributes regularly about the Padres.