The San Diego Loyal just completed 90 minutes of dominant soccer. For the first time as a club, the Loyal scored five goals in a match on the road … and they accomplished it by scoring four in the first half.

What a start to the match the Loyal had Friday night. Just 35 seconds in, Adrian Perez made history. The fastest goal in the history of the club put the Loyal up 1-0 before most of the fans were even in their seats. Switchbacks goalkeeper Christian Herrera should have easily saved the shot, yet mishandled the attempt, and it snuck past him for the early advantage for SD.

Wasted no time.#COSvSD pic.twitter.com/xIJRFfSbJo

— San Diego Loyal (@SanDiegoLoyal) July 15, 2023

The match was scheduled to start at 6 pm PT; however, because of rain and lightning, the match was postponed for about 50 minutes. That break surely benefited the Loyal as they came out firing on all cylinders.

Just nine minutes after Perez’s historic goal, the Loyal scored once again. Blake Bodily drilled in the header, assisted from Joe Corona off the beautiful cross.

What’s better than one early goal? Two.#COSvSD pic.twitter.com/a51vwCJkDF

— San Diego Loyal (@SanDiegoLoyal) July 15, 2023

If you blinked for more than one second, you missed some crazy action.

Giving up two early goals really frustrated the Switchbacks. So much so that forward Romario Williams was sent off with a red card just 15 minutes into the action.

Williams leveled Loyal defender Camden Riley, and after Riley stood up to confront him, Williams elbowed him in front of the side official. The head official wasted no time and sent Williams off. For the rest of the match, the Colorado Springs supporters booed Riley every time he touched the ball.

The Loyal took advantage of the Switchbacks, only having ten men. Fifteen minutes after Williams was disqualified, Bodily drilled in another header. Perez assisted on this goal as Bodily was having a career night … with his forehead.

Can anyone stop @BlakeBodily?? 😅@SanDiegoLoyal bags a third! 🟠🟢#COSvSD pic.twitter.com/ieLBanOmMQ

— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) July 15, 2023

San Diego ran away with the match well before halftime.

As the break was looming, Tumi Moshobane drilled in a rebound header off of the original attempt from Adrian Perez. Perez was inches away from his second goal of the evening. However, it bounced off the crossbar right to the head of Moshobane.

Welcome to the goalscoring party, Tumi 🥳#COSvSD | 0-4 pic.twitter.com/94CZBgxhxW

— San Diego Loyal (@SanDiegoLoyal) July 15, 2023

Moshobane joined in on the fun as he scored his third goal of the season in USL play.

Make no doubt about it … that was the single greatest half in the history of the club. The Loyal put on a show away from home, and it should give them the confidence as they are 13 days away from facing one of the premier clubs in the world.

The second half didn’t provide much action outside of another great goal from the Loyal. Corona set up Elliot Collier as he snuck past the defenders and drilled in a shot to the top right corner.

Adrien Perez with a DIME to Elliot Collier to make it five. 🎯#COSvSD | 0-5 pic.twitter.com/Vdum8ufjvb

— San Diego Loyal (@SanDiegoLoyal) July 15, 2023

Herrera had a rough night as the Loyal showcased one of their top offensive outings in their 4-year existence.

This win should give manager Nate Miller and his squad a lot of confidence heading into a tough spot in the season. They will have 13 days off to rest up after playing four straight matches on the road. They complete the road trip going (2-1-1) and will play a few matches at home before their next road match.

The goal is for this team to make the playoffs, and with three points Friday night, the Loyal put themselves in a great position playing in a tight Western Conference.

San Diego surpassed Colorado Springs for 4th place in the Western Conference with 30 total points. Their record improved to (8-5-6) with a (+9) goal difference (third in the West).

The Switchbacks fell to (9-10-1) and now have the most losses in the Western Conference. Their 28 points move them to 5th place, and they now have an even goal difference.

As mentioned above, the next match for San Diego will be played Thursday, July 27, at Snapdragon Stadium as the Loyal will host Bundesliga’s Borussia Dortmund. This will be another historic night as it will be the second friendly hosted by the Loyal (Tijuana Xolos twice).

SD will then turn around and play this same Colorado Springs squad three days later at Torero Stadium to resume USL play.

Chris Spiering

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.