Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC vs. San Diego Loyal SC

Friday, July 14 at 6:00 pm

TV: ESPN+

The San Diego Loyal are back in the win column! After what ended up being longer than a month, San Diego struggle to put the finishing touches on a match. However, that skid finally ended. San Diego defeated Hartford Athletic 2-0 last weekend to earn their first clean sheet since April 23.

The Loyal will now play in one more away match before heading back to San Diego, where they will host Bundesliga’s Borussia Dortmund at Snapdragon Stadium for a friendly. This match against Dortmund will have the most fans in attendance for a match in their entire 4-year existence. It’s not one you want to miss out on. After that, SD will host this same Colorado team back at Torero Stadium to resume USL play.

This is another huge match for the Loyal. The Switchbacks are ahead of them in the Western Conference standings by just one point. With a (9-9-1) record, Colorado has 28 points and a (+5) goal difference.

As for the Loyal, they have a record of (7-5-6) with 27 points and a (+4) goal difference. Both these teams play in tight matches, but in advantage for the Loyal, they have four fewer losses than Colorado.

Make sure you tune in to @SiriusXMFC tomorrow night, as @SwitchbacksFC hosts @SanDiegoLoyal! 📻

You don’t wanna miss it!#ReadyToShine🌟 pic.twitter.com/zO76WZaSgN

— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) July 13, 2023

This match is expected to be another close one. Romario Williams leads their team with eight goals on the season. He’s been one of the top strikers in the USL this year and should give SD fits most of the contest. Evan Conway also has eight goals on the season for San Diego, which leads the club. Both Williams and Conway are tied for 6th in the USL in total goals scored.

Colorado goalkeeper Christian Herrera leads the USL Championship with a total of 60 saves on the season. Loyal keeper Koke Vegas is tied for 20th with a total of 28 saves. Furthermore, SD has allowed four more total goals than Colorado, so this stats tell me that one, Herrera is one hell of a keeper, and two, Colorado’s backline allows a ton of chances. Allowing 21 goals and also saving 60 shots means 81 quality chances have been allowed so far.

It’s safe to say that the Loyal attack is looking forward to having the opportunity to finally sneak some shots past Herrera Friday night. The Loyal are 5th in the USL with 29 goals scored on the campaign. Ronaldo Damus is second on the team with five goals, and Adrian Perez is third with four. If all three of Damus, Perez, and Conway are on their game, then San Diego will come out with a least one point on the road.

This will be the only match played Friday night. If San Diego Loyal are to win, they would jump Colorado Springs for 4th in the West and would be just one point behind El Paso Locomotive for third place. These three points are critical for SD. Monterey Bay Union also has 27 points, while Phoenix Rising and New Mexico United both have 25. The West standings are always close, and the Loyal could use some breathing room.

Let’s see what manager Nate Miller has up his sleeve Friday night.

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.