San Diego Loyal SC explained
| Clubname: | San Diego Loyal SC |
| Upright: | 0.7 |
| Fullname: | San Diego Loyal Soccer Club |
| Stadium: | Torero Stadium |
| Capacity: | 6,000[1] |
| Owner: | Andrew Vassiliadis[2]
Warren Smith
Landon Donovan
DeAndre Yedlin[3] |
| Chrtitle: | Executive VP |
| Chairman: | Landon Donovan |
| Mgrtitle: | Head Coach |
| League: | USL Championship (2020–2023) |
| Season: | 2023 |
| Position: | 3rd, Western Conference
Playoffs: Conference Quarterfinals |
| Website: | https://www.sdloyal.com/ |
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| Socks1: | 1A6A4A |
| Pattern La2: | _lightgreenborder |
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| American: | yes |
San Diego Loyal Soccer Club was an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California. The team was founded by Warren Smith and Landon Donovan. San Diego Loyal made its debut in 2020 as an expansion team in the USL Championship. The team shut down following the 2023 season after failing to find a long-term home venue.
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. 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. 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]
On August 24, 2023, owner Andrew Vassilanis released a statement that he would shut down the team, 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.[15] 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.[16] 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. 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 San Diego State University Snapdragon Stadium, at a 35,000 capacity, as a potential site for future years if they could have cultivated the fan support for it.
Supporters
The officially recognized supporter groups were The Locals and the Chavos de Loyal.[19]
Sponsorship
Players and staff
Management and staff
Team records
Year-by-year
1. Top Scorer includes statistics from league matches only.
Head coaches
- Includes USL Regular Season, USL Playoffs, U.S. Open Cup. Excludes friendlies.
Notes and References
- News: Zeigler . Mark . September 16, 2019 . Second-division USL team in San Diego prepares to start in 2020 . . September 17, 2019 . September 23, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190923163246/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/soccer/story/2019-09-16/soccer-usl-san-diego-landon-donovan-warren-smith-usd-torero-stadium-2020 . live .
- October 2, 2019 . USL San Diego Announces Andrew Vassiliadis As Chairman . USL Championship . August 29, 2023.
- May 20, 2021 . DeAndre Yedlin Joins San Diego Loyal SC Ownership Group . San Diego Loyal . May 20, 2021 . September 17, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210917092130/https://www.sdloyal.com/news_article/show/1165130 . dead .
- United Soccer League Awards USL Championship Franchise in San Diego Market. June 19, 2019. USL Championship. en-us. June 20, 2019. June 20, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190620112916/https://www.uslchampionship.com/news_article/show/1029745-united-soccer-league-awards-usl-championship-franchise-in-san-diego-market. live.
- News: Landon Donovan to bring pro soccer to San Diego. June 19, 2019. fox5sandiego.com. en. June 21, 2019. June 20, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190620180126/https://fox5sandiego.com/2019/06/19/report-landon-donvan-to-bring-pro-soccer-to-san-diego/. live.
- Web site: Executives. www.uslsandiego.com. June 20, 2019.
- Landon Donovan, Warren Smith bring USL to San Diego. Sports Illustrated. en. June 20, 2019. June 20, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190620140302/https://www.si.com/soccer/2019/06/19/usl-san-diego-landon-donovan-warren-smith. live.
- San Diego Loyal Announces Landon Donovan as Manager. San Diego Loyal SC. November 14, 2019. November 16, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191116212758/https://www.sdloyal.com/news_article/show/1064858. live.
- News: Loyal. S. D.. 2020-03-07. Recap: San Diego Loyal Makes Debut with 1–1 Draw against Las Vegas Lights FC. 2022-02-10. San Diego Loyal SC. en-us. February 10, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220210143629/https://www.sdloyal.com/news_article/show/1093540-recap-san-diego-loyal-makes-debut-with-1-1-draw-against-las-vegas-lights-fc. live.
- News: Ziegler . Mark . September 25, 2020 . San Diego Loyal forfeit soccer game to protest racial incident . San Diego Union-Tribune . October 1, 2020 . September 27, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200927223658/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/soccer/story/2020-09-25/san-diego-loyal-soccer-usl-championship-racial-slur-los-angeles-galaxy-omar-ontiveros . live .
- News: Ziegler . Mark . October 1, 2020 . San Diego, Phoenix soccer teams trade accusations, denials in alleged homophobic incident . San Diego Union-Tribune . October 1, 2020 . October 2, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201002160032/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/soccer/story/2020-10-01/soccer-san-diego-loyal-phoenix-rising-collin-martin-junior-flemmings-homophobic-slur-usl . live .
- News: Bumbaca . Chris . October 1, 2020 . San Diego Loyal forfeits match after opposing player allegedly directed homophobic slur at Collin Martin . . October 1, 2020 . October 3, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201003044429/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2020/10/01/loyal-landon-donovan-rising-homophobic-slur/5877565002/ . live .
- News: Ziegler . Mark . September 30, 2020 . San Diego Loyal walks off field after alleged homophobic slur; Phoenix player issues denial . The San Diego Union-Tribune . October 1, 2020 . October 1, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201001142226/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/soccer/story/2020-09-30/san-diego-loyal-soccer-phoenix-rising-collin-martin-gay-forfeit-usl-championship-landon-donovan . live .
- News: Krasovic . Tom . December 2, 2022 . Landon Donovan is no longer SD Loyal's coach . The San Diego Union-Tribune . August 29, 2023.
- August 24, 2023 . USL to Transfer San Diego Franchise Rights . USL Championship . August 29, 2023.
- News: 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 . August 29, 2023.
- News: 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 . October 22, 2023.
- News: June 19, 2019. Second-division USL soccer team coming to San Diego. June 21, 2019. San Diego Union-Tribune. en-US. June 19, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190619174414/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/soccer/story/2019-06-19/soccer-usl-second-division-san-diego-usd-torero-stadium. live.
- News: Rico . Carlos . March 8, 2023 . 8 of the most important things to know about San Diego Loyal SC in 2023 . San Diego Union-Tribune . December 29, 2023.
- News: Kitted Out: SD Loyal Announces Partnership with Adidas. USLChampionship.com Staff. January 18, 2020. January 18, 2020. March 18, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200318025614/https://www.uslchampionship.com/news_article/show/1078939. live.
- SD Loyal Announces Apparel Partnership with Charly. San Diego Loyal. SC. January 18, 2022. San Diego Loyal SC. January 24, 2022. January 19, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220119191225/https://www.sdloyal.com/news_article/show/1203763-sd-loyal-announces-apparel-partnership-with-charly. live.
- SD Loyal Announces BluPeak Credit Union as Front-of-Kit Sponsor. February 1, 2023. San Diego Loyal SC. February 21, 2023. February 21, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230221083642/https://www.sdloyal.com/news/2023/02/01/sd-loyal-announces-blupeak-credit-union-as-front-of-kit-sponsor/. live.
- Web site: Landon Donovan Elevated to Full Time Role as Executive VP of Soccer Operations . SD Loyal Communications . December 2, 2022 . December 2, 2022 . December 2, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221202195054/https://www.sdloyal.com/news/2022/12/02/landon-donovan-elevated-to-full-time-role-as-executive-vp-of-soccer-operations/ . live .
Rubio Rubin