By SDCN Staff
Sacramento, CA–San Diego Loyal SC finished the regular season with a 4-0 loss at Sacramento Republic FC Saturday night at Heart Health Park.
Coach Landon Donovan’s team concludes the 2022 USL Championship regular season with a franchise best 18W-10L-6D record and 60 points to finish in second place in the Western Conference standings.
SD Loyal will now host a home first-round playoff match for the first time against No. 7 Oakland Roots SC on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. at Torero Stadium.
The regular season finale against Sacramento started fast for the homeside as it scored three goals in the first 15 minutes and added one late in the match. Sacramento Republic (15W,-11L-8D, 53 points), who finished as the No. 4 team in the conference, got goals from Rodrigo López (2nd minute), Sergio Gontán (4th minute), Matt LaGrassa (15th minute) and Luther Archimède (81st minute).
López scored on a right-footed shot that went through the hands of a diving Koke Vegas for the 1-0 lead. Two minutes later, Sacramento forward Gontán slotted in another for the homeside to double the lead. Gontán caught Vegas off guard with a low-rolling shot from about 20 yards out. Luis Felipe Fernandes assisted Gontán to set up the score.
Midfielder LaGrassa sent in the third goal of the night with a one-time shot that left Vegas without a chance. The score came off an SD Loyal defensive error as forward Thomas Amang tried to clear the ball but it went straight to LaGrassa. Sacramento sealed the win in the 81st minute when Archimède dribbled around and found the net past SD Loyal second-half goalkeeper Duran Ferree.
SD Loyal, a team that had already clinched the No. 2 seed for the postseason, tried to find a rhythm in the second half and created a handful of scoring chances that included shots by Andrew Carleton and Tumi Moshobane. But the Sacramento defense upheld the shutout.
Donovan’s team will now prepare for its first home playoff match next Sunday, Oct. 23 against Oakland Roots SC, a team that it played to a 2-2 draw on April 13 and a 3-1 loss on August 24.
Goal Scoring Rundown:
SAC – Rodrigo López, 2nd minute: López took a ball off an SD Loyal defensive mistake and buried his shot past Koke Vegads to open the scoring. SAC 1, SD 0
SAC – Sergio Gontán (Luis Felipe Fernandes), 4th minute: Gontán sent a low-rolling shot past Vegas to extend the lead. SAC 2, SD 0
SAC – Matt LaGrassa, 15th minute: LaGrassa took a loose ball from just outside the penalty box and blasted it past Vegas for the third score of the night. SAC 3, SD 0
SAC – Luther Archimède, 81st minute: Archimède took a ball and dribbled around goalkeeper Duran Ferree and sent a shot into an empty net for the final score of the night. SAC 4, SD 0.
