By SDCN Editor
San Diego, CA–San Diego Loyal SC added three points and moved into second place in the Western Conference standings after defeating Rio Grande Valley FC Toros 2-1 Saturday night. Tumi Moshobane and Evan Conway each scored a goal and recorded an assist to help their team move a step closer to the top of the standings.
Moshobane and Conway found the net in each half of the USL Championship Week 20 match. The pair of goals gave SD Loyal three more points in the standings, good enough to finish the week tied for second place with Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. SD Loyal has beaten the team from the Rocky Mountains twice and has a better goal differential.
SD Loyal (12W-5L-4D, 40 points) has won five of its last six matches, including two consecutive victories at home. Against Rio Grande FC, it took nearly a full half for coach Landon Donovan’s team to find the net. It was then that Moshobane sent in a left-footed shot from 20 yards out to give SD Loyal the 1-0 lead. It was his sixth goal of the season and it came off a quick pass by Evan Conway in the 39th minute.
The goal came after a time in which both teams had exchanged attacks. SD Loyal thought it had scored earlier in the match when Nick Moon sent in a shot on a breakaway but was whistled offside. RGVFC nearly scored when Ricky Ruiz sent a volley crashing onto the left post in the 37th minute.
RGVFC (7W-11L-3D, 24 points) eventually scored in the second half. Erik Pimentel tied the game 1-1 off a cross by Emilio Ycaza. The ball bounced near the goal line where Pimentel stood unmarked. It ricocheted off his legs and into the net in the 49th minute.
But the lead didn’t last long for the visitors. Conway got a goal of his own in the 55th minute when he charged on a floating pass by Moshobane off a free kick. Conway tapped the ball past RGVFC goalkeeper John Deric as he fell backward for his fourth goal of the season.
Donovan’s team will now be back on the road for a short trip north as it visits Orange County SC on July 30 in another Western Conference showdown. SD Loyal will then return home to host the conference’s top team in San Antonio FC on Aug. 6 at Torero Stadium.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
SD – Tumi Moshobane (Evan Conway), 39th minute: Moshobane fired a left-footed shot from about 20-yards out to give SD Loyal the 1-0 lead. SD 1, RGV 0
RGV – Erik Pimentel (Emilio Ycaza), 49th minute: Pimentel sent in a ball played in by Ycaza as he stood near the goal line. SD 1, RGV 1
SD – Evan Conway (Tumi Moshone), 55th minute: Conway got a piece of a Tumi Moshobane floating free kick as he fell back and sent it in for the 2-1 lead. SD 2, RGV 1
