Buried without the Cup.
The fairy tale ending never materialized for the San Diego Loyal, the second-division pro soccer club that announced its imminent demise in August and hoped to go out as a champion. To, in the slogan adopted by its supporters, “Bury us with the Cup.”
It ended on a soggy night at soldout Torero Stadium, with a 4-3 overtime loss against rival Phoenix Rising in the opening round of the USL Championship playoffs after the Loyal dramatically tied it in the dying moments of regulation only to surrender a goal in the last minute of OT.
The final whistle sounded, and Loyal players collapsed to the turf. The red-clad visitors celebrated in the shock and silence of Torero Stadium after Polish forward Dariusz Formella, acquired by Phoenix just three months ago, curved shot around a defender into the upper left corner of the net.
“It’s not how it was supposed to end,” Loyal coach Nate Miller said. “We had full belief tonight and we played a great game. … This is not how you want the whole journey, the whole story, to end. We’re just heartbroken and a bit shocked.”
Added captain Charlie Adams: “I’m absolutely devastated that the club won’t be going forward, but I’m so happy I got to experience this and live this.”
Fans cheer on the San Diego Loyal during Sunday’s playoff match.
(K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Phoenix, instead, will play at Orange County next Saturday for a berth in the Western Conference final.
The Loyal will quietly cease to exist. With the specter of a Major League Soccer expansion franchise launching in San Diego in 2025 and no larger stadium options, and with the red ink well into eight figures, Loyal owner Andrew Vassiliadis took the unusual and perhaps compassionate step of announcing Aug. 24 that this season would be their last instead of waiting until it ended.
“I don’t see myself taking this project anywhere else,” Vassiliadis said in a video message to fans, “and I refuse to put an inferior product in front of you.”
An hour after the game, Vassiliadis and former club president Ricardo Campos stood at midfield in the empty stadium, talking, reminiscing, consoling.
Then the rest of the staff joined them on the wet grass for one final meeting.
“This is a love affair that unfortunately has to end now,” Miller said. “How unified this club is, is special.”
For all the things the club accomplished – building an inclusive and dedicated fan base, creating an electric atmosphere inside a 6,000-seat college stadium, taking an uncompromising stand on social justice issues – it could never win a playoff game. It failed to qualify in its inaugural season, then lost in the opening round in each of the next three years.
Last year on this field, it was 3-0 with three red cards.
This year, it was far closer, far more dramatic, far more emotional.
“This club has been such a consistent, top performer in the West, but what we didn’t have is a proper playoff run,” Miller said. “On behalf of the club and my team, I’m sorry to our supporters. Because that is journey of joy we wanted to give them.”
Phoenix twice erased one-goal deficits in the first half, then went ahead in the 50th minute after another Loyal defensive mistake. As the game lurched into the 70th and then 80th minute, Phoenix seemed content to bunker in a five-man back line and weather the San Diego storm.
The Loyal received a lifeline in the fifth of nine minutes of injury time, when Senegalese defender Mohamed Traore chopped down South African forward Tumi Moshobane just inside in the upper right corner of the penalty area.
It was one of those fouls that, by the letter of the law, is a PK because it was a clear foul in the box. Phoenix, no doubt, will argue that it doesn’t qualify under the spirit of the law, with Moshobane dribbling away from goal and not an immediate scoring threat.
But referee Elvis Osmanovic pointed to the spot, and Loyal forward Ronaldo Demus calmly slotted it into the right corner to complete a hat trick. Torero Stadium, which was nervously quiet much of the second half, erupted.
Dariusz Formella of Phoenix Rising FC celebrates after scoring the winning goal.
(K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Phoenix spent much of the first half on the attack but was unable to recapture that offensive mojo until the final seconds of overtime, partly through defensive-minded subs late in regulation and partly because of the sudden belief by a team that, literally, had no tomorrow with a loss. With tired bodies strewn across the field, the Rising pushed forward for one final attack.
Formella got the ball 15 yards from goal and bent a left-footed shot around a defender and past stunned goalkeeper Koke Vegas.
Miller missed most of the scoring sequence. He had looked away to compile of list of penalty takers for the shootout that was less than a minute away.
“We had complete control of the second half and both overtimes, and just continued to put pressure in the their box,” Miller said. “Sometimes football is cruel. We made a mistake, which is difficult to take in this moment. We weren’t in the perfect spots you have to be. Sometimes after that many minutes, you can lose concentration. But they have good players, and they made one more play than us.”
San Diego Loyal’s Ronaldo Damus (8), center, celebrates with teammates after scoring against Phoenix Rising FC.
(K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The game was chippy and heated, with Osmanovic separating players several times. After Phoenix midfielder Pamos Armenakas scored a first-half PK, he cupped his hand to his ear, which elicited boos from the soldout crowd every time he touched the ball afterwards.
These teams have history, though.
In a 2020 regular-season game here, the Loyal under then-coach Landon Donovan walked off the field at halftime leading 3-1 in protest of a Phoenix player allegedly uttering a homophobic slur at Collin Martin, an openly gay player. The ensuing forfeit eliminated the Loyal from playoff contention.
Last season, the Loyal got some measure of revenge with a 3-2 win (after trailing 2-0) at Phoenix to end the club’s 22-game home win streak.
That started a four-game unbeaten streak against Phoenix in which the Loyal had a pair of 3-0 wins and hadn’t scored fewer than two goals. Over the previous seven meetings, the Rising had prevailed only once.
“We really wanted to have a journey through the playoffs to show what we’re all about,” Miller said. “It’s difficult to end like this. But my heart is full of gratitude. I’m really proud of what we built. We’re just disappointed right now, you know? … I don’t have the right words to make everyone feel good right now.”
The staff meeting at midfield ended with a group chant of “Forever Loyal,” and people went their separate ways. Moments later, the lights shut off.
A stadium, and a soccer club, went dark.
