San Diego Loyal will play its first regular-season match in two weeks as the team led by head coach Landon Donovan travels cross country to take on the defending Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday, April 30.

San Diego’s last USL Championship match was on April 16 in a 5-2 home loss to Louisville City FC. Tampa Bay is also coming off a less than stellar performance in its most recent game on Wednesday where the team fell 3-1 to Memphis 901 FC.

Both teams have also been eliminated from U.S. Open Cup competition with SD Loyal losing a close one to MLS side LA Galaxy 1-0 on April 19 at Dignity Health Sports Park, which marked their ninth match in the span of a month, while the Rowdies lost to Orlando City 2-1 the following day.

“The guys have really put in a shift,” said San Diego Loyal defender Elijah Martin said after the game versus LA Galaxy. “It’s not easy no matter what level you’re playing at to play that many games.”

Martin was one of the team’s most outstanding performers in that U.S. Open Cup match creating a clear scoring opportunity to tie the game in the final minutes with a beautiful cross into the box that found his teammate Evan Conway but the ensuing header did not find the mark.

San Diego currently finds itself in third place in the Western Conference standings with 16 points in its eight matches while Tampa Bay is sitting in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with 13 points after nine games.

San Diego Loyal’s next home game at Torero Stadium is on May 14 versus conference leader Colorado Springs after they play another road match on May 7 against New Mexico United.

Photo courtesy of San Diego Loyal