San Diego Loyal
I will have to take partial fault for how this game ended on Saturday night at Dignity Health Sports Park versus LA Galaxy II since I was a few seconds away from tweeting a congratulatory note to San Diego Loyal and Landon Donovan himself before the dreaded “Trujillo jinx” reared its ugly head.
With San Diego up 2-0 as the game entered four minutes of second-half added time, it looked like the team had secured its first victory since April 30. Los Dos then scored in the 92nd minute off what you could tell was a practiced corner kick play that was headed in courtesy of forward Preston Judd.
At this point, the flashbacks to previous agonizing endings to SD Loyal matches must have filled the minds of those watching, but there was no way it could happen again, right? The ref is blowing the whistle in a couple of minutes, right? For whatever reason, the referee let the game continue past the 94th then the 95th, and well into the 96th minute when a foul inside the box and a yellow card was issued to San Diego defender Grant Stoneman
Los Dos midfielder Taylor Davila placed the penalty shot in the upper-left corner past goalkeeper Koke Vegas in the 98th minute to tie the match.
Just like the Oakland Roots match on April 13 where San Diego gave up a goal on the last play costing them two points in the standings, the two points the team gave away this time is something that Landon Donovan and the players need to take personally since it can be the difference between making the playoffs or watching them from home.
Before I forget, I would also like to call into question the timekeeping skills of the referee, if he feels that players are wasting time in the end it’s fine to add on a minute, but not more unless they are faking injuries… just saying.
San Diego Wave
San Diego Wave Fútbol Club lost to OL Reign on a 75th-minute golazo by forward Rose Lavelle who scored on a diving header from seven yards out that got by the fingertips of goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan.
Even though San Diego created some scoring chances throughout the match, OL Reign was clearly the better team on Sunday playing in front of the home fans at Lumen Field in Seattle.
San Diego Wave did have one final opportunity to tie the match in the 92nd minute, but the pass to forward Amirah Ali inside the box was slightly out of her reach despite a good effort.
San Diego still finds itself in first place of the NWSL standings with 12 points after six matches followed closely by Angel City FC with nine points through five games, with OL Reign also at nine points. San Diego travels to play the Kansas City Current on June 4 in the final match of a four-game road trip before returning home to play the Portland Thorns on Wednesday, June 8.
Hector Trujillo has been covering soccer starting with the San Diego State University men’s soccer team in 2003 for The Daily Aztec. A graduate of SDSU where he received his B.A. and M.A. degrees, Trujillo has a lifelong passion for playing and writing about the beautiful game.
Photos courtesy of San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave
