The San Diego Loyal earned points for the second-straight home match, maintaining their first-place standing in USL Championship league, with a scoreless tie Saturday against Sacramento Republic at USD Torero Stadium.
Coach Landon Donovan’s soccer team added a point in the Group B standings, reaching 11 points with a 3-1-2 record.
he tie came in a tight match that featured both teams looking to figure each other out early on. SD Loyal controlled possession for most of the match, creating a handful of dangerous plays but could not find the final touch and strike to find the net.
It was Sacramento Republic FC (1-1-3, 6 points) that began to move its lines up and created a scoring chance. Cam Iwasa sent a quick header off a long volley near the right post, but SD Loyal goalkeeper Jon Kempin made the point-blank save in the 29th minute.
The Loyal put on some pressure late in the first half. Jack Metcalf got a shot from inside the penalty box in the 44th minute, but it was blocked by Sacramento goalkeeper Rafael Diaz from his knees.
Tumi Moshobane then tried a low rolling left-footed shot a minute later but Diaz was there to dive on the ball for another save.
Sacramento, the team SD Loyal President Warren Smith co-founded, came out trying to spark an attack early in the second half. Sam Werner sent a header just wide of the left post in the 50th minute off a cross by Kharlton Belmar.
This was SD Loyal’s second-consecutive home match.
It was scheduled to face LA Galaxy II last Wednesday in a midweek match, but the match was postponed after players on the Los Angeles team tested positive for COVID-19 during weekly routine testing. It was also an out of group match as Sacramento Republic sits in second place in the Group A standings.
San Diego faces the Las Vegas Lights next Saturday at Cashman Field in a Group B match.
