San Diego Loyal SC returned to Torero Stadium, playing to a 1-1 draw against the first- place Sacramento Republic FC.
Ronaldo Damus scored via penalty kick in the second half while Sacramento’s Damià Viader found the net in the first half of the Friday USL Championship match.
SD Loyal, after three straight road matches, came home and earned a point in the conference standings despite playing the team with the best record in the league. San Diego (6-4-4, 22 points) is in fourth place in the Western Conference.
Sacramento (8-1-5, 29 points) had allowed only seven goals prior to Friday’s match as the conference leaders opted to sit back and defend for most of the 90 minutes. SD Loyal played its style, attacking and pressuring throughout the match.
But it was the visitors who scored first. Viader gave Sacramento a 1-0 lead with a left-footed shot, beating Koke Vegas to bury the ball into the lower-right corner of the net off a pass from Luis Rodrigues.
SD Loyal had been controlling the pace of the match and had created a handful of scoring chances, but they didn’t pay off until midway through the second half.
Sacramento was whistled for a penalty kick after a handball by Connor Donovan. Donovan was shown a yellow after blocking off a shot by second-half substitute Elliot Collier.
Damus converted the penalty kick to tie the match, flicking his shot to the left of Sacramento goalkeeper Danny Vitiello. It was the Haitian striker’s fifth goal of the season, tying Evan Conway for the club lead. It was also Damus’ third goal in two games.
After Sacramento’s Russell Cicerone misfired on a wide-open net in the 78th minute, SD Loyal continued to pressure in the late moments, but couldn’t put in the game-winner.
SD Loyal caps its two-match home stand at 7 p.m Wednesday, hosting San Antonio FC in another Western Conference contest against the defending league champions. They played to a 3-3 draw last weekend.
