San Diego Loyal SC did not want to leave the stage.
It took two 15-minute extra periods to force them from it, but Phoenix Rising FC did just that, winning 4-3 in a thrilling USL Championship Western Conference quarterfinal Sunday at a sold-out Torero Stadium.
The painful loss not only ended the Loyal’s playoff run, but also its final season, as the team announced in August that lacking a future stadium home, it would have to fold.
“We’re just heartbroken, a bit shocked,” coach Nate Miller told NBC San Diego following his team’s last defeat.
SD Loyal, playing aggressively late, but with nothing to show for it, forced overtime with minutes to spare.
Down 3-2 in the fifth minute of stoppage time that followed regulation, Tumi Moshobane was fouled in the penalty area after being tripped up by Phoenix’s Mohamed Traore, who drew a yellow card.
Ronaldo Damus played the hero, converting the penalty with a right-footed shot to the bottom right corner for a hat trick, his second in less than a month, and a 3-3 tie.
The teams remained knotted up through the first extra time and late in the second, with the possibility of a shootout looming.
But in the 119th minute, Dariusz Formella took charge, off an assist by Manuel Arteaga, a late substitution. He sent a left-footed shot sailing past goalkeeper Koke Vegas for his second goal of the game, one that all but clinched it for Phoenix.
SD Loyal had one minute left in the period to pull off a miracle, and one minute of stoppage time, but did not attempt another shot.
Phoenix now advances to a conference semifinal against No. 2 seed Orange County SC, a 1-0 winner over El Paso in a Saturday conference quarterfinal.
San Diego opened the scoring just four minutes into the match. Damus sent in a right-footed shot from the center of the box off an assist by Joe Corona.
Phoenix tied it up in the 19th minute, after Panos Armenakas made the penalty shot following Adrien Perez’s foul in the penalty area.
But the Loyal responded quickly, as Damus sent a left-footed shot to the bottom right corner off an assist by Evan Conway, for the 2-1 lead.
Momentum seemed to shift to Phoenix though, energy that carried past the half.
Before the break, in the 42nd minute, Danny Trejo’s right-footed shot found the center of the goal for a 2-2 tie. Then, soon after the break, in the 51st minute, Formella’s shot from the right side of the box gave Phoenix the 3-2 lead – one that almost held up.
A side note to the Loyal loss – Damus’ hat trick is the first in a losing cause in USL Championship Playoffs history. They also were the first goals in the Loyal’s short post-season history.
The game had been a matchup of teams going in opposite directions.
The Loyal concluded the regular season with five victories and a tie in its final six games, improving to 16-9-9 for 57 points, matching Orange County for second in the Western Conference. San Diego took the third seed, though, because of a tiebreaker – OC outscored the Loyal 3-2 in two games.
The Rising (12-10-12) was winless in its final five regular-season games, dropping from fourth to sixth in the 12-team conference.
SD Loyal was 1-0-1 against Phoenix in the regular season, winning 3-0 March 19 at Torero Stadium and ending up in a 2-2 draw April 1 at Phoenix Rising Stadium.
“If you asked me, if I had to pick a team from the East or West to play, it would have been San Diego,” said Rising coach Juan Guerra.
The Loyal announced in August that it will cease operations following the conclusion of the season after chairman Andrew Vassiliadis determined there was no viable way to keep it operating with a Major League Soccer team set to begin play in San Diego in 2025.
The club, initially coached by soccer legend Landon Donovan, played for four seasons, and reached the playoffs in three of them. They, however, never won a postseason game, and were shut out twice – in 2021, by San Antonio, and last year, by Oakland.
Aside from their play, the team also was noted for its stands for diversity and equity. SD Loyal players and executives took action, either by forfeiting points or walking off the field when anti-gay and anti-Black slurs were used during matches. They also donned “Black Lives Matter” jerseys.
Before the team’s final regular-season home game – a 4-2 victory over the Oakland Roots SC Oct. 7 – the team’s fan groups The Locals and Chavos de Loyal raised a large display known as a tifo declaring “Bury Us With The Cup.” Sadly, it was not to be.
City News Service contributed to this article.
Updated 10:55 p.m. Oct. 22, 2023
