Vassell, Amang and Moshobane score in largest victory in club history
SAN DIEGO (June 25, 2022) – Manager Landon Donovan said last week he wanted to punish opposing teams with his club’s attack. San Diego Loyal SC did just that with a 5-0 win against visiting Indy Eleven Saturday night at Torero Stadium. The win marks the largest margin of victory in franchise history.
SD Loyal finished its third of four-straight home matches with a pair of goals by striker Kyle Vassell, and scores by Thomas Amang and Tumi Moshobane. Combined with an own goal by the visitors, Donovan’s team displayed five goals for the second time in club history. With the win, SD Loyal adds another three points to its historic start as it heads into its final home match in June against defending USL Championship champion Orange County SC on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
“I think outside the first 10 minutes, that was the best 80 minutes we’ve played as a team since I’ve been here in three years,” Donovan said. “I’m really proud of not just the first half performance and what that was, but then in the second half to keep going and keep going and keep going. That’s what top teams do, and it’s hard to do. It’s really hard.”
On Saturday, it was SD Loyal (8W-4L-4D, 28 points) welcoming Indy Eleven (6W-6L-3D, 21 points) for the first time at Torero Stadium with an explosive offensive display. Amang opened up the scoring in the 29th minute, sending in a shot from 25 yards out after a defensive mistake. He sped around goalkeeper Bryan Meredith to send it into the open net for his sixth goal of the season.
Kyle Vassell extended the lead to 2-0 in the 42nd minute with a right-footed shot from just inside the penalty area for his ninth goal of the season. The SD Loyal striker made a half turn to beat the Indy goalkeeper after taking a bouncing cross from Jack Blake. Vassell added his second of the night with a left-footed shot ten minutes later, slotting it into the left wall of the net to extend the SD Loyal lead to 3-0.
SD Loyal took a 4-0 lead when Indy Eleven’s Mechack Jerome deflected a Moshobane low shot into his own net. Moshobane, a second half sub, did get a goal to his own credit in the 85th minute when he dribbled around traffic and fired past the Indy keeper to seal the scoring.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
SD – Thomas Amang, 29th minute: Amang took a bouncing ball on an error by a defender and shot it into an open net after dribbling around the goalkeeper. SD 1, IND 0
SD – Kyle Vassell, 42nd minute: Vassell scored with a right-footed shot from just inside the penalty area for his ninth goal of the season. SD 2, IND 0
SD – Kyle Vassell (Alejandro Guido), 52nd minute: Vassell made a half turn and slotted a left-footed volley into the net. SD 3, IND 0
SD – Mechack Jerome (Own Goal), 60th minute: Jerome deflected a Tumi Moshobane shot near the goal line into his own net. SD 4, IND 0
SD – Tumi Moshobane, 85th minute: Moshobane dribbled around a crowd and fired across his body into the net to seal the scoring. SD 5, IND 0
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- Thomas Amang scored his sixth goal of the season.
- Alejandro Guido recorded his third assist of the season.
- Kyle Vassell scored his tenth goal of the season, second best in the USL Championship behind Óttar Magnús Karlsson of Oakland Roots SC (11).
- Tumi Moshobane scored his third goal of the season.
- SD Loyal have now scored seven goals via substitutes this season, most in the USL Championship.
- SD Loyal attempted 26 shots, its highest total for a single match this season.
