Sports stats



USL San Diego Loyal

Evan Conway 88th Minute Score Gives SD Loyal 3-2 Win in Tampa Bay

April 30, 2022 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
San Diego Loyal News Release


ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Evan Conway stood up and was nearly immediately swallowed by a herd of teammates Saturday night. The San Diego Loyal SC forward had little time to completely soak in what had transpired when the group celebration began.

Conway was greeted for sending in the goal that was the difference in a 3-2 come-from-behind win against host Tampa Bay Rowdies at Al Lang Stadium. Conway sent all 18 of his teammates into a frenzy when he took a Tumi Moshobane low-rolling pass and sent it past Tampa Bay goalkeeper Raiko Arozarena in the 88th minute for his second score of the season.

The goal not only gave SD Loyal three more points in the USL Championship Western Conference standings but it came late after coach Landon Donovan's team struggled to find the net despite controlling possession for most of the match. It had to rely on a complete match played by Conway and a pair of second half substitutes to overcome a 2-1 second half deficit to end a busy month of April.

SD Loyal (6-2-1, 19 points) played in four league matches and two Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup matches prior to traveling 2,400 miles to Florida to face the defending Eastern Conference champions and one of the top clubs in the league. It took a Jack Blake goal in the 75th minute off a Kyle Vassell pass to tie the match on a play by two players who came on as substitutes.

Tampa Bay Rowdies (3-3-4, 13 points) had taken a 2-1 lead in the 40th minute when Sebastian Guenzatti scored on a half bicycle kick for the home side from a few yards away from the SD Loyal goal. The Tampa Bay goal came off a ball that bounced off defender Kyle Adams' chest after it took a bounce off a corner kick.

Tampa Bay also got a goal from Jake LaCava (21st minute) that tied the match 1-1. LaCava beat SD Loyal goalkeeper Koke Vegas with a left-footed shot. LaCava sprinted up field on the left side, avoided a sliding tackle and beat a defender as he fired from inside the penalty box.

SD Loyal, who was coming off a 14-day rest from USL Championship play and an April 19 U.S. Open match at MLS side LA Galaxy, had taken a 1-0 lead with a 19th minute goal by Nick Moon. The SD Loyal forward scored with a blast into the right wall of the Tampa Bay net after he shook off a defender with a couple of moves from the left side. Elijah Martin, who played in his 100th USL Championship match, fed Moon on the scoring play.

Moon's early goal set the pace of the first-meeting between the two clubs as Donovan's team implemented its style of play. It controlled 80-percent possession into the 70th minute. SD Loyal eventually broke through with goals from Blake and Conway to earn the three points on the road. It was Blake's first goal of the season, coming against the team he played with in 2018.

SD Loyal will now return home to begin preparing for its next match as it will visit New Mexico United Saturday May 4.

GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN

San Diego Loyal SC- Nick Moon (Elijah Martin), 19th minute: Moon finished a play where he beat defenders with some moves with a blast into the right wall of the net. TBR 0, SD 1

Tampa Bay Rowdies - Jake LaCava, 21st minute: LaCava buried left-footed shot after sprinting into the box from the left side. TBR 1, SD 1

Tampa Bay Rowdies - Sebastian Guenzatti, 40th minute: Guenzatti sent in a ball that bounced off Kyle Adams' chest in front of the SD Loyal goal line. TBR 2, SD 1

San Diego Loyal SC - Jack Blake (Kyle Vassell), 75th minute: Blake scored his first goal of the season by tapping in a shot off a Kyle Vassell pass TBR 2, SD 2

San Diego Loyal - Evan Conway (Tumi Moshobane), 88th minute: Conway sprinted down the left side and sent in a shot before falling down and scoring the match-winner. TBR 2, SD 3

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Elijah Martin made his 100th USL Championship regular season appearance.

SD Loyal broke Tampa Bay's 50-match unbeaten streak when leading at the half.

Charlie Adams returned to the SD Loyal lineup after missing the last five league matches due to injury.

Nick Moon scored his first goal of the season for SD Loyal.

Elijah Martin recorded his first assist of the season for SD Loyal.

SD Loyal attempted 582 passes, their highest total in a single match in the USL Championship this season.

Tumi Moshobane assisted his third goal this season, the most recorded for SD Loyal this season.

SD Loyal scored its fifth goal in the last 15 minutes of the second half, more than any other team in the USL Championship this season.

-SAN DIEGO LOYAL SC MATCH REPORT-

Match: San Diego Loyal SC vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies

Date: April 30, 2022

Competition: USL Championship

Venue: Al Lang Stadium; St. Petersburg, Fla.

Kickoff: 4:30 p.m. PT

Weather: 74 degrees, partly cloudy

Scoring Summary 1 2 F

Tampa Bay Rowdies 2 0 2

SD Loyal 1 2 3

San Diego Loyal SC - Nick Moon (Elijah Martin) 19th minute

Tampa Bay Rowdies - Jake La Cava 21

Tampa Bay Rowdies - Sebastian Guenzatti 40

San Diego Loyal SC - Jack Blake (Kyle Vassell) 75

San Diego Loyal SC - Evan Conway (Tumi Moshobane) 88

LINEUPS

Tampa Bay Rowdies: 56-Raiko Arozarena; 5-Jordan Scarlett, 15-Timothy Mehl, 33-Aaron Guillen; 2-William Antley, 27-Laurence Wyke, 6-Junior Etou, 11-Leonardo Fernandes; 19-Jake La Cava (7-Yann Ekra, 77), 13-Sebastian Guenzatti (Capt.) (77-Luckymore Mkosana, 89), 22-Kyle Greig (21-Dayonn Harris, 61)

Substitutes not used: 1-Carl Cochran, 8-Jake Areman, 9-Juan Tejada, 46-Sanitago CastanÞeda

Manager: Neill Collins

San Diego Loyal SC: 25-Koke Vegas; 4-Jack Metcalf, 15-Nikko Boxall, 32-Kyle Adams, 3-Elijah Martin (7-Jack Blake, 61); 20-Nick Moon, 6-Charlie Adams (Capt.) (9-Kyle Vassell, 60), 10-Alejandro Guido, 17-Collin Martin (13-Camden Riley, 93), 11-Tumi Moshobane; 14-Evan Conway

Substitutes not used: 2-Morgan Hackworth, 19-Taylor Crull, 40-Calvin Fodrey, 60-Duran Ferree

Manager: Landon Donovan

Stats Summary: Tampa Bay Rowdies / San Diego Loyal SC

Shots: 6 / 8

Shots on Goal: 2 / 4

Saves: 1 / 0

Corner Kicks: 6 / 5

Fouls: 16 / 16

Offside: 1 / 0

Misconduct Summary

San Diego Loyal SC - Kyle Adams (Caution) 48th minute

San Diego Loyal SC - Elijah Martin (Caution) 50

Tampa Bay Rowdies - William Antley (Caution) 78

San Diego Loyal SC - Collin Martin (Caution) 86

San Diego Loyal SC - Alejandro Guido (Caution) 87

Tampa Bay Rowdies - Timothy Mehl (Caution) 90

Tampa Bay Rowdies - Jordan Scarlett (Caution) 90+4

Chosen Foods Man of the Match: Evan Conway

###

EXPERIENCE MATCHDAY

2022 Season Ticket Memberships, Half Season Ticket Memberships, Quarter Season Ticket Memberships, Flex Plans, Group Tickets and Single Match Tickets are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased by calling (858) 465-GOAL and by visiting sdloyal.com/tickets.

SD Loyal's next home match is May 14 against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (7 p.m.) at Torero Stadium. Tickets start at just $15. To purchase, visit sdloyal.com/singletickets. For SD Loyal news and updates, visit SDLoyal.com, download the official team app, and follow the club on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Check out the San Diego Loyal Statistics

• Discuss this story on the United Soccer League Championship message board...

United Soccer League Championship Stories from April 30, 2022


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent San Diego Loyal Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central