San Diego Loyal defeated the Colorado Switchbacks 2-0 at Torero Stadium on Sunday afternoon moving up to fourth place in the western conference standings.

The Loyal opened up the scoring in the 41st minute when forward Evan Conway found teammate Joe Corona on a 40-yard cross to the other side of the field that the former San Diego State Aztec ended up putting in the back of the net with a right-footed missile.

Corona almost extended the lead to start the second half but his left-footed shot from outside the box went just wide of the post and was defended by goalkeeper Joe Kuzminsky. The team, led by head coach Nate Miller, put the game away in the 92nd minute when forward Ronaldo Damus scored off his own rebound from six yards out. The Haitian Sensation, as the Loyal fans have nicknamed him, came into the match in the 67th minute to replace Conway and made his presence felt as soon as he stepped on the pitch.

San Diego Loyal also got some key saves from goalkeeper Koke Vegas particularly in the second half when Colorado created more opportunities to tie the game. The last time both teams met was on July 14 as SD Loyal came out with a 3-0 road victory led by another outstanding performance from Vegas, who now has three-straight clean sheets and has not given up a goal in league play since July 1 in a 2-2 draw versus Indy Eleven.

San Diego Loyal has 33 points after 20 matches just one point behind the Oakland Roots who sit in third place but with the team from the Bay Area having played two more games. The Loyal now get ready to take on Orange County SC on Saturday, Aug. 5 at Torero Stadium.

foto courtesy: San Diego Loyal