San Diego Loyal SC allowed three second half goals after leading at halftime in a 3-1 loss against visiting Orange County SC Saturday night at Torero Stadium. 

Evan Conway gave SD Loyal a 1-0 lead early in the USL Championship match but the Western Conference Interstate-5 rivals mounted a comeback with a brace by Thomas Amang and a late goal by Oluwakorede Osundina.

It was SD Loyal’s second of five-straight home matches and its first of the month as it navigates through a busy schedule. It was also the club’s first loss in five matches. Head Coach Nate Miller’s team has a short turnaround, hosting Loudoun United FC on Wednesday, Aug. 9 (7 p.m.). 

Against Orange County SC, it was Conway that opened the scoring in the 8th minute when he buried a shot into the left wall of the Orange County net for the 1-0 lead. The nifty striker dribbled into the penalty area off a header from Adrien Perez, made a cut with a self-pass behind his back and bent his left-footed blast for his team-leading ninth goal of the season. 

SD Loyal continued with scoring chances in the first half as Joe Corona had a header blocked by a defender as he charged the goal line on a long cross by Charlie Adams. A Camden Riley shot was also caught by Orange County goalkeeper Colin Shutler on his line.  

Orange County tried to catch SD Loyal’s defense off guard with a couple of plays with the long ball but goalkeeper Koke Vegas was quick to come out of his area to intercept the ball. The visitors eventually found paydirt as it tied the match 1-1 with an Amang goal in the 52nd minute. The forward sent a shot past Vegas off a pass from Brian Iloski. 

Bringing all three back home! 👊

Thomas Amang haunts his former club with a brace as @orangecountysc defeats @SanDiegoLoyal 3-1 away from home.#SDvOC | https://t.co/vpxIDbAaWS pic.twitter.com/qdCvG6cnyb

— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) August 6, 2023

Amang gave the visitors the lead in the 78th minute with another powerful shot off a pass by Milan Iloski inside the penalty area. Amang sent his shot between Vegas and the left post. Osundina added the third goal of the night for Orange County on a breakaway in stoppage time. SD Loyal tried to find an equalizer late in the match, pushing up its lines, but Orange County held strong. 

SD Loyal returns to action in four days against Loudoun United for its third-straight home match. The club will then host Memphis 901 FC three days later on Saturday, Aug. 12 before finishing the homestand against New Mexico United on Aug. 19.