MATCH INFO:
Birmingham Legion FC vs. San Diego Loyal SC
Saturday, August 13th
7:00pm CT Kickoff
Protective Stadium – Birmingham, AL
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Legion FC returns to Protective Stadium Saturday, August 13 at 7:00pm for Medical Appreciation Night presented by UAB Medicine to take on San Diego Loyal SC for the first time in its history.
Birmingham is one of the hottest teams in the East right now, having scored 13 goals in its last three matches and with players Bruno Lapa, Jonny Dean (twice), Juan Agudelo, Prosper Kasim, and Enzo Martinez all being named to the USL Team of the Week. Martinez is especially hot – contributing to four goals in his last two matches, and leading the Club with nine this season, while goalkeeper Matt VanOekel leads the USL Championship in clean sheets (10) thanks to him and the Birmingham backline.
Saturday’s match will prove to be a good test for the Legion, with San Diego being arguably the hottest team in the Western Conference as of late, having won eight of its last nine. The Loyals, led by USMNT legend Landon Donovan, lead all other teams in the West in the USLC Power Rankings, and are now on a five-game win streak. Kyle Vassell and Thomas Amang have been San Diego Loyal’s most prolific goal scorers, netting ten and eight goals respectively. Having already played two matches in the last week, however, Saturday’s game will be a test of San Diego’s fitness.
Both the Legion and the Loyal dominated the USLC Team of the Week for week 22 – with four players on for Birmingham and three players on for San Diego. For neutral fans alike, this game will be a very interesting matchup. It is also the first time the Three Sparks have taken on a side that has more points than them in the USLC standings since losing 2-1 against Louisville City on July 2nd, so it offers the Three Sparks a chance to show other USL clubs that Birmingham is a playoff threat.
For this week’s UAB Medicine Injury Report, defender Jake Rufe is questionable due to a lower body injury and defender Freddy Kleemann is out due to a torn ACL.
For team updates, news and more, follow @bhmlegion on social media, sign up for Legion FC’s Newsletter, or visit bhmlegion.com. The Legion FC app is also available for download via Apple or Android. For gameday reminders, sync the Legion FC 2022 schedule to your calendar HERE.
