The San Diego Loyal, a United Soccer League club owned in part by soccer legend Landon Donovan, will cease operations after the 2023 season, the league announced Thursday.

The franchise rights will be transferred “in the coming months,” per a league news release.

The action is being taken because a “viable near- and long-term stadium solution in the market did not materialize” in the San Diego area, the league said.

The Loyal are led by principal owner Andrew Vassiliadis and supporting owner Donovan. The club joined the USL Championship in 2020 and has played on campus at the University of San Diego.

“Having a modern, commercially viable stadium solution is vital to our clubs’ long-term success and is a pillar of the USL’s growth strategy,” said Justin Papadakis, the USL deputy CEO. “Despite collectively pursuing multiple potential options with SD Loyal’s leadership in the San Diego area, an appropriate stadium solution has not materialized.”

The team qualified for the USL Championship playoffs the past two years and currently is in playoff position in the 24-team league.

“Bottom line, no matter how well a team performs on the field, having the right stadium situation is essential for all professional sports teams,” Papadakis said. “We are working with our current and expansion clubs to develop soccer-specific stadiums that will ensure a strong commercial foundation for the clubs and give fans a place to call home for decades.”

–Field Level Media

Carlos Vela scored one goal and assisted another in his first match since he incurred a leg injury early this month and Los Angeles FC romped to a 4-0 victory over the visiting Colorado Rapids on Wednesday night.

Mateusz Bogusz and Ryan Hollingshead also scored before halftime for LAFC (11-6-7, 40 points) in a game that was postponed from Saturday because of the impact of Hurricane Hilary in Southern California over the weekend.

Recent addition Cristian Olivera scored his first MLS goal on his league debut to give some late insurance for the Black & Gold as they moved into sole possession of second place in the Western Conference, four points back of St. Louis City.

John McCarthy made four stops to keep his eighth clean sheet of the season and LAFC’s ninth.

Colorado (3-11-10, 19 points) failed to score for the 13th time this season despite seeing Diego Rubio make his first MLS appearance since May 13 after recovering from an upper-body injury.

Brazilian summer signing Rafael Navarro also made his league debut up top alongside Rubio but couldn’t help the Rapids generate a consistent attacking threat.

Last-place Colorado was outshot 20-13 overall and 8-4 in terms of efforts on target while failing to narrow the 12-point gap between their position and the West playoff line.

Bogusz opened the scoring in the 19th minute on one of LAFC’s trademark counterattacks. It was Vela with the ball in space who sprayed it left, where Bogusz took it and curled a right-footed finish beyond goalkeeper Marko Ilic and narrowly inside the right post.

Vela got his goal 10 minutes later when Ilie Sanchez spotted him from the left flank with an incisive pass toward the penalty arc. Vela held his run to receive it, then turned with his first touch and finished cleanly to double the home side’s lead.

Hollingshead was a little more fortunate to add his second league goal of the season on a run down the left in the 36th minute. The left back appeared to be trying to spot new signing Mario Gonzalez with a cross from the opposite flank. Instead, Hollingshead’s out-swinging cross attempt sailed past Ilic and nestled perfectly inside the side netting to make it 3-0.

–Field Level Media

Adalberto Carrasquilla scored halfway through the 30 minutes of extra time, propelling the host Houston Dynamo to a 3-1 victory over Real Salt Lake in a U.S. Open Cup semifinal match on Wednesday.

Houston will play for the title Sept. 27 at Inter Miami, a 5-4 winner in penalties winner over host FC Cincinnati after a 3-3 tie in the other semifinal on Wednesday. If Salt Lake had won it, the title match would have been played in Utah.

Carrasquilla took a pass from Amine Bassi 30 yards out and dribbled to the top of the box on the right side before striking a shot to the lower left corner.

RSL went down a player in the 119th minute when Brayan Vera received a red card. Houston’s Luis Caicedo tacked on a goal in the fifth minute of game-ending stoppage time, with Bassi contributing his third assist, to make it 3-1.

Hector Herrera gave Houston the lead in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time before Salt Lake’s Anderson Julio made it 1-1 in the 64th.

While the Dynamo carried a 1-0 lead into the halftime, they would have had a two-goal advantage if not for a goal that was overturned after a video review.

Herrera scored in front after a poor clearance by Andrew Brody, who lost control of the ball while looking for an outlet. Bassi took advantage of the giveaway and fed Herrera for his shot inside the right post.

Three minutes later, Corey Baird appeared to score off a Houston set piece, but he was ruled offside.

RSL got the equalizer on the counter after goalie Zac MacMath made a strong save on a shot by the Dynamo’s Franco Escobar. The play went the other way, and Jefferson Savarino’s cross was headed in by Julio.

Houston coach Ben Olsen led D.C. United to the 2013 U.S. Open championship, beating Salt Lake in RSL’s lone final appearance.

He is seeking to become the third MLS coach to win Open Cups with multiple teams, joining Sigi Schmid (LA Galaxy, 2001; Seattle Sounders, 2009-11 and 2014) and Oscar Pareja (FC Dallas, 2016 and Orlando City, 2022).

The Dynamo and RSL will face off again on Saturday in an MLS match at Sandy, Utah.

–Field Level Media

Lionel Messi is a match away from helping Inter Miami win their second major trophy since his arrival after they won another penalty shootout to advance past host FC Cincinnati in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals following a 3-3 draw on Wednesday.

Drake Callender saved a penalty from Nick Hagglund to play hero for the second time in as many matches, and Benjamin Cremaschi converted Miami’s final spot kick to earn a 5-4 win in the tiebreaker after a wild match.

Messi failed to score for the first time since joining Miami last month, but he assisted on two second-half headed goals by Leonardo Campana to help the Herons fight out of a two-goal hole and force extra time. The match was tied 2-2 after 90 minutes.

Messi’s unbeaten run with the Herons remained intact through eight matches, four days after he helped Miami defeat Nashville SC on penalties in the Leagues Cup final, with Callender making two saves in that shootout.

The Leagues Cup title marked Miami’s first major silverware since it entered Major League Soccer in 2020 as an expansion team. Now the Herons will play for a second on Sept. 27 when they host the Houston Dynamo, who beat Real Salt Lake 3-1 on Wednesday in the second semifinal.

Josef Martinez gave Miami the lead in the first half of extra time before Yuya Kubo’s equalizer in the second extra-time half forced penalties.

Luciano Acosta scored early, and Brandon Vazquez added a goal early in the second half to give Cincinnati a 2-0 lead.

FC Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan removed both goal-scorers later in regulation in favor of defensive reinforcements to try to close out the victory.

Martinez, who started alongside Messi in the last six Leagues Cup matches, came off the bench late on Wednesday.

He gave the Herons their first lead of the evening only three minutes into extra time when he ran onto an excellent throughball from Cremaschi and pounded a low finish past Cincinnati goalie Alec Kann.

However, after Kubo had a potential goal disallowed in regulation for a correct handball decision, he pulled the hosts level with an exceptional strike in the 114th minute.

–Field Level Media

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will play in a major semifinal for the second time in eight days when they visit FC Cincinnati on Wednesday night in the U.S. Open Cup.

Messi and the Herons will be only four days removed from their remarkable run to win the inaugural 2023 Leagues Cup, defeating Nashville SC on penalties following a 1-1 draw in Saturday night’s final.

QUICK PICK
It will be Miami’s third consecutive road match and Cincinnati may represent, arguably, its toughest opponent yet.

Cincinnati currently leads the race for the MLS Supporters’ Shield, awarded at the end of the season to the team with the best regular-season record. They have taken an impressive 34 out of 36 possible points in 12 league home games, being held to a draw only by New England on July 1.

Miami opened as the -105 favorite at BetMGM, but those odds have lengthened to +130 while 91 percent of the match bets and 93 percent of the money wagered has backed the Herons. Cincinnati has drawn just 7 and 4 percent of the action, respectively, while its odds have shifted a bit from +170 to +150.

The public sentiment is clearly backing Messi and Miami, and for good reason. But Cincinnati has an outstanding home record as it attempts to avoid consecutive losses for the first time this year across all competitions.

Our Pick: FC Cincinnati 2, Inter Miami 1

THE NEWS
The lone Miami goal in regulation of the Leagues Cup final came from Messi, his 10th of the tournament, as he started his sixth consecutive match after making his debut for his new club off the bench in the tournament opener.

Despite a heavy workload for Messi, Herons manager Tata Martino says the Argentine superstar will still be in the starting lineup Wednesday.

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, awarded to the top player in the world each year, has delivered a dynamic and busy start to his Inter Miami tenure after previously playing for top clubs FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.

“We said that at some point he would have to rest because of the load of minutes played,” Martino told reporters Monday, according to a translation from ESPN FC. “Clearly, Wednesday is not going to be that day. If he does not tell me he wants to rest, he will continue to play.”

But the Orange and Blue are actually facing a shorter turnaround than the Herons, following a 3-0 loss at Columbus in their return to league play Sunday after the conclusion of Leagues Cup.

“There’s no relief after a performance like that,” Cincinnati manager Pat Noonan said. “You try to use some of the things that we saw (against Columbus) in a negative way to build and have a better overall team performance on Wednesday.”

KEY STAT
Another Argentina product — Luciano Acosta — currently leads Cincinnati and is tied for second in MLS with 12 goals.

PROP PICK
Messi to Score Anytime Goal (-125 at BetMGM): Messi has 10 goals through his first seven games in Miami, so it’s difficult to pick against him extending the hot streak if he told Martino he’s ready to play. This has been the book’s second-most popular prop pick for the match, just ahead of Messi at +400 to score at least twice.

Most Popular Messi Props
–Lionel Messi to score anytime goal (-125)
–Lionel Messi to score 2 or more goals (+400)
–Lionel Messi to score 1st goal (+320)
–Lionel Messi to score 3 or more goals (+1400)

–Field Level Media

Colorado Rapids goalkeeper William Yarbrough is expected to be out of action for six to eight weeks after a surgical procedure for a torn meniscus in his right knee, the team said Tuesday.

Yarbrough played in the Rapids’ most recent match, making two saves in a 4-1 loss to Toluca on July 31 in a Leagues Cup group stage contest.

This MLS regular season, he started 20 games without being substituted, allowing 25 goals and making 67 saves with a 72.8 save percentage. His seven clean sheets are tied for fifth in MLS.

Yarbrough, 34, has played for Colorado since 2020. He leads the franchise in career shutouts (33) while in the top three all-time in saves (318), goalkeeper appearances (101) and goalkeeper wins (37, to 31 losses and 33 draws).

Colorado is last in the Western Conference at 3-10-10 (19 points).

–Field Level Media

Los Angeles FC and the Colorado Rapids could both see crucial attackers return to the fold when they resume their league schedule on Wednesday night in Southern California.

Club all-time leading scorer Carlos Vela could resurface for LAFC (10-6-7, 37 points) for the first time since he departed a 7-1 victory over FC Juarez in Leagues Cup play Aug. 2 with a leg injury.

Vela, now age 34 and four years removed from his 2019 MLS MVP season, had shown some of his most consistent attacking form since that brilliant campaign in recent weeks.

Vela scored four of his eight goals this season in his last eight MLS matches and had two more against Juarez before injury forced him out of the tournament.

Even if he might not be ready to play 90 minutes following the injury hiatus, Vela has shown the ability to influence matches off the bench this season, scoring two of his eight MLS goals as a substitute.

“Carlos is ready and ready to contribute again,” manager Steve Cherundolo said last week before Tropical Storm Hilary forced the match against Colorado to be postponed from Sunday to Wednesday. “Before that smaller issue, he was in real good form, and from what I can tell you on the training field, he’s back. So we’re excited to have him back on the field.”

Colorado’s Diego Rubio could play for the first time since May 13 after a prolonged absence for an upper-body ailment.

Rubio was the Rapids’ leading scorer with a career-best 16 goals last season. Without him, no Colorado player has more than two goals this season.

A pair of summer loan signings — striker Rafael Navarro and midfielder Sidnei Tavares — could also make their club debuts for the last-place Rapids (3-10-10, 19 points), who begin the day 12 points beneath the Western Conference playoff line.

The Rapids announced on Tuesday that goalkeeper William Yarbrough had a successful procedure on the torn meniscus in his right knee and will be sidelined for six to eight weeks. Yarbrough has seven shutouts, tied for fifth in the MLS this season.

Colorado hasn’t played since July after exiting the Leagues Cup in the group stage.

“We’re getting guys healthy, and we’ve incorporated some new players,” Rapids manager Robin Fraser said earlier this week. “So it’s actually been a good thing for us to take a break from playing games and really get to work on a few things and incorporate or reincorporate players.”

–Field Level Media