{"id":3389,"date":"2026-08-12T00:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T00:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/?p=3389"},"modified":"2026-08-12T00:09:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T00:09:22","slug":"club-santos-laguna-defeats-annapolis-blues-in-international-friendly-at-navy-marine-corps-memorial-stadium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/?p=3389","title":{"rendered":"Club Santos Laguna Defeats Annapolis Blues in International Friendly at Navy\u2013Marine Corps Memorial Stadium"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Story & Photos by Shawn Payne<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Match Date: June 23, 2026 | Navy\u2013Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Maryland | International Friendly<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ANNAPOLIS, Md. \u2014 Annapolis Blues FC welcomed Liga MX side Santos Laguna to Navy\u2013Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on June 23 for an international friendly that gave the home side a rare opportunity to test itself against established professional opposition from Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The occasion carried a different feel from a typical league night in Annapolis. Santos brought the experience and pedigree of a top-flight Mexican club, while the Blues stepped onto their home field with the chance to measure themselves against a team accustomed to a higher professional level. The contrast in backgrounds gave the match an added sense of occasion before the opening whistle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Santos
A Santos Laguna defender stays composed in possession as an Annapolis Blues forward applies heavy pressure during the international friendly at Navy\u2013Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Santos struck first in the opening half when Diego Gonz\u00e1lez put the visitors in front, giving the Mexican side a 1\u20130 advantage. The visitors had an opportunity to extend the lead before halftime from the penalty spot, but the chance went unfinished and Annapolis remained within a goal at the break.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Annapolis
An Annapolis Blues midfielder battles through pressure to keep possession as Santos Laguna closes in.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Annapolis continued to compete after halftime, working to stay organized against a Santos side that was comfortable moving the ball and looking for openings. The Blues were forced into repeated defensive challenges while still searching for opportunities to push forward and create something of their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Annapolis
A player remains down after a heavy challenge as play pauses during the second half in Annapolis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Annapolis
Annapolis supporters keeping the tempo high during the International Friendly against Club Santos Lagunas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Referee
The referee delivers a firm warning as tensions rise during the second half between Annapolis Blues and Santos Laguna.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Santos eventually found the second goal through Lucas Di Yorio, giving the visitors a 2\u20130 advantage and putting the match beyond the Blues. The final score reflected Santos\u2019 greater efficiency in front of goal, but the night offered Annapolis something different from its regular-season schedule: a chance to share the field with Liga MX opposition in front of its home supporters.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Annapolis
Annapolis Blues and Santos Laguna players exchange handshakes after the final whistle, closing out the international friendly in Annapolis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For Annapolis, the value of the evening extended beyond the result. International friendlies provide a different type of test, and the matchup with Santos brought another high-profile soccer event to Navy\u2013Marine Corps Memorial Stadium while giving the Blues and their supporters a look at competition from outside the American league system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

June 23, 2026 \u2022 Story & Photos by Shawn Payne<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3397,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[19,20,21],"class_list":["post-3389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international-friendly","tag-annapolis-blues","tag-club-santos-lagunas","tag-international-friendly"],"blocksy_meta":{"has_hero_section":"enabled","hero_elements":[{"id":"custom_title","enabled":true,"heading_tag":"h1","title":"Home","__id":"1kfZzYBohQ88bBoWRFCiY"},{"id":"custom_description","enabled":true,"description_visibility":{"desktop":true,"tablet":true,"mobile":false},"__id":"-w1XxBAumL8qV1Nvia6dK"},{"id":"custom_meta","enabled":true,"meta_elements":[{"id":"author","enabled":false,"label":"By","has_author_avatar":"yes","avatar_size":25,"__id":"DiroscILhcyiC5nGOQ4rK"},{"id":"post_date","enabled":false,"label":"On","date_format_source":"default","date_format":"M j, Y","__id":"7pfG3mUrzTz4_9gBiByOx"},{"id":"updated_date","enabled":false,"label":"On","date_format_source":"default","date_format":"M j, Y","__id":"i03TqVQtLy6Zr0FO4dZF-"},{"id":"categories","enabled":false,"label":"In","style":"simple","__id":"RXIeZleg9yxUSLdRJUFHX"},{"id":"comments","enabled":false,"__id":"UR0TRcNe0eFcoTiwOtnMl"}],"page_meta_elements":{"joined":true,"articles_count":true,"comments":true},"__id":"xhP-FmgQ_3zWfF1t9T2t2"},{"id":"breadcrumbs","enabled":false,"__id":"FhrDByEHoTSMCE1qbxgKZ"}],"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"[data-prefix=\"single_blog_post\"] .entry-header .page-title {--theme-font-size:30px;} [data-prefix=\"single_blog_post\"] .entry-header .entry-meta {--theme-font-weight:600;--theme-text-transform:uppercase;--theme-font-size:12px;--theme-line-height:1.3;} [data-prefix=\"single_blog_post\"] .hero-section[data-type=\"type-2\"] {background-color:var(--theme-palette-color-6);background-image:none;--container-padding:50px 0px;}","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7},"hero_section":"type-2"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3389"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3399,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3389\/revisions\/3399"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}