Acquired: Selected by Atlanta United with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 MLS Expansion Draft on Dec. 13, 2016.
Loyd joins Atlanta after spending his entire MLS career with FC Dallas where he was a mainstay on the club’s backline, appearing in 180 games. Known as a durable defender who can be deployed in multiple positions, Loyd brings a wealth of MLS experience, as he is second all-time in minutes played and games started for FC Dallas. Loyd has also appeared for the United States Men’s National Team with three caps.
2016 (FC Dallas): Loyd started 10 matches while making 12 appearances. He suffered a concussion in the U.S. Open Cup against Oklahoma City (June 16), which kept him out of action the rest of the season.
2015 (FC Dallas): Loyd made 28 appearances, all starts, and logged more than 2,000 minutes for the fifth-straight season. He recorded one assist to set up a David Texeira goal in a 4-1 win against Houston Dynamo (Oct. 4). PLAYOFFS: Loyd started all three playoff matches.
2014 (FC Dallas): Loyd made 29 appearances, 28 of which were starts. He scored one goal, an unassisted strike in stoppage-time of the first half of a 2-1 win against Colorado at Toyota Stadium (June 7). He finished the season on a 30-game streak of games started for Dallas (in MLS competitions, including MLS Cup Playoffs). PLAYOFFS: Started and played the full 90 minutes in all three matches.
2013 (FC Dallas): Loyd appeared in more than 24 matches for the fourth consecutive season. He logged more than 2,000 minutes for the third straight season and became the 16th player in franchise history to surpass 100 starts on Aug. 11 against the LA Galaxy.
2012 (FC Dallas): Loyd logged career highs in games played (32), games started (31), minutes played (2,696) and goals scored (2). He also had three assists, two of which were game-winning assists. Loyd scored FC Dallas’ first goal of the season when he slotted home a pass from Blas Perez in the 11th minute of MLS’s debut match against New York Red Bulls (March 11).
2011 (FC Dallas): Loyd ranked sixth in minutes played (3,215) across all competitions for FC Dallas. He scored one goal and four assists in league play. His lone goal, the first of his career, was a game-winner in an eventual 4-0 win against Portland (June 25). Two of his four assists were game-winners (2-1 win against Chicago on Oct. 12 and 2-1 win against LA on May 1). PLAYOFFS: Loyd started and played the full 90 minutes in the 2-0 loss to New York Red Bulls in the knockout round.
2010 (FC Dallas): Loyd was drafted in the first round (No. 5 overall) of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft. He made his professional debut in FC Dallas’ second match of the season, playing a full 90 minutes in a 2-2 draw with the Columbus Crew on April 10 at Toyota Stadium. Loyd finished the season in the top 10 for minutes played (1,769) among FC Dallas players. He ranked third in minutes played for players taken in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft. Loyd started 19 games and saw action in 24. PLAYOFFS: Loyd played in all four matches in Dallas’ run to the MLS Cup Final. He started the first leg match of the conference semifinals against Real Salt Lake and played the full 90 minutes. Loyd entered as a substitute in the 34th minute of the final against Colorado and logged 86 minutes as the game ended in extra time.
INTERNATIONAL: Loyd earned his first cap by starting and playing 73 minutes against Chile on Jan. 22, 2010. He also played in consecutive friendlies in 2012 against Venezuela (Jan. 22) and Panama (Jan. 26).
COLLEGE: Loyd scored seven goals and recorded 10 assists in his four years at North Carolina. He earned a spot on the NCAA College Cup All-Tournament Team his Junior year. Loyd set up the game-winner for FC Dallas’ 2009 draft pick Brian Shriver against No. 1 Wake Forest in the national semifinal advancing UNC to the College Cup final versus Maryland. He led the Tar Heels to back-to-back trip to the final four of the NCAA Tournament in 2008 and 2009.
