Loudoun United FC will play their twentieth match of the 2022 United Soccer League (USL) Championship regular season against Birmingham Legion FC on Wednesday, July 27 at 8:00 PM EST. This will be the second matchup against the Birmingham-side this season.
Loudoun United News
Loudoun United FC (LUFC) enter Wednesday’s matchup 1-3-1 in the last five outings. The Red-and-White were defeated at home against Miami FC following a game winning goal in stoppage time. The match was delayed over an hour due to inclement weather.
This will be Loudoun United’s second midweek matchup of the 2022 USL Championship season. The only other Wednesday matchup was a victory for LUFC on June 8 against New York Red Bulls II.
Abdoul Zanne recorded his second goal of the season in the 13th minute of the match. Kristian Fletcher started his first professional match for Loudoun United FC, recording three shots in 65 minutes. Midfielder Jeremy Garay claimed his 50th appearance for the club. The homegrown D.C. United signing has one assist in nine appearances this season.
Head Coach Ryan Martin on the Upcoming Match
“This Wednesday match comes at a great time because you don’t have a whole lot of time to dwell on mistakes or anything that may have gone wrong in the last match…Birmingham is one of the more talented teams in the league. Tremendous quality in almost every position [with their] size and athleticism. They are well coached by [Head Coach] Tom [Soehn]. It is going to be a very hard challenge, but we are looking forward to it. We’ve had a very tight game here [at Segra Field] when we played them last time and for us, it’s ‘can we continue to be dangerous in the attack’, ‘can we keep our structure’, ‘can we be ruthless in front of goal’ and try to win the restart battle. If we can do that then we think we can have a decent outing.”
How can I Follow the Match?
Wednesday’s match will be available to stream on ESPN+.
About Birmingham Legion FC
Birmingham Legion FC are 9-6-5 in the 2022 USL Championship. Birmingham have struggled at Protective Stadium, only winning three out of 10 matches. The last match at Protective Stadium was a 0-2 loss for Birmingham Legion against FC Tulsa. Birmingham is 2-2-1 in their last five outings.
Enzo Martinez leads the frontline with six goals in 20 appearances. Goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel has recorded eight clean sheets in 19 appearances (T-1st in league).
On Tuesday, the USL Championship announced the second yellow card issued to Birmingham Legion FC defender Ryan James on Saturday night during the club’s contest against FC Tulsa had been overturned by the Independent Review Panel. The decision will allow James to be available for selection against Loudoun United FC.
Match Up History
This will be the fourth matchup between the two clubs. The last matchup between the two eastern conference opponents was Sunday, April 24 at Segra Field. The matchup ended 1-2 in favor of the visitors. Loudoun played with 10-men for 20 minutes after a red card in the 71st minute. Abdoul Zanne recorded his first goal with LUFC in the 80th minute.
