Loudoun United vs. Oakland Roots: When and how to watch, what to watch for

Following their most complete performance of the season in a 3-0 win over Birmingham Legion last week, there will not be a letdown for Loudoun United as they host Oakland Roots SC. Like Loudoun, Oakland is also on seven points after five games in 2023, but more than that Oakland is the fourth team who made last season’s playoffs, and the third of the final four teams in the Western Conference postseason in 2022, that Loudoun will be facing in 2023, and April’s not over yet. With a busy week in front of them which includes an Open Cup game and a trip out West, they’ll want to start the week on a good note and use an early game in hand for some separation in the Eastern Conference.

The Opposition

Oakland was treading water a little bit last season with new head coach Juan Guerra, though they managed to thump Loudoun in their first match against each other last season. Guerra then was removed as coach in August and days later joined Phoenix Rising (whom Loudoun will play this coming Saturday night), while Roots assistant Noah Delgado took over, the team used the new coach bounce to play above .500 and went to the playoffs, upsetting San Diego in the process. Edgardo Rito is a returnee and leads the team in created chances (11), and Irakoze Donasiyano has a homecoming of sorts after playing college ball at Virginia, serves as a multipurpose winger and fullback that can present problems on the outside. The defense has been decent as well, despite their home loss last week, recorded back-to-back-shutout wins.

Your Random Stat

4 – The number of categories Oakland and Loudoun are tied in (wins, points, goals for, goals against, pass accuracy), and are neck and neck in shots for (63 vs 62).

How to watch

Match date/kickoff time: Sunday, April 23, 4:00pm ET

Venue: Segra Field, Leesburg, VA (tickets are available here for the compelled)

Online Streaming: ESPN+

Loudoun Unavailables: Alex Nagy (ACL) and Kwame Awuah (achilles) are both out for the season, Cole Turner (meniscus) is out until approximately August.