Loudoun United vs. Flower City Union: When and how to watch, what to watch for

The last time Flower City Union played players from Loudoun, it was when the latter were loaned up to D.C. United in the 2022 Open Cup. That match, a 3-0 win, was ultimately the beginning of the end for Hernan Losada in D.C.. 53 weeks later, Flower City comes back to entertain Loudoun again, this time at Segra Field, this time with Loudoun United players under the Loudoun banner. Loudoun will try to do three things, survive, advance, and equal a club record of four straight wins, which has not happened since Ryan Martin’s first year helming Loudoun in 2019.

The Opposition

The NISA side didn’t start well in their inaugural campaign, going 2-18-3 and finishing last in the League in 2022. This year they’ve also been off to a slow start in League, losing both of their games to 1-0 scores. Like last year, advanced into the third round of the tournament, beating Manhattan SC in the second round earlier this month, while Loudoun dispatched North Carolina in extra time. Flower City has an interesting group, with John Requejo appearing at the United States youth national team level, Mumbi Kwesele and Matt Bolduc are former Richmond Kickers (who are playing D.C. at Audi Field tonight).

What to Know Before Kickoff

There was a tiny bit of rotation by Ryan Martin Sunday when Loudoun won 2-0 at home against Oakland, so he was manage to give right back Koa Santos a break ahead of tonight, and travel Friday for the game at Phoenix Saturday. There may be another spot or two of rotation today ahead of said trip, but Martin isn’t putting in the contracted Academy players or anything like that, so by Loudoun standards, a strong-ish group.

Your random stat

9 – The number of goals Loudoun has scored in USL play so far this season in six games. It took them ten games to reach that same figure in 2022.

How to Watch

Match date/kickoff time: Wednesday, April 26, 7:00pm ET

Venue: Segra Field, Leesburg, VA (tickets are available here for the compelled, and folks on the nice side of the bridge can find freebies if they check their youth soccer concerns)

Online Streaming: Eleven Sports will have a stream, and there’s a chance I may try to play around with Twitch also.

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