Thanks to the beginning of soccer season, Loudoun United was part of another home opener, this time on the road to Detroit City. While 2-1 may not have been the result they wanted, the game was (mostly) tightly played with chances on both sides, hopefully serving as a portent for both in seven months when the postseason comes calling. So shall we take a quick peak on the contest?

House of Horrors and Hugo. The game-winner stinks:

On beauty in snow: I enjoyed this, and still do:

Early in the second half, Skundrich put a lofted ball 40 yards onto Kalil ElMedkhar’s far shoulder for a chance on net also. This type of stuff didn’t come like this so quick for past Loudoun teams, and can only improve as the season matures.

Random Stat: 100 (The number of USL games Tommy McCabe has played, culminating in Saturday’s game).

So where does this leave us? I’ve seen my share of dreck from Loudoun at times and have been teased by engaging play in others. But this is easily the most cohesive group since the first season. If you look at ElMedkhar and Zach Ryan’s passes/90, they’ve dropped by a couple of passes Year over Year (ElMedkhar from 28.3 in 2023 to 25 this year so far, Ryan from 26.4 last year to 24 in 2024), and the team’s created chances so far (19) are a reason for optimism given the team created 32 total in 2023.

Of course it’s still early days, but hopefully some of last year’s players can return while this year’s can stay healthy, to make for an entertaining summer at Segra.