There is a certain inherent depression to sports in most every manner, macro or micro. Coaches are hired to be fired, players are signed in order to be traded, games are won, sometimes consecutively, before they are lost. And Wednesday morning, Loudoun hit that depression again, for the first time in 71 days since a 2-0 loss at North Carolina, dropping a 2-1 loss to Charleston. That it didn’t happen sooner was stunning, that it happened today was not entirely surprising, that it could have been extended further was heartening.

BREAKING NEWS: Good teams are good! I extolled the virtues of Chucktown on DC News Now’s pregame show, and one of the things I said was, since John Morrissey wrote about what’s wrong with Charleston’s offense, they’ve not lost their last (now) five games by a total of 13-5, with two goals a game (after their initial five spot). But there’s a reason why they’re good, and it’s because everyone pitches in. One of the things I mentioned was Indy’s ability to stick close to Tommy McCabe and Drew Skundrich served as an adjustment moment for Loudoun in that game and maybe a blueprint for the Battery Wednesday. Skundrich did not have as much time on the ball to get his head up and send something ahead, with two turnovers in the first 15 minutes of the game (Skundrich was substituted out at halftime as part of a tactical adjustment by Ryan Martin). The press allowed for the Battery’s second goal:

There was another moment that made me shake my head in impression, and it was Aaron Malloy, marking Tommy Williamson in the 92nd minute, taking a tactical foul in a game on short turnaround, playing at a time that has thrown off all of the players’ body clocks, happy to take the card not because he was gassed, but he had to. Dude’s a player on a team full of them, and that first 45 was a humbler.

However… Loudoun brought on Abdellatif Aboukoura and Izzy Johnston at halftime for Skundrich and Keegan Hughes and both impressed (they created three chances, more than Flo Valot, Zach Ryan and Wes Leggett), but Johnston’s action map was…promising?

Loudoun has employed some tactical flexibility over the course of the first half of the season but haven’t found someone that could be a pure chance creator. It remains to be seen if Johnston can do it, but this is a good first step to having another club in the bag.

And also…Game states and such, but Loudoun looked great in the second half! The team’s switch to a 4-4-2 got more players forward and allowed Zach Ryan to work a little freer as opposed to linking up a portion of the time. Following a first half where they were outshot 6-2, Loudoun outshot Charleston 9-4 in the second half and their six second half shots on target led the game as well, with a nice save on a second half shot by Ryan and this last gasp separating a tie or potential win:

A referendum of sorts? When Loudoun played Indy Eleven two weeks ago, they bossed most of the game and felt (rightly) hard done by a 1-1 draw. And the shiny new toy goes up against the vaunted foe for the first time in a variety of modalities. Loudoun’s first game against Charleston in 2024 found them learning some lessons, but also they could enjoy some positive things walking away from it.

Random Stat of the Day: 1.48, the amount of Expected Player Goals that both Loudoun and Charleston logged in Wednesday’s game via ASA (team xG put things at 1.48 Charleston – 1.38 Loudoun).

So, where does this leave us? Loudoun can take the second half and chop it up and put it into their veins for pure unadulterated optimism. They can also realize they get back on the horse quickly, playing a Pittsburgh side looking to close out a three-game homestand with a third straight win. Loudoun has yet to win in Yinzerville, and a loss Saturday combined with a variety of results could see them closer to the red line for comfort than they would like. They get the comfort knowing their effort was pretty good, are potentially buoyed by seeing Kalil ElMedkhar and Williamson seeing their first playing time in weeks due to respective rib and foot injuries, which is particularly needed giving the news of Riley Bidois’s hamstring tear just before the Olympics began for New Zealand.

You win them so you can lose them, and now Loudoun has to get back up so they can win them once again.