Tonight, DC Power Football Club come home for the first time. After playing their first three games away, the fledgling team, a member of the new USL Super League, will face Fort Lauderdale United FC in Buzzard Point for their first ever home game.

“It’s been a long time coming, and I think a lot of us have a little extra oomph,” midfielder Katrina Guillou said of the chance to play in front of their home crowd. Guillou thought playing at home would give Power FC an advantage in tonight’s match, providing them with some “extra energy, especially towards late in the game.”

For Guillou, like many of the players, the DMV really is home. The team made a point of recruiting players who grew up in the area who will have the chance, sometimes for the first time in their professional careers, to play in front of friends of family. Head coach Frédéric Brillant also said he considers the stadium home, having played and coached for D.C. United.

Three games into the season, Brillant he’s “starting to see the identity” of Power FC (0-2-1, W-D-L) on the field and that, though they haven’t had much time together as a full group, “I’m very pleased right now with how we are working and with what we are trying to show.” There are still some areas for growth, though, as Brillant recognized.

“I want my team to be even more confident and play with more freedom, you know? And just relax on the ball.”

Brillant has focused on training his team into a possession-based style, which Guillou described as “we like to have the ball as much as possible.”

“They’re [the coaching staff] very much focused on being a team with the ball and enjoying possession, and I think all the girls here quite love that,” Guillou said. “It’s always nice to have it instead of defending, but just trusting ourselves more and realizing we have more time on the ball than we actually think and just staying calm in situations.”

Fort Lauderdale United FC (0-1-1) were difficult to scout, according to Brillant, having played with different styles in their only two games so far. Though they haven’t had a win yet, Brillant clearly took them seriously during training this week. He said United’s players are “very fast, very strong” and that his team had prepared for one-on-one situations against them.

Brillant also said he has worked to improve his team’s confidence this week. With luck, that and their home crowd will boost them to a historic first win.

Key Player: Jorian Baucom

Power FC’s first signing recently became their first goal-scorer, when she capitalized on a mistake made by Dallas Trinity trying to build out of the back, capturing the ball and blowing past the goalkeeper to score. Baucom is a practiced attacker, with 25 goals in 32 appearances in her time at Hiberian Women’s Football Club, and she can be counted on to lead the way to victory for the Power.

Watch Out For: Sh’nia Gordon

A former NWSL and Division 1 Féminine player, Sh’nia Gordon plays as a striker for Fort Lauderdale. Gordon is skilled at reading ball movement and earned her first assist for the team last week, setting up fellow forward Ishata Hamid to score.

Challenges: DC have looked well-organized defensively, but they’ve struggled to create quality chances beyond some individual moments by players like Baucom. They’ll need to be more coordinated in possession to increase their number of shots on goal.

Location: Audi Field, Washington, DC
Kickoff time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Referee: Adorae Monroy
Available streaming: Peacock