There’s always a certain sense of skepticism when it comes to things from Week 1, isn’t there? It plagues most of the local soccer concern; DC United is still unbeaten, the Spirit have a trophy, heck, Loudoun United came into Saturday’s game at Birmingham having not lost in Week 1 in three years. Grand proclamations!

Birmingham may have been without “in-pen” starters in Enzo Martinez and AJ Paterson, but you play who’s in front of you. And while the Legion scoring after 61 seconds was suboptimal, Loudoun’s response thereafter, combined with the rest of their 88 minutes, led to a 3-1 win, the team’s first in the 205. So, anything grand to proclaim, or just more subtle stuff? Let’s take a peek.

Bouchy’s Beginning?

Abdellatif Aboukoura signed to a pro deal with Loudoun last year for a long-term (for the club) investment, and in 2024’s last few weeks, started to see prime minutes in key situations. When the offseason brought few newcomers, I wondered how it would look for those returning, including Bouchy.

Turns out, pretty good so far. Alternating between the left and middle, he scored the eventual game-winning goal, but it’s the work on the assist to Zach Ryan that impressed:

He senses the workaround (or so I think) around :03, then comes back to Kwame Awuah so he can make the run by Jake Rufe, pick it up with a great touch, and hits a perfect ball to Ryan for the brace. With a goal, assist and three created chances he *should* get player of the week, so in continuity he should be a MVP shoo-in for an undefeated Loudoun side in 7 months.

If he’s not but has more performances than not like this, this could answer a lingering question for Loudoun in 2025.

More like Hugo Weaving another win or something amirite?

Nice save by Hugo Fauroux which in retrospect could have changed a few game states if it didn’t:

Like Aboukoura, Fauroux AND Dane Jacomen returning was intriguing, until a loan option was found for Jacomen where he’ll spend the season with Westchester SC in League One (he logged 4 saves in their 1-1 draw with Greenville). More than that, Hugo doesn’t have to worry about the hook, if one existed after his breakthrough 2024, and he can pick things up where he left them off last year. Hey, continuity!

On fluidity.

Loudoun announced via socials that they would be running a 5-3-2 with Drew Skundrich in back, which looked quickly like a 4-4-2 and at times 4-2-3-1, the latter where Aboukoura, Florian Valot and Wesley Leggett took turns playing closer to Ryan. In back, Awuah and Keegan Tingey were a little more conservative positionally before eventually finding longer balls they could run to and working a little more with the attackers in front of them who could support them. The result was a decisive win over the course of the 90 both on the scoreboard and the xG battle (1.92 to 0.88), and the team getting off to another good start. And hey, stop the vote!

Random Stat of the Day: 1 (number of teams that scored more goals than Loudoun’s 3, as Orange County put 4 past Oakland).

So, where does this leave us? With a lot more games to go! Anyone who’s spent any time watching Loudoun play has seen this movie before; it starts good, even better than you expected, before things falter in the end. Loudoun keep the roadie going with games at North Carolina this week, and at Louisville City the following. Even with so many familiar faces, things will change for the team.

How they change is, at the moment, what they can control.