Soccer can be a weird sport, man. Coming into Sunday’s game with Pittsburgh, Loudoun United had drawn their last two games at home with Orange County and Charlotte, and looked perhaps a teensy bit sluggish in not taking advantage of their home field. But then they go on the road and get another draw (2-2 with Pittsburgh), but look pretty good doing so. What changed? Here’s the highlights for you to decide as you wish:

Next men up. With Zach Ryan out to a red card suspension, and Abdellatif Aboukoura missing to injury (he had taken a hard tackle in the OCSC game and subbed out shortly thereafter), things took a different turn. Florian Valot, noted talented football player and Aboukoura influencer, took over on the left side of attack, and got a chance to show why he’s still good:

He sprung Wesley Leggett on the ball that led to Riley Bidois’ goal, his pass that led to Ben Mines’ tying effort kind of pinballed (but still counts!), he provided help in back when it was needed and turned in a solid effort, as did Moses Nyeman, who started the break on said goal, missed only four passes on the night and showed his off the ball space and continues to quietly deliver on his own solid performances in 2025:

On the benefits of familiarity. Occasionally in Hounds postgame scenes I drop Hounds coach Bob Lilley’s name to Ryan Martin to get his thoughts on the game, but the thing that struck me during that game was something that Mike Watts and Devon Kerr shared about Lilley, in that his tactics and strategies constantly change around his team, so they can stay fresh. I didn’t get the chance to ask Martin about this afterwards, but Lilley and Kerr noted that Loudoun were first to most of the first and second balls over the course of the early stages of the game. Between the Hounds being, well, the Hounds, and Loudoun’s need to stop their form at the moment, provided some motivation for the team to come in hot, which helped them tremendously.

What made their performance more impressive is they still had those obstacles thrown at them and still managed to come out with a point. Loudoun had 1 shot over a near 60-minute stretch within the game, then had six in the last 12 minutes of play, including Mines’ tying goal in the 92nd, and turned in the best xG number Pittsburgh has allowed since Charleston came to town in April.

Random Stat of the Day: 4, the number of points Loudoun has taken from both Hounds games this year, and is the first time Loudoun will go a season without losing to Pittsburgh, unless they meet again in the playoffs.

Your Moment of Zen: A secondary SotD being 2, the number of new Dads to the club:

So, where does this leave us? Well, if Loudoun truly has gotten their groove back, perhaps they’re in decent shape; they host Oakland who are tied with OCSC at 10th in the 12-team West, in a return of sorts for former Loudoun midfielder Panos Armenakas, who may play with a chip on his shoulder, so it’s not a complete gimme; said game with OCSC should illustrate that. Then Loudoun go on the road for their next three, including their last Jagermeister Cup group game, with a chance to advance into the knockout rounds.

Loudoun’s first half of 2025 went better than almost anyone outside of the locker room could have expected, and they will want to get the second half off to a good note and surpass even their expectations.