Good. Looked fun on TV. I was wondering if that was the same Colin Martin. My wife talked him out of a jersey when he was new here since her maiden name is Martin - it is a very small jersey.
That match was a slog. I actually thought Richmond showed more quality in the attack, but I sure didn't see any "gee that guy could play in MLS" types out there. The fact that the announcers kept praising Drew Skundrich's quality says all that needs to be said about the match.
Interesting, MLS YouTube page was streaming the game involving two teams that aren't in their league(s).
yeah, I thought that was interesting too. Even more interesting; when I went to their page to find it, it was not listed anywhere, luckily I had copied that link here from the cup.us site
Loudon is coming out to visit me. I think I will go and see them play. I've never seen them before and it looks like LAFC is taking this tournament seriously so it should be interesting.
Just don't expect too much. My daughter and I went to Segra last year to watch the USOC match between Loudoun and Columbus. It was over within the first 10 minutes. Columbus up 2-0 and Samake with a DOGSO red.
I would not expect too much from Loudoun either based on their USL play in general - but so far in this tournament, the USL teams are playing significantly better in USOC as they have in the weeks surrounding during normal league play. For a recent example: Loudoun and Detroit played to a relatively uninspiring 0-0 draw on a recent weekend, then Detroit went out and beat Houston the next week.
And that is what make the Open Cup interesting. The USL teams get up for the match, it's their season highpoint. The Detroit-Houston match is a perfect example. Detroit came back twice in that game against a squad that had HH, Carrasquilla, Dorsey, and Artur all playing.
Did anybody watch last night's game? Did they ever end up telling us what the hell happened toward the end (late 70s minute into 80s) where the ref stopped play, talked to both Captains, then his headset, then went and talked to both coaches, everyone walked around for a bit, then they continued play - indirectly led to 11 minutes of stoppage ..... I turned it off after the whistle blew and they hadn't explained anything by then. I hope someone wrote something somewhere; I don't expect much with sparse USL coverage.
USL's youtube highlight reel had nothing on it, just jumps from play to an NC direct kick around the 80th minute with the announcer cryptically mentioning there will be about 10 minutes of added time. But that was it. Possibly it was in relation to a yellow card Lamar Batista received in the 74th, because when he received a yellow in the 102' for a dangerous challenge from behind and therefore red the commentator noted that the "ref has been wanting to give him a red." That would seem to refer to earlier happenings. That ref gave yellows like they were party favors, 9 in all. But after too much taxpayer time I havent been able to find any news or discussion of the game either.
Reminder - LOUDOUN vs lafc Tonite @ 10:30ish https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZeg5wghjPjIOP3cBhkupD_pVla8PuOnQ For those of you similarly afflicted, Charleston Battery takes on the fakest of MLS Uniteds at 7 on the same link (and a few other less interesting team's games as well).
I'll be there in person...somewhere. Open seating on the East side (and the Supporters continue their thing).
Of all 3 local teams, Loudoun's Friday night game against Lost Wages was hands down the best of the 3. If you like good goalkeeping, especially, this is a game to go back and watch. I saw it on channel 25 and I don't think they make replays available, but I think they said it was also on ESPN+ and I believe they do have replays - hopefully it was the same announcers.
would that this is what the big kids team was sending out.... As I sit in the home locker room writing this newsletter, it’s hard to believe it’s already been a month since I wrote my first edition of Pitchside. I guess time flies when you’re having fun and winning matches! The past four games have seen us pick up two draws and two wins, but more importantly, four more stellar performances in which I believe we deserved to pick up wins. We’re currently seven unbeaten in league play – the longest streak in club history, including a very impressive five shutouts, and this stretch genuinely could’ve seen us win all seven in a row had a couple of unlucky bounces gone our way. I used “fun” earlier, because Segra Field is exactly that at the moment. Game days are vibrant and full of expectation. The locker room has a youthful and expectant buzz pre-game, and for the first time in what I believe to be a long time, this group of players and staff are heading into games expecting to win rather than hoping. The 2-0 win vs Tampa followed by a 3-0 victory vs Hartford weren’t just great performances, but a stake in the ground signaling exactly who Loudoun United can be in 2024. If we perform at this level for the rest of the year, we won’t just be competing in playoff soccer in November, we’ll make a deep run. We’re not resting on our laurels though. The USL is an unforgiving league, and the moment you take your foot off the gas you make yourself vulnerable to the other great teams we compete against. The players and staff took well-deserved days off from July 4-7, and we returned on the 8th ready to defend our seven-game unbeaten streak. I used the word “hope” earlier this week in a video interview, and for the first time since perhaps the club’s first year of operation, there is genuine hope in the air in Northern Virginia. The county’s only professional sports team has been reinvigorated since Greg Baroni and Attain Sports decided to invest in the club, and I’m thankful I’m allowed to be a part of the journey. We’re continuing to look at ways to improve the facilities at Segra Field for the players and staff, and behind the scenes, we’re deep in discussions with a couple of technology providers that will help boost our player recruitment and match analysis capability. I hope to see you out on July 24 for our next home match, as we have just seven regular-season home games remaining. Thank you for reading and I look forward to next month’s edition of Pitchside! Oliver Gage
I was very excited to watch the Loudoun vs Charleston game tonight as they are my two favorite USL sides - but I just noticed the game is NOT tonight - it's THIS MORNING!! 11am ESPN+