In the last game that Loudoun United would play at D.C. United’s home for the time being, there was a bit of a feeling that they wanted to go out on a good note. And they did just that, beating the defending two-time USL Champions Louisville City 3-0 in front of 593 at Audi Field, winning their second consecutive game at home in the process.
The first half was quiet until Connor Presley joined a Loudoun counterattack from a pass by Carlos Alvarez, and nutmegged Devon “Speedy” Williams to the Audi Field turf, where he put a hopeful ball inside the area. Nobody from Loudoun was able to collect initially, but Antonio Bustamante gathered and fired a curling shot that beat Chris Hubbard on the left, kissed the right post and went into the net for the lead, Bustamante’s first goal as a pro. Less than 10 minutes later, Loudoun found their chances increase as defender Alexis Souahy pulled Kyle Murphy from a backpass to Hubbard. Referee Dejan Susak consulted with the linesman and determined that Souahy had earned a red card. Louisville played the rest of the half without making a tactical substitution for the central defender. Loudoun had some attempts, but a Murphy header wide of the box could easily have doubled Loudoun’s lead, but didn't.
The second half found Louisville starting aggressively, and lobbying for a penalty, but Dejan Susak thought Luke Spencer was helped along and didn't give it a kick. Late in the game, Moses Nyeman (on as a second half substitute) and Hubbard met for a loose ball, which sprung to Elvis Amoh (also a substitute, making his professional debut), and burying the rebound for the goal. As Louisville continued to press, Bustamante and Nyeman were past the defense on a counter, and Bustamante fed Nyeman for his first professional goal and the win.
“To be honest, with the results aside on the road trip, we felt like we were building and we’re growing and we’re getting better, “Martin said after the game. “I think that’s the biggest one for our guys. We’ve been up 1-0 against Indy [before losing 2-1] and we felt like we took our foot off the pedal and stopped playing, and you have to continue to finish out the game...they’re growing and they’re maturing and it takes time.”
Loudoun (5-8-4) goes on the road to play Atlanta United 2 Friday at 7:30pm.