Loudoun United starts slow in 3-1 loss to Hartford Athletic

Loudoun United was happy to be back playing soccer (as they have said before), even if they did not have their usual serving of loaned players from D.C. United, as the Black-and-Red are all in Florida for the MLS is Back tournament. Coach Ryan Martin made due with what was available to him, and added some more components in the weeks leading up to the 2020 USL Championship restart, but it wasn’t enough to stop Hartford Athletic from handing them a 3-1 defeat at Dillon Stadium.

For Loudoun’s first game since their March 7 draw with the Philadelphia Union II, coach Ryan Martin gave midfielders Brandon Williamson and Massimo Ferrin their first pro starts, with the former in central midfield and the latter on the left side. But in the third minute, a Gabriel Torres corner kick was redirected by Kevin Politz and past Colin Miller for an early 1-0 Hartford lead. Loudoun struggled to regain composure as the first half wore on, and it seemed to be discouraged again in the 45th minute when Harry Swartz received an excellent lobbed flick from Danny Barrera and beat Miller for the 2-0 lead into halftime.

Halftime saw Loudoun bring Ted Ku-DiPietro on for Ferrin, and the game was sound until Tyreke Johnson, a halftime sub for Hartford for Ever Guzman, was able to go one on one against Loudoun defender Adam Lundegard (who had moments before landed hard after an aerial challenge), and put a curling left footed ball past Miller for the 3-0 lead. Just moments later, Elvis Amoh sprinted down the left side of the field, and an Alex Davey tackle in the box was awarded a penalty kick by referee Adam Kilpatrick, and Amoh buried it high over goalkeeper Parfait Mandanda for the eventual final score. Not even the subsequent professional debuts of Tyler Gabarra and D.C. Academy player Ronald (RJ) Fuentes could turn things around for the ponies.

The next game for Loudoun (0-1-1) will be on Sunday August 2, again in Dillion Stadium versus Hartford.

USL Championship Group F - Game 2
Hartford Athletic 3 (Politz 3, Swartz 45, Johnson 55)
Loudoun United FC 1 (Amoh (PK) 58)

Lineups:
Hartford (3142): Parfait Mandanda; Alex Davey (Alejandro Lara 66), Kevin Politz, Matheus Silva; Danny Barrera (C) (Mads Jorgensen 66); Harry Swartz (Aiden Mesias 87), Nicky Downs (Arthur Rogers 45), Conor McGlynn, Gabriel Torres; Alex Dixon, Ever Guzman (Tyreke Johnson 45)

Loudoun (4231): Colin Miller; Jacob Greene, Shane Wiedt, Adam Lundegard, Peabo Doue (C); Jeremy Garay, Brandon Williamson (Nelson Martinez 70); Christian Sorto (Ronald Fuentes 63), Michael Gamble, Massimo Ferrin (Ted Ku-DiPietro 45, Tyler Gabarra 62); Elvis Amoh (Alexxon Saravia 77)

Bookings:
Hartford - Dixon 65
Loudoun - Amoh 43, Doue 90