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Loudoun United wrapped up one weird part of their 2020 USL Championship campaign on Sunday in a 2-1 loss to Hartford Athletic, playing them for the 4th time on the road over six weeks. They’ve had a week to rest, and meet up against a Philadelphia Union II side for the first time since playing to a scoreless draw more than six months ago.
Philly is in a strange position when it comes to their schedule; they hosted Atlanta United 2 last Wednesday before playing at the Tampa Bay Rowdies Sunday night (in a game delayed by lightning), and then played the New York Red Bulls II Wednesday. Loudoun is part of a home and home with the second game on Wednesday, but moreover Loudoun are games 4 and 5 of a 9 games in 28 days run for Philly after not playing the previous 28 days due to Covid-19 test results. U2 and Loudoun are the bottom 2 teams in Group F at the moment, so any play would appear to be for development in some cases.
Key player: Alioune Ndour
Ndour has been goalless in 2020 following an impressive 5 goal in 4 game run to end 2019, but he does lead the team in shots, as he and Elvis Amoh are the only two with double digit figures in that category. Against a Philly side playing a lot of games and has already given up the most goals in the East, including a 6-0 thrashing by the Red Bulls II where they gave up 4 in the last 18 minutes, if they can get got early, it could be an enjoyable night for Ndour and his mates.
Location: Segra Field (Leesburg, VA)
Kickoff time: 7:00pm Eastern
Projected Loudoun starting 11/who D.C. United is loaning: If you’re here wondering if Erik Sorga is in Loudoun...
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Move along, he’s not.
With that, I would imagine that Loudoun try to take advantage of a Philly team that has to have a lot of mileage on it, so Kairou Amoustapha would be in while Joshua Fawole (apparently still feeling the affects of a foul in Hartford) sits out. Ted Ku-DiPietro is questionable, and I would expect Adam Lundegard to get his first start in a bit while Jake Dengler should be in line for his first Loudoun 18.
Starters: Colin Miller; Jacob Greene, Adam Lundegard, Shane Wiedt, Peabo Doue; Jeremy Garay, Elvis Amoh; Kairou Amoustapha, Michael Gamble, Tyler Gabarra; Ndour
Bench: Simon Lefebvre, Alexxon Saravia, Jake Dengler, Brandon Williamson, Nelson Martinez, Erumuse Momoh, Christian Sorto
Key Philly player: Paxten Aaronson
The 16-year-old brother of Brenden signed a homegrown deal of his own with the Union last week, which will start in 2021. As part of a two-forward setup, Aaronson even has a goal to speak of, and as he learns more about midseason replacement Marlon LeBlanc’s setup (the West Virginia coach replaced Sven Gartlung last month), he could prove to be dangerous for the Baby Snakes.
Referee: As of Friday night, not announced.
Available streaming: ESPN+ (click to subscribe to ESPN+, and your friends at B&RU get a little bit of cash!)
What are you drinking?: No Jersey Swap, a DIPA collaboration by Crooked Run (Loudoun) and Cushwa Brewing (just outside Hagerstown). Nelson, Citra and Barbe Rouge hopped, a little fancy-like!
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