The Red-and-White take a trip to the west coast to take on Sacramento Republic FC at Heart Health Park. The matchup will be the first meeting between the two clubs in the USL Championship.
Following three matches in the span of eight days, Loudoun United FC (LUFC) received a well-deserved rest after three close Eastern Conference matches. United continues to keep their playoff hopes alive as the bottom three teams – Charleston Battery, Atlanta United 2 and New York Red Bulls II – have already been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. With two spots left to play for in the Eastern Conference standings, Loudoun United play three of the five teams that are ahead of the club in points to close out the 2022 regular season.
Loudoun United News
Loudoun United’s last outing took place at Segra Field as the Red-and-White faced Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Sunday, September 4.
LUFC led the Riverhounds in possession on the night, however the Pittsburgh-side claimed the 2-1 victory. D.C. United’s Gaoussou Samaké, Ted Ku-DiPietro, Hayden Sargis, Jeremy Garay and Jacob Greene all made appearances in the match.
Loudoun United FC recently announced the signing of Belgian striker, Jonathan Benteke. The striker made his debut in the 62nd minute and scored from the penalty spot in the 89th minute.
Following Week 26, Goalkeeper Luis Zamudio claimed a spot on USL Championship’s Team of the Week. His stalwart nine-save shutout performance in Loudoun’s 1-0 win over Memphis 901 FC on Wednesday, Aug. 31, proved to impress the league. Zamudio holds Loudoun United’s all-time clean sheet record (6) as well as the single-season clean sheet record (6).
On Thursday, Sept. 8, Loudoun United announced goalkeeper Joe Rice will join Detroit City FC through the end of the 2022 USL season. Rice has started in five matches, recording 20 saves.
Head Coach Ryan Martin’s Thoughts on the Upcoming Match
“We have had a good week of preparation and feel the guys have improved greatly. They have a great mentality to get a good result on the road at Sacramento. We know the task in front of us is tough; Sacramento has a veteran team that recently competed for the US Open Cup final. We look to be on the front foot on Saturday and get a big result. The process continues…”
How can I Follow the Match?
Kickoff is slated for 10:00 P.M. EST. The match will be available to stream on ESPN+.
Scouting Report
Western Conference foes and Open Cup finalists, Sacramento Republic FC enter the match following a cross-country trip to Exploria Stadium. On Wednesday, Republic FC faced Major League Soccer side Orlando City in the Open Cup final. Mark Briggs’ men played their second match in five days, having just faced Louisville City FC on Saturday.
The Florida club took the 3-0 victory against Sacramento, with the California-side playing their ‘best’ XI to compete for the cup.
The last USL outing saw a very different lineup, with 10 changes ahead of the Open Cup final. Eastern Conference leader Louisville claimed a 3-1 victory at Lynn Family Stadium in Kentucky.
In the last five USL outings, Sacramento Republic is 2-3-0. At Heart Health Park, the Western Conference team has only lost one match; winning seven and tying four. The one loss came against Eastern Conference foe, Birmingham Legion FC in mid-July.
Forwards Maalique Foster and Douglas Martinez are tied for most goals (5) while goalkeeper Daniel Vitiello has kept five clean sheets in 18 appearances.
Mexican-international Rodrigo Lopez has recorded seven assists in 20 appearances from the midfield.
