LEESBURG, Va. – As the final whistle sounded on Wednesday night at Protective Stadium, it was quickly followed by a loud scream of elation from Enzo Martinez. It was as if more than a month of struggles were washed away in that singular moment following a 2-0 Birmingham Legion FC win over the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
The win not only brought an end to the club’s three-match losing streak, but also a goalless one across that stretch as well. So now, with a renewed sense of optimism, Birmingham faces a quick turnaround as it heads out on the road to face Loudoun United FC on Saturday, in a match where three points will go a long way for both sides’ postseason positioning in the USL Championship Eastern Conference standings.
“It’s vitally important,” said Legion FC coach Tom Soehn. “We’re in a playoff push right now and these last few games left mean the world, so we have to keep this up this weekend.”
MATCH INFO
- Birmingham Legion FC (11W-11L-5D; 35PTS) at Loudoun United FC (9W-10L-7D; 34PTS)
- USL Championship | Matchday 28
- Saturday, September 14 | 6:00 p.m. CT
- Segra Field | Leesburg, VA
- Watch: WABM My68 (Birmingham)
- Stream: CBS Sports Live
Winning on a given night has not necessarily been an issue for Birmingham this season. After all, it’s 11 victories in USL-C play is fourth amongst its opponents in the east. It is stringing wins together that has given the side some difficulties with Legion FC posting a 1W-7L-1D record in matches immediately following a victory. That only win came on June 26 in a 2-1 triumph at Detroit City FC after beating San Antonio FC 3-1 at home.
But with so few matches left in the 2024 season and nothing close to being decided in the table, now would be as good a time as ever to flip that trend on its head.
“Everyone deserves to take the night and enjoy the result,” defender Derek Dodson said following Birmingham’s most recent win over Tampa Bay. “But we have a quick turnaround so it’s about recovering, it’s about some guys getting some play under their legs by getting a good training issue in and then it’s about shifting our focuses to Loudoun because they are right on our tails.”
Birmingham currently sits in fifth place on 38 points in the East table and just a single point behind fourth place – the final first round host spot. So while that may seem like a fairly comfortable place to be in, its opponent this weekend is on the outside looking in at 9th place, but just four points behind Legion FC and with a game in hand.
That means, pending other results around the league on Saturday, The Three Sparks could be sitting pretty in fourth with a win, or dropped down to the eighth and final playoff spot with Loudoun breathing down its neck.
“We can’t let up,” said midfielder Kobe Hernandez-Foster, who scored his second goal of the season his last time out. “I think it helps to get back out on the field after winning this last game, because we want to continue to prove ourselves, grab more points and move up in the table.”
While Birmingham just put an end to a three-match skid, Loudoun currently finds itself in one at the moment where, also like Legion FC, it has failed to score in that stretch. In fact, its last victory was also of the 2-0 variety against Tampa Bay.
Goalkeeper Hugo Faroux has done his best to make up for the lack of scoring with 73 saves this season to the tune of eight clean sheets, which ranks seventh in USL-C. He was in goal when these two teams first met back on April 7 at Protective Stadium and Birmingham was able to slot three goals past him to solidify a win in its home opener.
However, with how long ago that match was and now with what’s at stake for this next one, Legion FC expects a much tougher task to clear this time around.
Follow Along
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