Match Recap

HAYWARD, Calif. – Knowing its unfortunate postseason fate before kicking off out west, Birmingham Legion FC made the most of its final outing of 2024. With a rotated starting line-up and a point to prove, The Three Sparks ran roughshod over Oakland Roots SC with a 5-0 victory on Saturday night to end its USL Championship season on a much-needed positive note.

Having experienced its fair share of less-than-ideal luck over the course of the year, Legion FC finally saw some breaks go its way, with the squad converting all of its shots on target. The five goals mark the most that Birmingham has tallied in a match in 2024, surpassing its four-goal outputs in a pair of Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup matches against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC and the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

A brace from Preston Tabort Etaka highlighted a four-goal showing in the first half, with Stefano Pinho and Diba Nwegbo also putting their names on the scoresheet, while Enzo Martinez followed with the match’s only goal of the final 45 minutes.

The victory sees Birmingham finish with 45 points and a 13W-15L-6D record for ninth place in the final Eastern Conference standings.

Midfielder Matthew Corcoran made his first appearance in the starting lineup this season and provided the assist on Nwegbo’s goal. Defender Ramiz Hamouda also received a start for the first time since August 16 and his first appearance since September 28.

Legion FC’s run of goals began emphatically in the 21st minute with Tabort Etaka running onto a long diagonal from Kobe Hernandez-Foster. The forward’s second touch brought him to the top of the box from the right side before curling a shot that was placed perfectly in the top left corner, freezing Oakland goalkeeper Timothy Syrel.

From there, the floodgates opened up for The Three Sparks with Pinho getting on the scoresheet 10 minutes later by chipping an out-of-position Syrel from 30 yards out after Moses Mensah picked out the Brazilian from his own box. The 31st minute goal was the 10th in USL-C play and 14th across all competitions for Pinho, both of which lead the club to conclude the season.

Birmingham extended its lead to 3-0 shortly in the 35th minute on a freekick from Corcoran from the left side. His in-swinging ball picked out a leaping Nwegbo, who was able to get a glancing header just inside the far post. Tabort Etaka then capped off the goals explosion with a long-range effort in the 40th minute that dipped just enough to get under a diving Syrel. It sent Legion FC into the halftime break with a 4-0 lead, despite having an expected goals metric of 0.62.

Things calmed down considerably in the second half, but Martinez left one final parting shot to remember 2024 by. The Legion FC veteran received a throw-in from Jake Rufe just inside the attacking third in the 87th minute, took advantage of an Oakland defender slipping and fired off a screamer from his right-foot that pierced the back of the net.

It marked sixth USL-C goal and seventh overall for Martinez this season and it was also the beginning of an eventful sequence of events for the midfielder, as he would be sent off with his second yellow card just four minutes later.

Trevor Spangenberg got the start in goal for Legion FC for the sixth time this season and recorded his first clean sheet. He made one save with Oakland putting just one of its 21 total shots on frame.

Match Details

BOX SCORE	1ST HALF	2ND HALF	FINAL
BHM (13W – 15L – 6D; 45 PTS)	4	1	5
OAK (13W – 16L – 5D; 44 PTS)	0	0	0

LINEUPS
BHM: Spangenberg – GK, Mensah, Kavita – C, Hamouda (Crognale 56′), Rufe, Hernandez-Foster, Corcoran (Perez 66′), Martinez, Tabort Etaka, Nwegbo (Matheus 82′), Pinho
OAK: Syrel – GK, Njie (Rasmussen 45′), Hackshaw (Logue 45′), Margvelashvili, Alekseev, Riley, Gomez, Reid, Donasiyano (Dwyer 72′), Sinisterra (Cruz 66′), Rodriguez (Chery 45′)

GOALS
BHM: Tabort Etaka 21′, 40′; Pinho 31′; Nwegbo 35′; Martinez 87′
OAK:

DISCIPLINE
BHM: Martinez (Yellow) 69′, (Yellow+Red) 90+1′
OAK: Hackshaw (Yellow) 24′

NEXT UP
With the season now completed, Legion FC would like to send out a heartfelt thanks to all of its fans for their unwavering support throughout all of the ups and downs along the way. While 2024 ultimately saw the club fall short of its goals, the work towards the 2025 season now begins in earnest. Fans that are interested in purchasing season tickets can visit HERE. Be sure to also routinely check bhmlegion.com and follow the club’s social medial channels for all offseason news and updates.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – After falling behind 2-0 despite allowing just one shot on target in the first half, Birmingham Legion FC fought back admirably with a pair of goals while keeping the ball in its attacking half for much of the final 45 minutes. Unfortunately, the tough month continued for The Three Sparks as it came up just short in a 3-2 loss at Indy Eleven on Saturday night.

Knowing that it needed a victory, Legion FC was on the front-foot from the opening whistle, outshooting its opponents 20 to 11 while holding nearly 60% of the possession. However, a quick succession of goals from Indy early on saw Birmingham trying to play out of a hole all evening long, as second half goals from Stefano Pinho and Rida Zouhir could only keep it close.

The opening mark on the match was an unlucky one for the visitors with Phanuel Kavita guarding the far post on a flicked-on header, but the last-ditch effort from the captain’s left foot went in for an own-goal 14 minutes in. Things went from bad to worse just a mere minute later as the Eleven found itself on a break that ended with forward Jack Blake slotting one into the upper left corner to quickly put his side up 2-0.

Coming out of halftime, Birmingham quickly got one back, thanks to a nice bit of skill from Moses Mensah. The defender forced a turnover deep in the final third and dribbled through three Indy players in the box before sending a ball across the goalmouth to an open Pinho at the back corner for the tap in, cutting the deficit to 2-1 with 36 minutes of regulation still to play.

Legion FC continued to fight for an equalizer with Zouhir pushing a shot wide and Preston Tabort Etaka unable to to convert in front of goal after a nice bit of passing between him and Tyler Pasher. Indy would then push out to a commanding 3-1 advantage in the 86th minute with substitute Laurence Wootton cleaning up a rebound in the box for the finish.

But refusing to go quietly, Zouhir answered back just four minutes later with a beautiful driven shot from about thirty yards out for his second goal in as many matches.

The goal came via a pass from Enzo Martinez for the veteran midfielders’ 50th career assist in USL Championship play. With that, he becomes the fifth player in league history to reach that milestone.

Match Details

BOX SCORE	1ST HALF	2ND HALF	FINAL
BHM (12W – 15L – 6D; 42 PTS)	0	2	2
IND (14W – 10L – 9D; 51 PTS)	2	1	3

LINEUPS
BHM: Van Oekel – GK, Mensah, Kavita – C, Crognale, Dodson, Zouhir, Hernandez-Foster (Matheus 78′), Zouhir, Tabort Etaka, Martinez, Pasher (Nwegbo 87′), Pinho
IND: Sulte – GK, Stanley, Ofeimu, Musa, Quinn – C, Blake, Soumaoro (Wootton 55′), Neidlinger, Williams (Collier 80′), Foster (Mines 72′), Martinez (Williams 45′)

GOALS
BHM: Pinho 54′; Zouhir 90′
IND: Kavita (OG) 14′; Blake 15′; Wootton 86′

DISCIPLINE
BHM:
IND: Williams (Yellow) 79′

NEXT UP
Birmingham now turns its attention to one final outing as it looks to snap a four-match unbeaten skid and close out the 2024 campaign on a positive note. The Three Sparks head out out west to face Oakland Roots SC on Saturday, October 26. Kick-off is set for 9:00 p.m. CT.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The road to the playoffs got a bit tougher for Birmingham Legion FC as it closed out its 2024 slate at Protective Stadium with a 3-0 defeat to Las Vegas Lights FC on Sunday night. A goal from the visitors in the 18th minute had The Three Sparks chasing a result from the early going, and while it did have ample chances to equalize, the goal never came, allowing for Las Vegas to settle the match with a pair of goals in the final eight minutes of play.

With the loss, Legion FC is now winless in its last three outings and finds itself in ninth place in the USL Championship Eastern Conference table. Staying on 42 points, the squad is tied in that category with three other teams, but does not have the tiebreaker over seventh place Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and eighth place North Carolina FC. Birmingham does hold the advantage over 10th place Loudoun United FC.

In a match not too dissimilar from last week against North Carolina, the home side matched its opponents blow-for-blow in everything but the scoresheet. Legion FC finished with 14 total shots to 15 from the Lights, but had the advantage in final third entries (55-50), as well touches in the opposing box (29-27). However, goals were once again hard to come by, despite testing Las Vegas-loanee George Marks in the goalkeeper’s debut appearance for the club.

After the away side opened the scoring with a goal from Joe Gyau in the 18th minute, Birmingham nearly responded right back two minutes later when Marks spilled a long-range effort from midfielder Rida Zouhir. Derek Dodson was first to the free ball and laced a right-footed stinger that Marks got in the way of, before punching it away to keep the score at 1-0 all the way into halftime.

Coming out of the break, Birmingham again threatened to draw even in the 48th minute with Dodson forcing a turnover at midfield and quickly played Diba Nwegbo through the middle of the pitch and in on goal. With Las Vegas defender Shawn Smart racing behind him, the Legion FC forward tried to cut the ball back towards his preferred left foot, but the touch got too far away and Marks was quick to pounce on the ball.

As Legion FC continued to probe and throw more numbers into the attack, the best opportunity for the equalizing goal occurred in the 72nd minute when an errant pass from Marks went straight to Preston Tabort Etaka before it reached the halfway line. With some space in front of him and the goalkeeper off of his line, Tabort Etaka took one touch before unleashing a shot from 40-yard’s out that was destined for the back of the net if not for a scrambling Marks diving backwards to get a fingertip on the ball to push it to the crossbar, before his defense cleared it out of play.

The crossbar would come into play again just three minutes later on a Birmingham corner. Kobe Hernandez-Foster’s in-swinging ball from the right side allowed for defender Alex Crognale to get a head on it by the back post, but it was just a little high as the ball once again deflected off the goal and was put out of harm’s way.

With even more numbers pushed up the field, Las Vegas was able to find its openings on the counter that led to a pair of goals to lock up the victory. The first coming in the 87th minute from Coleman Gannon, who also provided the assist to Gyau’s first half goal. And then in the third minute of stoppage time, Christian Pinzon left no doubt with a right-footed strike that beat Legion FC goalkeeper Trevor Spangenberg to the far post to cap off the scoring.

Match Details

BOX SCORE	1ST HALF	2ND HALF	FINAL
LV (13W – 8L – 11D; 50 PTS)	1	2	3
BHM (12W – 14L – 6D; 42 PTS)	0	0	0

LINEUPS
LV: Marks – GK, Doody, Jabang, Hafferty, Smart, Gannon, Adams – C (Nigro 86′), Ngando (Pinzon 79′), Gyau (Gartig 69′), Bennett (Asante 79′), Covil (Noel 69′)
BHM: Spangenberg – GK, Mensah (Matheus 83′), Kavita – C, Crognale, Dodson, Perez (Pasher 45′), Hernandez-Foster, Zouhir, Nwegbo (Pinho 79′), Martinez, Rufe (Tabort Etaka 58′)

GOALS
LV: Gyau 18′; Gannon 87′; Pinzon 90+3′
BHM:

DISCIPLINE
LV: Bennett (Yellow) 73′
BHM: Hernandez-Foster (Yellow) 5′; Rufe (Yellow) 45′; Tabort Etaka (Yellow) 64′

NEXT UP
Still in the playoff hunt but no longer controlling its own destiny, Birmingham Legion FC will finish the 2024 USL-C season with a pair of road matches in which it will need to get results and some help along the way. The Three Sparks head up north to face Indy Eleven on Saturday, October 19 and then conclude the season with a trip to the Bay Area on Saturday, October 26 to take on Oakland Roots SC.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A late rally was thwarted by the clock on Sunday evening as Birmingham Legion FC ran out of time in a 3-2 loss to North Carolina FC at Protective Stadium. The defeat now puts The Three Sparks in a precarious spot with three matches left to play in the 2024 USL Championship regular season.

Midfielder Rida Zouhir notched his first goal for the club with a long-range strike in the 89th minute to pull within a goal. Birmingham made sure to keep the ball in the attacking half of the pitch for the seven minutes of stoppage time, but was unable to find an equalizer as the second of two goals on the night from North Carolina’s Ezra Armstrong held up in the end.

Legion FC remains in seventh play in the USL-C Eastern Conference standings on 42 points, but no longer controls its own destiny with eighth place Loudoun United FC sitting on 41 points with a game in hand, while North Carolina FC is three points back in ninth on one less game and has the head-to-head tiebreaker over Birmingham with Sunday’s result.

With the match tied at one apiece to begin the second half, the visitors flipped the script with a pair of goals in the span of six minutes to grab the momentum. Legion FC had already clawed itself out of a deficit in the first half when midfielder Enzo Martinez answered an eighth minute goal from North Carolina FC by nabbing his fifth goal of the season in the 32nd.

Legion FC finished with a higher expected goals metric than its opponents (1.18 – 0.93) and had 22 total shots to NCFC’s 14 on 20 more final third entries (77-57), but were ultimately unable to convert on enough of its chances.

With goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel out due to injury, Trevor Spangenberg was quickly called into action in the second minute for his first save of the match. North Carolina then grabbed a lead six minutes later with Armstrong receiving a switch on the left side before cutting in and firing one past Spangenberg.

The more opportunities then began to come on the other side of the pitch with Legion FC probing NCFC’s high backline. After a couple of offside calls and some half chances, the breakthrough finally came with Martinez timing his run to receive a through-ball from Tyler Pasher, putting the veteran midfielder into space. Martinez finished things off with a left-footed blast that glanced off goalkeeper Jake McGuire on its way into the net.

It was Martinez’ first goal since he scored on August 4 against Hartford Athletic.

Birmingham nearly pulled out in front right before the stroke of halftime with Derek Dodson heading a corner that hit off the outside of the post.

Missed chances were unfortunately a theme on the night for Legion FC with forward Stefano Pinho having a shot inside the six-yard box deflected away on some last ditch defending in the 14th minute. Pinho then nearly got a foot on a driven centered ball from Dodson in the 23rd.

North Carolina FC regained the lead 14 minutes into the second half when forward Oalex Anderson chested down a cross from Rafa Mentzingen and got a right-footed shot off that split Spangenberg and the near post. It marked Anderson’s team-leading 10th goal of the season.

Armstrong would then complete his brace in the 65th minute with a driven shot from just outside the box on the left side that found the side net in the far corner to put Legion FC in a 3-1 hole.

With numbers thrusted forward for the rest of the evening, Zouhir pulled one back just before stoppage time when he received a pass from Moses Mensah, saw that NCFC defenders were giving him space from roughly 30 yards out and unleashed a heated curler that a diving McGuire could only get a fingertip on as he watched it go past him and in.

With Sunday’s result, Birmingham has now gone winless in its last seven matches in which it has conceded the first goal. The last time Legion FC came back from such a deficit was on July 14 in a 3-1 victory at Protective Stadium over Colorado Springs Switchbacks SC.

The defense continues to feel the absences of Phanuel Kavita, AJ Paterson and now Van Oekel due to injury with opposing teams having scored eight goals in the last four matches.

Match Details

BOX SCORE	1ST HALF	2ND HALF	FINAL
NC (10W – 11L – 9D; 39 PTS)	1	2	3
BHM (12W – 13L – 6D; 42 PTS)	1	1	2

LINEUPS
NC: McGuire – GK, Craig – C, Washington, Batista, Armstrong, Maldonado, Martin, Mentzingen (Brewer 82′), Perez (Conway 45′), da Costa (Servania 72′), Anderson (Hayes 88′)
BHM: Spangenberg – GK, McCartney, Rufe, Crognale, Dodson (Tabort Etaka 72′), Zouhir, Hernandez-Foster (Corcoran 72′), Martinez – C, Matheus (Nwegbo 60′), Pasher (Mensah 64′), Pinho

GOALS
NC: Armstrong 8′, 65′; Anderson 59′
BHM: Martinez 32′; Zouhir 89′

DISCIPLINE
NC:
BHM: Rufe (Yellow) 45+3′; Hernandez-Foster (Yellow) 46′; Zouhir 80′

NEXT UP
With no room left for error, Legion FC will look to close out its 2024 home slate at Protective Stadium next Sunday, October 13, with a win when it welcomes in Las Vegas Lights FC. Kick-off is set for 5:00 p.m. and tickets can be purchased HERE. Birmingham will then close out the regular season with trips to Indy Eleven on October 19 and Oakland Roots SC on October 23.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Trailing by a goal at the half, history was not on Birmingham Legion FC’s side. After all, The Three Sparks entered Saturday’s contest having lost eight of its ten matches this season when trailing after the opening 45 minutes. Its opponent, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, on the other hand had won seven of its ten matches when leading at halftime.

However, a plucky defensive effort and some shrewd lineup changes in the attack were just enough to go against the narrative as Legion FC fought back for a 1-1 draw to notch a valuable point on the road against its Eastern Conference foe.

“We played really well tonight across the board,” said Birmingham coach Tom Soehn. “It started with our defensive shape and then I thought in our attack we created some really good opportunities. In some ways, we were unfortunate to not come away with more, but when the effort and the play is like that, the results take care of themselves, so I’m happy that we were able to come away with something.”

After playing the role of hero last week against Miami FC, Darwin Matheus once again made his presence felt, providing the assist to fellow-second-half-substitute Stefano Pinho for the equalizing goal in the 79th minute to negate one from Pittsburgh forward Edward Kizza in the first half.

With the draw, Legion FC’s point total in USL Championship play moves up to 42 with four matches remaining.

“I thought we handled their directness really well,” Soehn said of the defensive effort. “We knew once we evened it up that they would go hard for a goal because they needed three points, but we were organized and won a lot of second balls, which is exactly what you need to do against a team like Pittsburgh.”

Pinho’s team-leading eighth goal of the season began from the back with Derek Dodson playing an inch-perfect pass between the lines to find Matheus, who used the outside of his left foot to send a first-time ball to the Brazilian forward. With work still to be done, Pinho cut in from left side of the box before unleashing a shot for the far post that was beyond Pittsburgh goalkeeper Eric Dick’s outstretched arms.

“The ball that Derek played into Darwin was fantastic,” Soehn said of the build-up. “And then Darwin continued it and Pinho took his time to put in a good finish. All of the subs came in to this match and did a good job.”

It was a welcome sight for Soehn and company to finally see a ball go past Dick, who made six saves in a clean sheet performance when the Riverhounds won the first 2024 meeting between these two sides in Birmingham. He appeared to be on his way to doing something similar on Saturday night before Pinho ruined the party.

Following a header off of a set-piece from Kizza in the 22nd minute that gave Pittsburgh the early 1-0 advantage, Birmingham nearly answered back nine minutes later when Kobe Hernandez-Foster whipped in a ball from the left side that Dodson was able to get on the end of, but his header glanced off the cross bar.

Legion FC continued on the attack in the second half with Diba Nwegbo forcing Dick to dive to his right for his first save of the match in the 51st minute. The Pittsburgh goalkeeper’s second was much tougher as he just barely got his fingertips on an Enzo Martinez free header from close range.

“We changed up our formation a little bit,” Soehn said of finding areas to create chances against a Pittsburgh defense that entered Saturday’s match tied for the least amount of allowed goals in the league.

“We brought in Darwin who creates a lot and were a little bit more direct with our backs playing balls into feet and that led to some good opportunities.”

Both teams finished the match with 15 total shots apiece, while Birmingham had a 4-3 advantage in attempts on target. Legion FC also controlled the possession with 57.6% of the ball, but had 59 final third entries to the Riverhounds’ 70, making the split result seem like a fair outcome for both sides.

Matt Van Oekel had two saves on the evening, but his biggest one did not register on the stat sheet. The Legion FC veteran goalkeeper showed off his quick reflexes in the 63rd minute when he dove back to clear a ball off the line after a Pittsburgh cross deflected off of Jake Rufe for what would’ve been an own goal and a 2-0 deficit.

The draw was the first for Birmingham in nine matches, dating back to a 2-2 result against Hartford Athletic at Protective Stadium on August 3.

Match Details

BOX SCORE	1ST HALF	2ND HALF	FINAL
BHM (12W – 12L – 6D; 42 PTS)	0	1	1
PIT (8W – 10L – 12D; 36 PTS)	1	0	1

LINEUPS
BHM: Van Oekel – GK, Mensah (Pinho 45′), Rufe, Crognale, Dodson, McCartney (Hamouda 89′), Hernandez-Foster (Perez 83′), Zouhir, Martinez – C, Pasher, Nwegbo (Matheus 67′)
PIT: Dick – GK, Biasi (Cayet 87′), Suber, Osumanu, Hogan, Walti (Etou 87′), Griffin – C, Blackstock, Kizza (Johnson 76′), Jacquesson (Forbes 76′), Mertz (Sample 76′)

GOALS
BHM: Pinho 79′
PIT: Kizza 22′

DISCIPLINE
BHM: McCartney (Yellow) 25′; Nwegbo (Yellow) 33′
PIT: Hogan (Yellow) 72′; Johnson (Yellow) 90+4′

NEXT UP
Due to other results around the league from Saturday night, Legion FC drops to seventh place in the East table despite the result in Pittsburgh, so points are still at a premium for the postseason push. The next chance Birmingham has to gain some ground comes on Sunday, October 6 when it hosts North Carolina FC. Kick-off for that special Fan Appreciation Night match is set for 5 p.m. CT and tickets can be purchased HERE.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – It may not have been exactly how coach Tom Soehn and Birmingham Legion FC mapped it out when they woke up in the morning, but at the end of the season and in the middle of a fervent postseason chase, all that matters at this stage is three points in the end. That’s exactly what Legion FC achieved on Sunday afternoon in a 1-0 victory over Miami FC, with the difference coming from a stoppage-time golazo from forward Darwin Matheus on his club debut.

“It was one of those must-win games for us because we’re taking every game on as if it’s a playoff game,” said Legion FC assistant coach Eric Avila. “Darwin is a special player that we got and for him to come in and help the team, it just brings a lot of confidence for him and the team moving forward.”

Subbing on in the 62nd minute of a scoreless match to mark his first appearance with the club after signing on earlier in the month, the Venezuelan attacker felt the nerves gradually subside and found himself growing into the game as the second half went on.

That all culminated in the fourth minute of stoppage time when he saved an overshot cross from going out of bounds on the right side of the pitch. His third touch on the ball set himself up to unleash a left-footed strike towards the near post, catching Miami goalkeeper Khadim Ndiaye out of position as the ball blasted into the net to finally put Birmingham in front.

“It’s such a great satisfaction of scoring a goal on my debut,” Matheus said of his goal through an interpreter. “For any player, this generates a lot of confidence and I’m happy I helped us get the three points tonight.”

Stoppage time drama!

Matheus curls one in from the wing outside of the box to put @bhmlegion in front 😳 pic.twitter.com/MOuNcgNl3g

— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) September 22, 2024

The matchwinner marks Matheus’ first professional goal since December 1 of last year when he scored the opener in a 2-0 win for Croatian club NK Istra 1961.

After seeing the ball go in, the 23-year-old Matheus casually and stoically turned and looked out at the Protective Stadium crowd that he just sent into a frenzy, before getting mobbed by his Legion FC teammates.

“We’ve actually seen him do that a couple of times this week at training, but not from that distance,” said Birmingham defender Jake Rufe. “That was fun watching him score and then look at the crowd, who I think are happy with our new signing, and I’m happy for him too.”

There was just as much celebration as there was a sense of relief for Birmingham who had the ball for much of the evening, but found it difficult to breakthrough against Miami FC’s low block. Legion FC finished the match with 40 more entries in the final third (84-44) and 13 more touches in the opposing team’s box (20-7). However, despite taking 20 shots to Miami FC’s 11, Birmingham had just one more on target (3-2), but Matheus made the most of it.

“We knew coming in that we have to try different ways to break them down,” Avila said. “It took a little bit longer than expected, but at the end of the day, it just takes one chance.”

Legion FC nearly thwarted its opponent’s defensive gameplan almost immediately after the opening whistle with Enzo Martinez forcing a turnover off of a high press in the fourth minute and playing in Tyler Pasher, but the curling shot just went wide of the post. Then five minutes later, Martinez found himself involved again when he received a cross from Dawson McCartney at the top of the six-yard box. Wearing the captain’s armband with Phanuel Kavita out, the veteran midfielder beat his lone defender by moving the ball to his left foot but his point-blank shot ricocheted off the outside of the post.

Birmingham continued its probing in the second half with McCartney narrowly pushing a shot wide in the 53rd minute and Moses Mensah doing the same in the 77th.

“It was a little frustrating, but it was better than them spending most of the time in our half,” explained Rufe who went the full 90 minutes at centerback. “We came out with a little different energy in the second half and were looking to break their lines down by moving the ball a bit quicker. A little bit of patience and creativity goes a long way, so we’re pleased that we were able to get three points.”

On the other side, Matt Van Oekel didn’t see too much action on his end with a pair of routine saves, but the veteran was vocal as always, helping Rufe and the Birmingham backline stymie any potential Miami counterattack to solidify his fifth, and the club’s seventh, clean sheet of the season.

With Sunday’s victory along with the other results around the league, Birmingham moves back up to fifth place in the USL Championship Eastern Conference standings on 41 points, four behind fourth place Detroit City FC and one ahead of Rhode Island FC and Indy Eleven at sixth and seventh place, respectively.

Match Details

BOX SCORE	1ST HALF	2ND HALF	FINAL
MIA (3W – 24L – 2D; 11 PTS)	0	0	0
BHM (12W – 12L – 5D; 41 PTS)	0	1	1

LINEUPS
MIA: Ndiaye – GK, Barbir, Knutson, Cardona – C, Mitrano, Palacios, Genzano (Ayimbila 62′), DeZart (De Paula 66′), Molina, Lawrence (Joseph 62′), Gavilanes
BHM: Van Oekel – GK, Mensah (Pinho 79′), Rufe, Crognale, Dodson, Hernandez-Foster, Martinez – C, Zouhir (Perez 84′), McCartney, Pasher (Hamouda 84′), Nwegbo (Matheus 62′)

GOALS
MIA:
BHM: Matheus 90+4′

DISCIPLINE
MIA:
BHM: Zouhir (Yellow) 39′; Martinez (Yellow) 90′

NEXT UP
With just five matches left in the 2024 regular season, Legion FC heads back out on the road next weekend for a Saturday showdown at Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on September 28. The Three Sparks will then be back in action at Protective Stadium on October 6 when it hosts North Carolina FC. KIck-off for that match is set for 4 p.m. CT and tickets can be purchased HERE.

LEESBURG, Va. – Twice on Saturday night it appeared as though Birmingham Legion FC was on its way to a second consecutive victory. Instead, The Three Sparks leaves Segra Field left wondering what could’ve been as it falls victim to a torrid second half from Loudoun United FC in a 4-2 defeat.

With the loss, Birmingham drops to sixth place on 38 points in the USL Championship Eastern Conference standings, just one point ahead of Loudoun in seventh and Rhode Island FC in eighth. Legion FC is three points clear of the postseason cutline with ninth place Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC sitting at 35 points.

“I thought we started the game decent but we just gave up some really poor goals,” Legion FC coach Tom Soehn said. “We had some really good moments but it wasn’t enough to negate what they were doing.”

Holding onto a 1-0 lead at the halftime break thanks to a superb strike from beyond midfield by Alex Crognale, and then later grabbing a 2-1 advantage on Diba Nwegbo’s first goal of the season. vital points seemed to be on the table for Legion FC.

However, Loudoun United answered back on both occasions and pulled ahead for good in the 78th minute with forward Tommy Williamson – having subbed on just three minutes earlier – winning a race with Birmingham goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel to a second ball and finishing on his first touch.

Loudoun’s Florien Valot then solidified the result in the 90th minute by heading in a cross from Christian Francois as Legion FC suffered defeat for the first time in its last 13 matches in which it has scored the opening goal, dating back to August of last season.

“We just weren’t putting much pressure on the ball,” Soehn said of Loudoun’s second half success. “They kept playing balls over the top and in behind and that was a real issue for us.”

The home side had the lion’s share of the ball for much of the night as it garnered 60.7% of possession with 15 of its 18 total shots coming inside the box, eight of which were on target.

Meanwhile, Birmingham’s goals came via its only two shots on target and the opener was certainly one that will not long be forgotten.

Receiving a pass from AJ Paterson as Legion FC recycled possession, Crognale settled the ball roughly five yards beyond the halfway line and quickly noticed that Loudoun goalkeeper Hugo Faroux was well off his line. The veteran defender opted to try his luck and launched a long-range effort that completely caught Faroux off guard as it sailed into the back of the net, emphatically and improbably giving Birmingham a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute.

Goal of the season contender???

Alex gives us the lead with an incredible goal from the midfield. #LDNvBHM | 0-1 | @ATT pic.twitter.com/GcMLmv4oox

— Birmingham Legion FC (@bhmlegion) September 14, 2024

The opposing side would equalize eleven minutes into the second half with Isaiah Johnston netting a goal off the end of a mad scramble with players on both teams chasing the ball inside the box.

Nwegbo would put Legion FC back in front just seven minutes later in the 63rd by getting on the end of chipped ball in the box from Enzo Martinez and muscling a shot past Faroux for his sixth career goal in his two seasons with Birmingham.

“It felt like we had grabbed control of things at that point,” Soehn said. “It sure didn’t end like that and at times we looked like a team that just had a game on Wednesday. But we got through that and needed to perform better tonight.”

It was another busy night in goal for Van Oekel who made five saves in last Wednesday’s clean sheet against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. He followed that performance with four on Saturday, including a double-save effort in the 62nd minute where he parried away an initial shot from Ryan and then followed up with a point-blank stop on an offering off the rebound from Wesley Leggett.

The four goals allowed in the second half by Legion FC is tied for the most the club has allowed in a half this season. Louisville City FC scored four in the second half in a 4-1 Birmingham loss on June 29.

Match Details

BOX SCORE	1ST HALF	2ND HALF	FINAL
BHM (11W – 12L – 5D; 38 PTS)	1	1	2
LDN (10W – 7L – 10D; 37 PTS)	0	4	4

LINEUPS
BHM: Van Oekel – GK, Mensah, Crognale, Paterson, Dodson, Hernandez-Foster (Corcoran 79′), Nwegbo (Zouhir 66′), McCartney, Martinez – C, Pasher (Kasim 45′), Pinho (Tabort Etaka 66′)
LDN: Faroux – GK, Erlandson, Hughes (Dambrot 75′), Leerman, Awuah, McCabe, Valot (Bidois 90+3′), Tringey, Johnston (Skundrich 75′), Ryan – C (Francois 86′), Leggett (Williamson 75′)

GOALS
BHM: Crognale 15′; Nwegbo 63′
LDN: Johnston 56′; Ryan 69′; Williamson 79′; Francois 90′

DISCIPLINE
BHM: Martinez (Yellow) 19′; McCartney (Yellow) 62′
LDN: Hughes (Yellow) 36′; Erlandson (Yellow) 48′

NEXT UP
With six matches left, Legion FC returns to the pitch on Sunday, September 22 for a match with Miami FC at Protective Stadium. Kick-off for that special Hispanic Heritage Night match is set for 4:00 p.m. CT and tickets can be purchased HERE.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – It was described as do-or-die time for Birmingham Legion FC by Tom Soehn earlier in the week and the head coach saw his squad do the former on Wednesday night. With its back against the wall, The Three Sparks showed its mettle at Protective Stadium in a 2-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rowdies for a second win over its Eastern Conference rivals.

“The win was important, but the way we won was most important,” Soehn said. “We haven’t been a good team lately in the way that we support each other and fight for each other. Tonight we battled and when you get everyone on the same page like that, good things happen. Full credit to our guys, they played really well.”

Not only did Wednesday’s triumph bring Birmingham’s three-match skid to a halt, it also vaulted the club up to fifth place in the USL Championship East table with 38 points and just one point behind Detroit City FC in fourth place with seven matches left to play.

Stefano Pinho got the party started in the 36th minute with his eleventh goal across all competitions this season. Kobe Hernandez-Foster then shut the door in the 86th on what has become his signature long-range strike. Meanwhile, Legion FC bent on defense against Tampa Bay’s attack, but never broke as the Rowdies went scoreless for the first time in three matches despite taking 21 total shots.

“Everybody was just focused on doing the things you do to win games,” Soehn explained. “The way everyone was committed on that end of the field was a real positive.”

The overall possession numbers were fairly even with Tampa Bay having a slight 51%-48% edge, however the visiting side tallied 43 touches in the opposing box to Birmingham’s 18. But it was all for naught, thanks to six saves from Matt Van Oekel and a total-team defensive effort.

“It really took everybody,” Dodson said of Legion FC’s seventh clean sheet of the season and its second against the Rowdies. “You see Pinho and Preston (Tabort Etaka) up top pressing hard and tracking back, while everyone in the midfield was doing the dirty work. Matt obviously came up with some great saves as well.”

With his teammates helping out on defense, Dodson returned the favor in the attacking third when a deft touch off a pass from Dawson McCartney freed himself to dribble inside the box. He then sent in a low cross that split Tampa Bay goalkeeper Jordan Farr and defender Freddy Kleemann, leading to a tap-in from Pinho to open the scoring.

“That was huge,” Dodson recalled of the first half goal. “Going three games without a goal, once you see the ball go in the net it feels good to just keep pushing on for the rest of the game.

“Pinho did really well to get a touch on that, because that was not an easy ball. It was a great goal.”

See how Pinho scores. Very demure, very mindful

1-0 | #BHMvTBR pic.twitter.com/6cIHOt50zV

— Birmingham Legion FC (@bhmlegion) September 12, 2024

The Rowdies nearly equalized in the 61st minute on an over-the-top ball that had forward Damian Rivera one-on-one with the goal from the left side. Van Oekel came out to charge and made himself, forcing Rivera to attempt a shot over him and the ball clipped the top of the cross bar and went out of harms way.

As Tampa Bay continued to throw numbers forward, Legion FC hit it on the counter with six minutes of regulation left as Dodson played a line-breaking pass to Hernandez-Foster, who dribbled up into some space before playing it off to McCartney. Hernandez-Foster then received the ball back roughly five yards outside the top of the box and fired a low stinger that froze Farr and rippled the net in the bottom right corner.

“I just followed through with the play and saw that I had a shot and took it,” said Hernandez-Foster. “After getting the first goal, it allowed us to not chase the game anymore and go at our own pace from there. With everything opened up we were able to get that second goal and put the game away.”

It was the 22-year-old midfielder’s second goal of the season and it came from an eerily similar spot to when he opened his account against Monterey Bay FC in what was, ironically enough, Birmingham’s last win before Wednesday night.

“He’s got a great strike,” Soehn said of Hernandez-Foster. “I don’t think people respect that enough because he doesn’t get pressure out there and he once again finished a really good ball.”

The win was not the only welcome sight for Legion FC staff and fans as both Tyler Pasher and Diba Nwegbo not only returned to action, but to the starting eleven. It marked the first appearance for Pasher in four matches, while it was a longer wait for Nwegbo who last saw the pitch on July 5.

Match Details

BOX SCORE	1ST HALF	2ND HALF	FINAL
TB (12W – 8L – 7D; 43 PTS)	0	0	0
BHM (11W – 11L – 5D; 38 PTS)	1	1	2

LINEUPS
TB: Farr – GK, Guillen – C (Munjoma 86′), Kleemann (Crisostomo 62′), Doherty, Spaulding, Bender, Hilton (Worth 63′), Nyongabire, Rivera (Fernandez 62′), Bodily, Arteaga (Jennings 62′)
BHM: Van Oekel – GK, Mensah, Paterson, Crognale, Dodson, Hernandez-Foster, Nwegbo (Zouhir 62′), Martinez – C, McCartney, Pasher (Tabort Etaka 45′), Pinho (Rufe 70′)

GOALS
TB:
BHM: Pinho 36′; Hernandez-Foster 86′

DISCIPLINE
TB: Kleemann (Yellow) 55′; Crisostomo (Yellow) 71′
BHM: Hernandez-Foster (Yellow) 13′; Pinho (Yellow) 32′; Mensah (Yellow) 43′; Dodson (Yellow) 48′; Nwegbo (Yellow) 58′

NEXT UP
With Wednesday’s win under its belt, Legion FC will spend one more day in Birmingham before heading out to Virginia ahead of a Saturday contest on the road against Loudoun United. Kick-off is set for for 6 p.m. from Segra Field. Birmingham then returns home on Sunday, September 22nd to face Miami FC. Tickets for that match can be purchased HERE.

SMITHFIELD, RI – The road magic that the club has possessed for much of the season was not there for Birmingham Legion FC on Saturday night. A pair of second half goals from Rhode Island FC spelled doomed for The Three Sparks as it falls 2-0 at Beirne Stadium for a third consecutive loss – its longest such streak of the 2024 USL Championship campaign.

“We need to fix where we are going,” said Legion FC coach Tom Soehn. “We haven’t lost three straight this year, so we got some work to do.”

The setback sees Legion FC drop a spot to seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings, while Rhode Island jumps up two spots to fifth.

Absorbing pressure from the home side for the majority of the match, the dam finally, and unfortunately, broke midway through the second half with a Rhode Island goal from Spencer Turnbull. Substitute JJ Williams, who provided the assist for Turnbull earlier, then doubled the lead in the 90th minute.

Meanwhile, the offensive struggles continued for Birmingham as it was outshot 15-4 en route to a third straight outing without finding the back of the net.

“We just didn’t create enough chances on the night,” said Soehn. “It’s frustrating.”

Having trouble finding openings on the attack, Legion FC’s only two shots on target were both long range efforts.

The first occurred in the 16th minute with midfielder Rida Zouhir lacing one low and away but not enough to trouble Rhode Island goalkeeper Koke Vegas who corralled the ball. Dawson McCartney then tried to equalize the match almost immediately after Turnbull’s opener with a rocket from well outside the box that forced Vegas to leave his feet and make the catch over his head for his second and final save of the evening.

“We just kept losing the ball in key spots,” Soehn said of the lack of goal-scoring opportunities, with Rhode Island FC winning possession eight times in the attacking third of the field.

“We’d connect on two or three passes and then give it up and because we kept losing the ball we started playing a little more direct and that made it easy for them to defend.”

Things were much more eventful for Birmingham goalkeeper Matt Van Oakel, who finished the night with four saves including an incredible reaction on a first-time shot from Clay Holstad in the 66th minute. He then somehow got his left-foot on what appeared to be a sure goal for Jojea Kwizera in the 89th minute.

However, those two chances appeared to be warning shots from Rhode Island as Turnbull found himself alone in front of goal for a first-time finish in the 70th minute after Williams got a touch to him off a cross from Marc Ybarra on the left-side of the box. Williams then sealed Legion FC’s fate with a free header off corner to the near post that saw the ball glance of the bottom of the cross bar and go in.

“We were defending well for much of the night and I felt the effort was there,” said Soehn. “The first one came on kind of a broken play and then from there we were chasing the game and gave up another one.”

Rhode Island FC grabbed ahold of the momentum with seven of its 15 shots coming within the opening 25 minutes of the match. The battle for final third possession entries was close with Legion FC getting to that area 46 times to the 52 from its opponent, but the difference was shown in the passing numbers with Rhode Island completing 75.8% of its 149 passes in the final third, while Birmingham achieved 53.2% of its 77 passes.

Match Details

BOX SCORE	1ST HALF	2ND HALF	FINAL
BHM (10W – 11L – 5D; 35 PTS)	0	0	0
RI (8W – 5L – 13D; 37 PTS)	0	2	2

LINEUPS
BHM: Van Oekel – GK, Mensah (Paterson 80′), Crognale (Pinho 80′), Kavita – C, Dodson, Hernandez-Foster (Rufe 69′), McCartney, Martinez, Zouhir (Perez 87′), Kasim (Corcoran 69′), Tabort Etaka
RI: Vegas – GK C, Nodarse, Yao, Duggan, Kwizera (Alves 90+2′), Ybarra, Holstad, Turnbull, Fuson (Williams 67′), Dikwa (Doyle 90+2′), Panayotou

GOALS
BHM:
RI: Turnbull 71′; Williams 90′

DISCIPLINE
BHM: Crognale (Yellow) 30′; Paterson (Yellow) 90+3′
RI: Duggan (Yellow) 19′; Turnbull (Yellow) 72′; Kwizera (Yellow) 89′; Brito (Yellow) 90+3′

NEXT UP
Following the loss, Legion FC will have to wait a little bit before its next opportunity to get things back on track. The squad returns to Protective Stadium on Wednesday, September 11 to face the Tampa Bay Rowdies for a special Salute to Service Night match. Kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m. and tickets can be purchased HERE.