Tomorrow completes a packed schedule for the Legion, who will have 11 days off before a 2-game Independence Day weekend. They also have to do it on long-distance transcontinental travel after a hard-fought 1-1 draw in Oakland. This game, however, should be an excellent opportunity to make up points.
The most important part
The game tomorrow is at least an evening kickoff (7:00pm, ESPN+). The Legion also rested most of its regular starters in midweek, so overall should not be too tired. The defense, as we discussed yesterday, may be an exception to that after a monumental display.
Fortunately, the Three Sparks are facing a relatively weak Loudoun United. Loudoun are 3 points behind the Legion, albeit on one less game, and have been very underwhelming all season. They just lost back-to-back games 1-4, to Monterey Bay FC and Rhode Island FC. They do have a win in the last 5 league games, though, which is morethan can be said for the Legion. That was a 1-0 decision over Brooklyn FC over a month ago now. They did beat Richmond Kickers 2-0 in the USL Cup 2 weeks ago, but immediately followed that up with a 1-3 loss to Greenville Triumph and are eliminated from the knockout rounds.
If you recall, the Legion played in Loudoun back in April to a 2-2 draw that was one of far too many Legion games this season marred by poor refereeing. The Legion led twice in that game and saw the second lead nullified by a blatantly incorrect penalty decision. The referee tomorrow will be Alyssa Pennington. In 4 USL Championship games this year she has given out 20 yellows and 1 red. In 9 other games she has handed out 18 yellows and 1 red. Hmm.
Anyway, Loudoun has reverted to form this year after its first ever playoff appearance last year. They were led to that by head coach Ryan Martin, who currently manages…the Oakland Roots. Ha. The current head coach is Australian Anthony Limbrick, who hopefully won’t be able to get into the head of Sam McIllhatton and equally hopefully will be depressed after this afternoon’s proceedings.
Loudoun has as much difficulty scoring as does the Legion, both teams having notched 13 goals to date. They are far leakier at the other end, having allowed 21, 6 more than the Legion. Their only real scoring threat is Thorleifur Úlfarsson, who has 6 of the 13. Next best is Arquimides Ordonez, who has just 2, and one of those was that PK against the Legion.
This game is a must-win for the Three Sparks, and preferably by a good margin. 3 points won’t be enough to vault the playoff line, but it would put them on level terms with Rhode Island, whom the Legion already beat this season. However, Rhody already has a game in hand and is idle this week, making the win all the more necessary.
Finally, this will be our last opportunity to see Ramiz Hamouda in black and gold. After this he will be packing his bags and heading to Germany. We wish him all the best and I am sure Legion fans will be following his further career very closely.
Best of the rest
One other game was played Wednesday, FC Tulsa ending Monterey Bay’s win streak with a 2-0 result. A third game, Indy Eleven v. Brooklyn FC was postponed due to weather. This weekend features a slightly abbreviated league schedule as there are a few byes and 4 Championship teams are playing USL Cup games. All 4 are in Group 4. All USL games this week are on Saturday.
USMNT v. Australia (Friday, 2:00pm, Fox)
The big question: will Christian Pulisic play or not? The second biggest question: can Chris Richards repeat his staggering 83 for 83 passing performance? We’ll find out on both soon enough as the game is a mid-afternoon kickoff. The US’ 4-1 mauling of Paraguay was a definitive statement of intent, but Australia’s 2-0 win over well-regarded Turkey was not much less so. This is thus a big one, as the winner guarantees entry to the knockout rounds. The game is being played in Seattle so weather should not be much of an issue. A side note: the Legion game in Oakland was at Australia’s World Cup base and Sam McIllhatton got extensive press attention after the game.
Detroit City v. Louisville City (Saturday, 4:00pm, ESPN2)
This is one of the USL Cup games, but Detroit is next up on the Legion schedule July 2nd. Neither team has a game between now and then, so this is the last chance to check out the opposition. It won’t overlap with the Legion game at all, barring any delays, so can be examined in detail. Detroit and Lou City are tied on poiints in the league, but Detroit has a game in hand. Lou City has been less than stellar lately, but is perfect in the Cup and has a 2-point lead over Detroit. THIs one will be key.
Hartford Athletic v. Pittsburgh Riverhounds (Saturday, 6:00pm, ESPN+)
Rhode Island and The™ Miami FC are both off this weekend so the Legion has a big opportunity to make up ground on both those teams. Hartford, then, is the closest team in action. They are 5 points better on 1 less game so a loss to the Hounds will be very helpful. Pittsburgh has been excellent lately, winning 3 straight without conceding a goal. In fact, since losing to the Legion, they have gone 4-1-0 and allowed only 2 goals. Hartford knocked off Tampa Bay last week and also beat Detroit recently so this is a great matchup.
Phoenix Rising v. Oakland Roots (Saturday, 9:30pm, ESPN+)
OK, you may have your fill of the Roots already this week, but this one features #4 v #5 in the West, Oakland being a point better. Phoenix as the home team and Oakland being on short rest means that could easily flip after Saturday. Moreover, in the incredibly tight Western Conference there are 5 more teams all within 3 points of Oakland (one of whom, Lexington, plays in the Cup this week) so a standings shakeup is on the cards.
Legion in the Lower Leagues
Legion WFC handed it to the Chattanooga Red Wolves Monday, winning 4-0 at Dunnavant Valley, completing a perfect 3-game series with an aggregate score of 9-1. The ladies now have 19 points and remain top of the South Central Conference with 2 games to play. However, Asheville City have predictably been making up ground and are just 3 points back with a game in hand. That game will be made up tomorrow against the aforementioned Red Wolves, a near-certain win. The Legion WFC holds the head-to-head advantage; Asheville has a 5-goal differential advantage. The Legion next plays Swarm FC at home next Saturday, the two teams having split the season series so far. Asheville plays One Knoxville away this coming Tuesday, a likely win. And then the regular season finale Sunday June 28th will be…Asheville City v. Legion WFC. That is going to be huge.
Legion FC 2, in contrast, remains winless at 0-4-3. They played two games this week, a 2-1 loss to Apotheios FC and a 3-3 draw with Columbus United. They are not bottom of the division, but only on tiebreakers over East Atlanta FC. They play away at Apotheos tomorrow at 7:00pm and have 2 games remaining after that.
