Rowdies Stay Perfect and Beat Loudoun United FC 3-1

Recap:

Another three-goal display from the Rowdies keeps them perfect with nine points out of a possible nine, as they down Loudoun United FC 3-1. 

The Rowdies got off to a red hot start as they found the net in the first six minutes. A beautiful outside the box shot from Sebastian Cruz went soaring in the top right of the goal. 

They doubled their lead in the 24th minute, but the goal was called back after an offside Rowdie player interfered with play. 

Tampa Bay striker Pedro Dolabella got another great look on goal a couple minutes later after being delivered a perfect cross by Dion Acoff. Dolabella just could not get enough on it, and the ball hit the crossbar and sailed over the net. 

In the 30th minute, Russell Cicerone found himself versus the Loudoun United keeper. Despite the keeper making a good save, the ball rebounded to Marco Micaletto, who shot the ball on target. By this time, a Loudoun defender was guarding the line, and made an impressive goal-line clearance, denying the Green and Gold their second of the night. 

Despite Tampa Bay having all the momentum, Loudoun United scored the first goal of the second half. After a foul committed by Marco Micaletto, Loudoun striker Thorleifur Úlfarsson’s free kick found the back of the net, giving the Rowdies their first conceded goal of the 2026 USL Championship season. 

The Rowdies got an immediate answer, as Max Schneider volleyed a shot from outside the box, bouncing off the Loudoun United FC keeper. Unfortunately, the goal was officially marked as an own goal, and Schneider was denied a spectacular goal. 

Tampa Bay had a few more chances, with nothing testing Loudoun keeper Adam Beaudry.

The Rowdies finished the night with a late goal from MD Myers. After a beautiful through pass from Evan Conway, Myers had no issue chipping the keeper, and scoring the Rowdies seventh goal in three games.

Keeping Up With the (B)east:

There were two midweek matches involving USL Championship Eastern Conference Teams.

Brooklyn FC travelled west to face Lexington SC, a Western Conference team. The first goal came from Aaron Molloy whose free kick effort bounced in the eighteen yard box, and directly into the net. Blaine Ferri doubled the host’s lead through a left footed shot, and a defender deflecting the shot in. Finally, Malik Henry-Scott’s stoppage time finish gave Lexington their last goal of the night.

The other midweek matchup was Sporting Jax hosting Miami FC. Jax started hot, as Kieran Sadlier put the hosts up two minutes into the match. Miami equalized quickly through Mason Tunbridge in the 11th minute of play. Sadlier collected his brace in the 22nd minute, putting the hosts back in the lead. Miami FC proceeded to score three unanswered goals, through Alessandro Milesi, Arney Rocha, and Mathieu Ndongo. 

Onto the weekend matches, Detroit City FC hosted Charleston Battery in the early kickoff. Le Rouge’s Darren Smith’s left footed effort found the back of the net in the 75th minute, which Detroit City held onto in order to collect all three points. 

In their home opener, Hartford Athletic hosted Indy Eleven. Hartford took the lead in the first half from Sadat Anaku’s outside the box effort. Indy pulled one back right after halftime, as Cameron Lindsey’s cross across the face of the goal found Noble Okollo Ayo, who finished the close range effort to tie the match. Indy took the lead in the same style as their first goal. A beautiful cross found Bruno Rendón open at the back post, which was calmly slotted away. Despite Augi Williams having an open goal, desperate Indy defense denied him from close range. Indy’s luck ran out however, as a Hartford Corner routine deflected off an Indy defender, and equalized for the hosts in the dying minutes of the match. 

The next match saw Miami FC fresh off their midweek win against a struggling Rhode Island FC side. Rhode Island FC had a great look at goal in the 20th minute, with Agustín Rodríuez’s effort just wide of opening the scoring. Miami took the lead through Colombian international Arney Rocha, scoring off a woodwork deflection from close range. Rhode Island had multiple close chances, unable to find that goal however. The hosts doubled the lead shortly after the start of the second half through a thunderous Matheiu Ndongo goal. Rhode Island pulled one back through Dwanyne Atkinson’s left footed curling effort, however, it was too little to salvage a point. To pour salt in the wound, Hugo Bacharach saw double yellow, and was sent off with ten minutes remaining. Miami saw the match out, and earned their second three points of the week. 

Fresh off their derby win against Steel City FC in the US Open Cup, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC hosted Sporting Jax, which ended in a five goal thriller. Albert Dikwa’s close range effort and Sam Bassett’s potential goal of the year nominee gave the Riverhounds two goals in the first half. Sporting Jax had a chance cleared off the line, onto the crossbar, and cleared away. Onto the second half, Dikwa smashed in a penalty to make it 3-0 to the defending champions. Not willing to throw in the towel yet, Sporting Jax’s Mohamed Traore pulled one back from a corner. Emil Jääskeläinen scored minutes later to get the Steel Army supporters sweating a little with just under thirty minutes on the clock. Pittsburgh held onto their lead, and collected all three points, and left Jacksonville still at just one point.

The final only Eastern Conference match was Brooklyn FC hosting first place Louisville City. Both teams had chances to open the scoring, which eventually opened in the 60th minute. A Ray Serrano cross deflected from former Rowdie Thomas Vancaeyezeele ended up in the back of the net, giving Lou City the lead with thirty minutes to play. In the 72nd minute Brooklyn had a great look at equalizing, which was saved by Louisville keeper Hugo Fauroux. Louisville City departed Coney Island with their perfect record still intact. 

After Matchweek 4, the table looks as follows. Lou City sit atop the table with 12 points. Tampa Bay follows in 2nd with 9 points. Hartford Athletic sits in 3rd with 8 points, and Miami FC in 4th with 7. Charleston, Detroit, and Pittsburgh all have 6 points. Indy sitting just on the playoff line with 4 points, and Brooklyn just behind that playoff threshold at 3 points. Meanwhile, Birmingham, Loudoun, Rhode Island, and Jax all have just one point. It still is important to remember the season is just starting, so there is still ample time for a team to make or lose playoffs. 

The Bigger Picture:

The Good: This team is clicking, there are still some concerns I have, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. 

One person I thought had an amazing night was Nathan Dossantos. Dossantos was not dribbled past, had four clearances, two tackles, and one last man tackle. His ability to read the game is fascinating to me. He is able to jump in front of passes and clear them away, which I believe is critical to preventing shots on target. 

Another person who had a good game was Austin Pack. While he conceded a goal, there was no keeper stopping that Loudoun free kick. Sometimes there is just nothing you can do. He made some good catches, and it felt like he was confident in between the sticks. 

Finally, I want to highlight Sebastian Cruz. One of the standout’s of USL League One’s AV Alta’s debut season, I was really excited to see what he could do. He had played all along the right side of the pitch, and I wanted to see if he was better in either defense or attacking. I think he answered my question. 

Getting the ball outside the box after a corner, Cruz hammered the ball into the back of the net, in a goal that definitely will be nominated for goal of the week. 

Cruz played well on both sides of the ball, scoring a goal, and passing above an 80% completion rate. He also recorded three tackles, one clearance, and one interception. Cruz really seems like a Swiss Army knife, playing both right wing earlier in the game, and later switching to right back after some tactical changes by Manager Dom Casicato. 

The Bad: There is only one person I am asking questions of right now, and that is Pedro Dolabella. Now, he is an amazing attacker. His passing is class, and he knows how to get into great positions. His height makes him a great threat on crosses and corners. However, I am starting to get concerned about his finishing. 

Against Loudoun, Dolabella had a great look on goal, and header from about six yards out. Again, he got into a great position, but he was just unable to steer the ball on target, and the ball hit the crossbar and went away for a goal kick. While Loudoun didn’t make us pay for that, some other USL Championship teams will make us regret missing those chances. 

This is a great situation to be in, as even our “problems” have clear solutions. Dolabella is a fantastic attacking midfielder, and I think he just needs a bit more time at the striker position. He played striker for Dom in Omaha, and I think he just needs to adapt to playing striker at the USL Championship level, as he spent more time on the wing and in midfield during his stint at North Carolina FC. 

Final Thoughts: As RBLR Podcast host Carlos Rueda said on the Loudoun Preview, this team feels like a gigantic Swiss Army knife. We have multiple players who can play different positions at the highest level. A couple of examples of this are Sebastian Cruz, Marco Micaletto, and Pedro Dolabella.

While the team did concede, it is a goal you can’t do anything about. Other than that, the defense feels like a brick wall. The relentless pressing from the attack, the cohesive midfield unit of Schneider and Hilton, and the defensive quickness for tackles and clearances. The team still has not conceded from open play. 

The third goal was something I wanted to highlight. Very similar to the second goal against Pittsburgh, a beautiful through ball to Myers, who had no issue dispatching the finish. 

Coming Up/Match Prediction: 

Looking to get four wins out of four, the Rowdies travel north to face new instate USL Championship club Sporting Jax at Hodges Stadium in Duval County. 

I expect the Rowdies to take care of business in Jacksonville, as the attack seems ruthless, with the defense impenetrable.  

Sporting Jax currently only have one point, which came against second to last place Rhode Island FC, so it is safe to say that they have struggled to find results in their debut season in the USL Championship. 

Sporting Jax has not had a great record at home so far either. In their season opener, they hosted Hartford Athletic, and were destroyed 3-0 by the visitors in front of a crowd of 10,000 supporters. In their other home match, they saw their club fall 4-2 to Miami FC.

My prediction is 4-0 Rowdies. I expect it will be all Rowdies both on the pitch and in the stands from the opening kickoff.