Know Your Opponent: Loudoun United FC

A trip to the Jagermeister Cup semi-finals will be on the line as Sacramento ventures cross-county to visit Loudoun United.

After both these teams won their respective groups, Sacramento and Loudoun were drawn to face off against each other in this matchup. The Republic has a perfect record against Loudoun heading into this clash as they've taken all three previous meetings. That being said, this isn't the Loudoun of years past. After a hot start to the season, Loudoun were in 3rd place in the USL Championship's Eastern Conference. And they were able to carry their form into this competition and win against some solid opposition, including an upset win over the standard bearer of the Eastern Conference, Louisville. More recently, Loudoun had a nine-game streak without picking up a win, through much of the summer. Here is a preview of the opponent, Loudoun.

Loudoun United FC

Manager: Ryan Martin

Formation: 4-4-2

Regular Season W-L-D: 9-4-7 (4th in USL Championship; East), 2-0-2 (1st in Group Five)

Last 5 Games: LDLDW

Previous USL Cup Results: W 1-0 @ Lexington, W 2-1 vs. Louisville, W 1-1(4-3) vs. Charlotte, L 1-1(3-5) @ Tulsa

Players to Watch: Florian Valot, Abedellatif Aboukoura

Top Goalscorers: Abedellatif Aboukoura - 11 goals (T-2nd in the league)

Top Assists: Florian Valot - 7 assists (T-4th in the league)

Top Yellow Cards: Keegan Tingey, Kwame Awuah - 5 yellow cards

Top Red Cards: Yanis Leerman - 2 red cards

If you didn't know already, this kid is good 😁@a_aboukoura levels it for @LoudounUnitedFC with his 11th goal in all competitions! pic.twitter.com/uRiSZ0cMxl

— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) June 14, 2025

Aboukoura 🇪🇬 scores again for Loudoun United in the USL Cup! ⚽️🇺🇸

10th goal in 13 games across all competitions this season for the 20yo Egyptian! 🤯🔥#USLJägermeisterCup | @a_aboukoura

pic.twitter.com/N0rfaGyzPr

— Onze Masr 🇪🇬🇬🇧 (@Onzemasr_EN) May 31, 2025

Loudoun is one of the surprise packages of the USL Championship this season, outside of Tulsa. After finishing in 11th place in the Eastern Conference last season and failing to qualify for the playoffs in every season of the club's existence, Loudoun finds themselves in solid standing in the playoff hunt this year. This year's effort is spearheaded by the Loudoun attack. Abedellatif Aboukoura is just behind the leader in the USL Championship's Golden Boot race with 11 goals scored in the league. Loudoun has found the back of the net 31 times, so Aboukoura's goals account for approximately 45% of his team's tally. And this is paired with Florian Valot being one assist off from the leaders, with 7 assists so far in regular season play. Aboukoura needs to be the focal point of where the Republic's defense is looking. He has made an appearance in 25 matches across all competitions this season. And he has scored in 12 of those 25. Of those 12 games, Loudoun has gone on to win 9 of those matches. Of the 13 games Aboukoura didn't score in, Loudoun either tied or lost 8 of those. The fate of how successful Loudoun's attacking productivity is rests on the shoulders of Aboukoura.

The defense is the troublesome spot for Loudoun. They have only been able to keep four clean sheets throughout the regular season and are tied for 7th in goals conceded. That being said, they got a clean sheet recently in their August 9th match against Rhode Island. Look for Loudoun's central midfield to try and block off any dangerous passes aimed towards the Sacramento strikers. One name that will be familiar to Republic fans is Drew Skundrich. The veteran midfielder has found a role in Loudoun's formation as the defensive midfielder who can position himself well and cut off the opposing attack. The backline for Loudoun will try and keep at least one person closeby to each of the Republic's forwards, mainly that central striker position. So players like Sebastian Herrera or Khori Bennett will have to deal with centerbacks not willing to budge when it comes to being in close proximity.

Republic's Way of Victory: Force someone else to beat you. Do not allow Aboukoura to have any space. Just go full denial for any ball aimed in his vicinity. If Loudoun want to get a result force one of their other players to step up. At the same time, Florian Valot should not be allowed to look up and see the pitch in front of him. The middle of the park will be cluttered with players who are good at positioning and getting in the way of passes. Keep them moving and give them multiple things to look at. Loudoun are a leaky defense and there will be openings to take advantage of. Find you matchups and take advantage of the opportunities.