Michael Bonts, Florida Sports Wires
JACKSONVILLE (www.jaxsportsday.com) – Loudoun United FC scored three unanswered goals in the second half to secure a 4-1 road victory over Sporting JAX at Hodges Stadium. Eddy Davis III and Christian Torres each recorded two goals as Loudoun closed out their road stretch with three points.
“I think the first 45 minutes was probably as free and as fluid as we’ve been all season,” said Sporting JAX head coach Liam Fox.
Loudoun wasted little time getting on the scoresheet, opening the scoring in the fourth minute. Pacifique Niyongabire found Eddy Davis III, who finished the opportunity to give them an early 1-0 advantage.
Sporting JAX responded in the 30th minute to level the match at 1-1. Sporting JAX rallied to find an equalizer in the 30th minute. It all came together following a corner kick when Emil Jääskeläinen launched a header toward the goal. Wan Kuzain guided it through to the back of the net.
“[The first half] was probably the most fluidity that we’ve had all season, and it obviously led to a corner kick,” Kuzain said. “And from corner kicks, taking your opportunity when you get it; I was in the box and was lucky to get it in.”
Neither side was able to find another breakthrough before the halftime whistle, sending the teams into the break even.
“I think that’s what we’ve been searching for all season, and it’s been an Achilles heel of us all season,” Fox said. “We’ve played well in games for large spells, but we haven’t managed to put that 90-minute performance together over the course of the season.”
Loudoun came out of halftime on the front foot and regained the lead in the 56th minute. Niyongabire picked up his second assist of the night, setting up Torres for his first USL Championship goal with Loudoun to put them ahead 2-1.
Torres struck again just two minutes later, completing his brace in the 58th minute and extending Loudoun’s advantage to 3-1. The two goals marked Torres’ first two in USL Championship play with the club.
“I think it was a really hard-fought win. Everyone was fighting from minute one, and we came in at halftime ready to fight for more in the second half. Thankfully, we were able to get in front and finish the game with three points. I thought my performance was solid. I was really happy to get on the scoresheet and then grab an assist for Eddy” added Torres.
Loudoun continued to push forward and added a fourth in the 73rd minute. Torres found Davis for his second goal of the night to cap off the 4-1 victory.
“I thought in the first half we created a couple of good chances and probably should have put more away. We were disappointed to concede the set-piece goal, and they created a little bit down our right-hand side, so we fixed a few things at halftime. In the second half, I thought we really put into practice what the players worked on during the week, breaking quickly on the counter, quality crossing and finishing,: said Loudoun United head coach Anthony Limbrick.
Sporting JAX heads south for a midweek match against Miami FC on Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m.
(Photo by Nancy DeLander Beecher)
