Story & Photos by Shawn Payne
Match Date: August 5, 2026 | Audi Field, Washington, D.C. | Friendly
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new chapter in DMV soccer began under the lights at Audi Field as D.C. United and Loudoun United FC stepped onto the same field for the inaugural DMV Derby.
Although separated by leagues, the two clubs arrived with connections that run much deeper than the distance between Washington and Loudoun County. Players have moved between the organizations over the years, creating a familiarity between the clubs even before they finally had the opportunity to meet on the field.
But once the opening whistle sounded, familiarity quickly gave way to competition.
Loudoun made the first statement. In the 10th minute, Thorleifur Úlfarsson drove a left-footed finish into the back post to give the USL Championship side a 1–0 advantage and put D.C. United in the unfamiliar position of chasing the game in its own stadium.
The response came almost immediately.
Just four minutes later, Hosei Kijima found 15-year-old Oscar Avilez in close range, and the D.C. United Homegrown redirected the ball into the net for his first professional goal. In his professional debut, Avilez had brought the Black-and-Red level at 1–1.
The historic moments kept coming.
In the 23rd minute, Nathan Ordaz met a long throw and sent a header across the area, where Nikola Marković headed home his first professional goal to put D.C. United in front. Only three minutes later, Ordaz went from provider to scorer, finding a loose ball inside the box and finishing for his first D.C. United goal.
In the space of just 12 minutes, D.C. had turned a 1–0 deficit into a 3–1 advantage.
The first half had delivered almost everything expected from a match carrying the word “derby” for the first time—goals, momentum swings, young players seizing their opportunity and two regional clubs determined to make their first meeting memorable.
Loudoun, however, wasn’t finished.
The visitors came back out after halftime looking for a way into the match, and in the 65th minute they found it. A Loudoun academy player pulled the score back to 3–2, suddenly putting the pressure back on D.C. and ensuring that the inaugural DMV Derby would remain competitive deep into the second half.
With only one goal separating the teams, the closing stages carried a different tension. D.C. looked to protect the advantage it had built during its first-half surge, while Loudoun continued searching for the equalizer that would complete its own comeback.
It never arrived.
The final whistle sealed a 3–2 D.C. United victory, but the evening represented more than the result of a club friendly. First professional goals for Avilez and Marković, Ordaz’s first goal in Black-and-Red, and five goals between two clubs with deep regional ties gave the first DMV Derby its own identity from the start.
For one night at Audi Field, MLS and USL Championship shared the same stage. The first meeting belonged to D.C. United—but if the DMV Derby becomes a fixture on the region’s soccer calendar, August 5, 2026 will be remembered as the night it began.
