{"id":3553,"date":"2026-08-06T17:30:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T17:30:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/?p=3553"},"modified":"2026-08-12T17:32:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T17:32:50","slug":"dmv-history-made-as-d-c-united-and-loudoun-united-face-off-for-the-first-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/?p=3553","title":{"rendered":"DMV History Made as D.C. United and Loudoun United Face Off for the First Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Story & Photos by Shawn Payne<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Match Date: August 5, 2026 | Audi Field, Washington, D.C. | Friendly<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But once the opening whistle sounded, familiarity quickly gave way to competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Airborne
Fierce airborne competition during the DC United and Loudon United Friendly at Audi Stadium<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"DC
DC United winger taking on Loudon United defense early in the game<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Loudoun made the first statement. In the 10th minute, Thorleifur \u00dalfarsson drove a left-footed finish into the back post to give the USL Championship side a 1\u20130 advantage and put D.C. United in the unfamiliar position of chasing the game in its own stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The response came almost immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u20131.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Strong
Loudon United goalie fully stretched to make the save against a DC United strike<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Goal
Goal celebration by DC United players against Loudon United<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The historic moments kept coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 23rd minute, Nathan Ordaz met a long throw and sent a header across the area, where Nikola Markovi\u0107 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the space of just 12 minutes, D.C. had turned a 1\u20130 deficit into a 3\u20131 advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first half had delivered almost everything expected from a match carrying the word \u201cderby\u201d for the first time\u2014goals, momentum swings, young players seizing their opportunity and two regional clubs determined to make their first meeting memorable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loudoun, however, wasn\u2019t finished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u20132, suddenly putting the pressure back on D.C. and ensuring that the inaugural DMV Derby would remain competitive deep into the second half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Continued
Continued airborne contests for possession between DC United and Loudon United<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Loudon
Loudon United attacking through the midfield looking for openings against DC United<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It never arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final whistle sealed a 3\u20132 D.C. United victory, but the evening represented more than the result of a club friendly. First professional goals for Avilez and Markovi\u0107, Ordaz\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Young
Young DC United fans enjoy the excitement of DC United battling Loudon United<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Game
Realization at the closing whistle of missed opportunities during the DC United game against Loudon United<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Players
Players showing appreciation for each other at the end of the game between DC United and Loudon United<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For one night at Audi Field, MLS and USL Championship shared the same stage. The first meeting belonged to D.C. United\u2014but if the DMV Derby becomes a fixture on the region\u2019s soccer calendar, August 5, 2026 will be remembered as the night it began.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Story & Photos by Shawn Payne Match Date: August 5, 2026 | Audi Field, Washington, D.C. | Friendly WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 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, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3554,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[25,30,33,27,32,31],"class_list":["post-3553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mls-usl-championship-friendly","tag-dc-united","tag-loudon-united-fc","tag-major-league-soccer","tag-mls","tag-usl-championship","tag-uslc"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3553"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3553\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3555,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3553\/revisions\/3555"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}