BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The new season is finally here, and not a moment too soon. Birmingham Legion FC is back and ready to kickstart its 2025 campaign on the right foot as it welcomes Loudoun United FC to Protective Stadium on Saturday in a meeting of two USL Championship Eastern Conference clubs looking to bounce back after a playoff-less 2024.
“There’s always an excitement to opening weekend,” said Legion FC coach Tom Soehn. “In the six weeks building up to this, especially when you bring in a lot of new players, you’re looking at the group and trying to answer questions on what it looks like and now we get to see those answers with this opening match.”
MATCH INFO
- Birmingham Legion FC vs Loudoun United FC
- 205 Night | USL Championship Matchday 1
- Saturday, March 8 | 7:00 p.m. CT
- Protective Stadium | Birmingham, AL
- WATCH: WABM My68 (Local) | STREAM: ESPN+
Since reporting for the first day of training on January 21, the month and a half of preseason has been a mixed bag of results for the Black and Gold, but that was to be expected for a roster that experienced quite a bit of offseason turnover.
And early returns on those new faces have been positive with forwards Danny Trejo and Lucca Dourado both providing goals in the preseason slate, while Ronaldo Damus found the back of the net on multiple occasions.
That fresh attacking arsenal was an obvious point of emphasis after a 2024 in which goals were hard to come by. But as important as it was to bring in proven talent and potential to play up top, the chemistry building was even more paramount in the preseason.
“It’s been a learning process trying to make sure we’re all on the same page,” said Trejo ahead of making his official Legion FC debut. “We have young players that are very talented and older guys that are very experienced, so now we’re just trying to bring it together and ensure that when we step out on the pitch, we all have the same idea to make this work.”
That idea is something the veterans are looking to make work as well, considering it has been an agonizingly long wait after coming up short last season.
“It’s quite a big one,” defender and captain Phanuel Kavita said of the chip on his shoulder heading into the new season. “Everybody knows it and you can kind of feel it every time we go out to training, so if we can continue some of that drive into this game and this season, we’ll be fine.”
Kavita and Legion FC’s upcoming opponents likely will come into Saturday with a similar drive.
Loudoun finished the 2024 season in 11th place in the East with 42 points — two behind Legion FC — but made some splash moves by bringing in young talent with the likes of midfielders Aaron Hurge and Moses Nyeman.
Still, the bulk of the core is back for a team that, despite its standing, did finish last season with three wins in its final five matches. So even though it is a new season, there will be some familiarity for Birmingham to prepare for as it looks to open the new campaign with a win.
“We have an idea of what they’re about,” Soehn explained. “But this early one, you have to focus on what you’re about and making sure that you show up and compete. That’s the main thing that is expected of us and then you can kind of piece together the rest.”
Follow Along
For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @bhmlegion on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
