West Chester United SC opened their sixth Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup campaign against Loudoun United FC of the USL Championship at YSC Sports in Wayne, PA. Despite a valiant effort, the home side fell short of moving out of the first round of the competition for the first time in club history.

Loudoun’s lineup for this match was heavily rotated, and a few of their players were making their first starts for the club or debuting altogether. 

In their qualifying matches for the tournament, West Chester United outscored their opponents 14-2. They were one of the favorites to pull off a “cupset” and beat their Division Two opponents.

Loudoun United reached the round of sixteen last year and eventually fell 3-0 to LAFC in their debut in the tournament. The club is currently 2nd in the USL Championship table through just two matches. 

First Half

West Chester immediately took control of the ball, and striker Joshua Luchini forced a kick save from close range by Loudoun goalkeeper Hugo Fauroux in the fourth minute. After that first chance for the home side, Loudoun pressed up the field and had two chances of their own, but they could not keep their shots on target. West Chester’s midfielders were quick to recover to defend and break up the Loudoun attacks. 

West Chester earned a penalty in the 17th minute after a quick breakaway enticed a Loudoun defender to commit the foul. Midfielder Yassine Elkahoun stepped up to the spot and opened the scoring with a confident shot to send the French keeper the wrong way.

The goal boosted the amateur side’s confidence, allowing Marcus Brenes to get another shot on goal after a solid crossing sequence. The Virginian side’s lack of chemistry became apparent after the goal as they struggled to connect in the final third.

Loudoun United found the equalizer in the 37th minute with a volley by Riley Bidois. The goal came off of a big switch to the far side of the field, and a selfless assist from Ben Mines to the striker on the far post. The long ball disoriented the West Chester defense, who were slow to close down on Mines. 

The goal did not shake the home side’s confidence, however. They continued to threaten in the attack and slow down the visitors when out of possession. 

Second Half

Loudoun United earned a penalty in the 48th minute after Andrew Cooke came off his line and clipped the attacker’s leg. The referee allowed the attacker to get a shot on the advantage but called the penalty after the shot went wide of the net. Christian Sorto converted from twelve yards out to put the away side ahead. 

Loudoun controlled a vast majority of possession and eventually increased their lead with a ball in behind from Sorto to Bidois, who confidently put the ball past Cooke. Following the goal, the away side made changes to bring in some older players and hold on to the ball for longer by passing around their defenders. 

West Chester’s high-pressing style of play earned them a way back into the match after capitalizing on a poor touch from a Loudoun midfielder. The ball was played through the lines by Ayoub Mouhou to Ken Roby, whose right-footed shot went past Hugo Faroux at his back post.

Loudoun insisted on playing out of the back instead of using long balls over the top, which allowed West Chester to threaten with their press in hopes of finding an equalizer. Their forward movement in possession was easily broken up by their higher-division opponents, making it difficult to earn chances unless possession was regained close to the box. 

West Chester fought through five minutes of stoppage time, but could not find the equalizer to send the match to extra time. At the death, Ben Mines tugged down Giancarlo Vaccaro on the counter to stop the breakaway. Vaccaro charged him afterward, and both players received cautions.

 Three Points:

•  Set pieces are key moments in the early rounds of the Open Cup, especially for the lower-division sides. West Chester was lucky to earn their penalty early into the match but needed to do better on other restarts, especially their corner kicks, which did not often clear the first defender. Conceding a penalty to put Loudoun ahead was unlucky, but could have been avoided. 
• West Chester’s press appeared very organized for an amateur club. They frequently forced mistakes in Loudoun’s backline and eventually capitalized on one to score their second goal. Despite going down 3-1 at one point, they were not discouraged and continued to push until the final whistle, even as tempers flared.
• Dylan Lacy, at just 19 years old, started in the midfield for West Chester United. He appeared very confident in the pressing system and his speed and ability were major factors in breaking up Loudoun’s transitional play at times. Alongside Marcus Brenes and captain Yassine Elkahoun, the three midfielders for the home team had a solid match. 

Lineups

West Chester (4-3-3)

Andrew Cooke, August Axtman, Patrick Short, John-Austin Ricks, Ammit Bhogal, Dylan Lacy, Marcus Brenes (Sama Tima– 88′), Yassine Elkahoun (Giancarlo Vaccaro– 80′), Ayoub Mouhou (Bobby Hickerson– 73′), Josh Luchini (Ori Arzi– 80′), Ken Roby (Luca Mellor– 88′)

Tomas Ascoli and Bobby Hickerson were also substituted on, but I could not see who they entered for. 

Unused subs: Riley Porter

Loudoun United (5-3-2)

Hugo Fauroux, Alex Nagy (Wesley Leggett– 78′), Keegan Tingey (Yanis Leerman– 55′), Jacob Erlandson (Kwame Awuah– 65′), Ethan Pendleton, Ben Mines, Aaron Hurge, Surafel Dagnachew (Abdellatif Aboukouba– 70′), Moses Nyeman, Christian Sorto, Riley Bidois (Zachary Ryan– 65”)

Unused Subs: Ryan Jack

Scoring Summary:

WCU: Elkahoun– 18′ (Penalty)

LDN: Bidois– 37′ 

LDN: Sorto– 49′ (Penalty)

LDN: Bidious– 61′ 

WCU: Roby– 68′ 

Discipline Summary:

LDN: Nyeman– 59′ (Caution)

WCU: Elkahloun– 73′ (Caution)

LDN: Mines– 90+5′ (Caution)

WCU: Vaccaro– 90+5′ (Caution)

WCU: Cook– 90+6′ (Caution)