Loudoun in Atlantic division for 2021
D.C.’s USL team also appears set to play a game or two out West for the first time.
Earlier today the USL Championship finalized the division alignments for the 2021 season and the 31-team grouping, and Loudoun United found themselves in the 8-team Atlantic Division of the following teams:
- Charleston Battery
- Charlotte Independence
- Hartford Athletic
- Miami FC
- New York Red Bulls II
- Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
- Tampa Bay Rowdies
Loudoun played Hartford, New York and Pittsburgh as part of their 2020 season. The fifth team, Philadelphia Union II, withdrew from the Championship in 2020. Loudoun played Charleston, Charlotte and Tampa Bay in 2019, and played the Ottawa Fury as well, however, the Fury transferred their franchise rights to Miami after the 2019 season.
Loudoun will play each team 4 times (twice at home, twice on the road), with the four remaining games will be played against regional or cross-conference opponents. It remains to be seen if the teams will be regional (Louisville, Memphis or Indy Eleven, for example) for Loudoun, but it appears that at least one game against a Western Conference team is possible, the first time Loudoun could play a team from the West and the first time since 2018 the USL will engage in interconference play.
More on the schedule will be revealed in the coming weeks, with a start date on or about May 1.