| Club: | Loudoun United FC |
| Season: | 2023 |
| League: | |
| Chrtitle: | General manager |
| Mgrtitle: | Head coach |
| Manager: | Ryan Martin |
| Stadium: | Segra Field |
| League Result: | Conference: TBD Overall: TBD |
| Cup1: | USL Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | To be determined |
| Cup2: | U.S. Open Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Round of 32 |
| American: | true |
| Pattern B1: | _redhoops |
| Pattern Sh1: | _adidasred |
| Pattern So1: | _3_stripes_red |
| Pattern La2: | _whiteborder |
| Pattern Ra2: | _whiteborder |
| Pattern Sh2: | _adidaswhite |
| Pattern So2: | _3_stripes_white |
| Leftarm2: | FF0000 |
| Body2: | FF0000 |
| Rightarm2: | FF0000 |
| Shorts2: | FF0000 |
| Socks2: | FF0000 |
| Prevseason: | 2022 |
| Nextseason: | 2024 |
The 2023 season was Loudoun United FC's fifth season of existence, their fifth in the second-division of American soccer, and their fifth in the USL Championship.
The club had originally planned to begin the season playing in MLS Next Pro, the reserve league for Major League Soccer, however due to a legal agreement for leasing Segra Field, United is required to play in the second division, requiring the club to remain in USL Championship.
On February 2, 2023, Loudoun United FC was sold to Attain Sports and Entertainment, which owns minor league baseball teams Bowie Baysox and Frederick Keys.[1] D.C. United will continue to own a minority stake in Loudoun United.[2] Furthermore, the change of ownership also means that Loudoun United will become eligible to participate in the 2023 U.S. Open Cup.
See main article: 2022 Loudoun United FC season.
Only four players from the previous year's squad (not including those signed to the first team in DC or members of the D.C. United Academy) remained with the team in 2023: Dane Jacomen, Isaac Espinal, Landry Nanan Houssou, and Abdoul Zanne (whose loan from ASEC Mimosas was extended through 2023). All other players who signed with Loudoun in 2022 were recalled by their loaner teams, or were out of contract and signed elsewhere. To make up for the roster shortfall, the team signed a whopping 16 players to different deals to replace the ones who left. From players with experience on other USL teams or reserve sides for MLS teams, to former D.C. United draft picks, to young international stars who showed promise.
With new ownership in place, the team could focus on building a cohesive unit and winning games as opposed to prioritizing the development of players for the first team in D.C. However, D.C. United still held a minority stake in Loudoun, and used the squad to give some of its academy players and reserve squad members some playing time: Jeremy Garay and Gaoussou Samake, who had spent most of their previous years playing with Loudoun even as they were signed to DC, were sent back to Loudoun on season-long loans. In addition, multiple Academy players trained with Loudoun and a handful (including Ethan Pendleton and Xavier O'Neil) were later added to the full roster.
Having new ownership separate from D.C. United allowed Loudoun to participate in the US Open Cup for the first time in their short history. Loudoun entered the second round as the home team against North Carolina FC, and emerged victorious with a 2–1 win in Extra Time. The team managed to draw a home game in the third round as well, with Flower City Union chosen as the visiting side.
| Date | Position | No. | Name | From | Fee/notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 13, 2022 | DF | - | [3] | ||||
| December 15, 2022 | DF | - | Free | [4] | |||
| December 23, 2022 | MF | - | Free | [5] | |||
| January 10, 2023 | FW | - | Free | [6] | |||
| January 12, 2023 | FW | - | Free | [7] | |||
| January 13, 2023 | DF | - | Free | [8] | |||
| January 14, 2023 | FW | - | Free | [9] | |||
| January 17, 2023 | DF | - | Free | [10] | |||
| January 18, 2023 | DF | - | Free | [11] |
| Date | Position | No. | Name | To | Fee/notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 31, 2022 | DF | 3 | End of loan | ||||
| DF | 6 | D.C. United | End of loan | ||||
| MF | 14 | D.C. United | End of loan | ||||
| January 17, 2023 | DF | 4 | Free | [12] |
See main article: 2023 USL Championship season.
See main article: 2023 U.S. Open Cup.
| Rank | Position | No. | Name | US Open Cup | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FW | 11 | 10 | 2 | 12 | |
| 2 | MF | 23 | 8 | 2 | 10 | |
| 3 | FW | 9 | 5 | 2 | 7 | |
| 4 | MF | 12 | 4 | 0 | 4 | |
| FW | 14 | 3 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 6 | 4 players with 1 goal | |||||
| Total | 31 | 8 | 40Top assists | |||