Virginia Beach United Moves into First Place Following 2-0 Win Over Virginia Marauders F.C.

By Nicholas King — June 27, 2024

Virginia Beach United walked into its Wednesday night match against Virginia Marauders F.C. with a lot on the line: first-place position in the Chesapeake Division, extending its unbeaten streak to seven games, and tying its franchise record for wins in a season. If there was any pressure inside the United locker room, it was not evident on the pitch, as Virginia Beach waltzed away with a 2-0 victory. 

The first half opened with Virginia Beach dominating the pitch. United controlled possession for most of the opening frame, dictating the pace of play and keeping Marauders goalkeeper Thomas Viscusso busy in net. Despite Viscusso’s extraordinary performance, Virginia Beach defenseman Bomba Hermoso slipped one past the keeper in the 36th minute, opening the scoring for United. Hermoso now has two goals on the season, just one shy of his 2023 season mark. 

When second-half action kicked off, the momentum seemingly shifted in favor of the Marauders. The Marauders came out energized and physical, challenging the Virginia Beach defense. However, after a series of intense changes between the two squads, United’s fire was reignited, this time even brighter. Virginia Beach swung back into attacking form, testing Viscusso again, who remained remarkable in goal. Nevertheless, a textbook through ball from Everett McCloskey found Micah Wayland in the 73rd minute for United’s second score. Despite maintaining pressure United the final whistle, United could not find the back of the net once more, and the game ended in a 2-0 victory in favor of Virginia Beach. 

United now sits atop the Chesapeake Division alongside Lionsbridge with a 6-1-1 record. However, Lionsbridge holds the head-to-head tiebreaker, meaning that if the season ended abruptly today, United’s rivals across the water would claim the one seed. The rematch with Lionsbridge comes on July 6th. However, Virginia Beach has to get through Christos F.C. at home on Saturday before it can begin to think about its much-anticipated showdown with the perennial powerhouse. That game is set to kick off at 7 PM.