By: Kamil Gut
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – An all-around effort highlighted by six different goalscorers led the Charlottesville Blues FC men’s team to a 7-0 rout of Virginia Marauders FC in Saturday night’s home finale at Charlottesville High School Stadium.
Despite a weather delay due to lightning in the area, Blues fans remained determined to pack the stands on Fan Appreciation Night. The Blues rewarded their supporters’ patience early and often with a quick start and an energetic performance across all 90 minutes.
“We really fed off the energy from the crowd tonight.” Blues captain and midfielder Graham Dougald said postmatch. “From the first whistle, we were jumping on players, winning balls – and it showed. I think we’ve been pretty unlucky all season, so to see them all go in (tonight) felt pretty good.”
LINK: MATCH HIGHLIGHTS – Charlottesville Blues v. Virginia Marauders | 6/28/25
Charlottesville had kept its recent matches competitive for long sequences but failed to come away with maximum points, giving up late goals in the process. The club dropped points from winning positions against both Lionsbridge FC in a 3-3 draw on June 14 and Christos FC in a 2-2 draw on July 21, allowing second-half stoppage time equalizers in each match. In a recent rematch against Lionsbridge on June 25, Charlottesville failed to convert high-quality chances before conceding a goal in the 83rd minute and suffering a 1-0 loss.
In Saturday night’s victory, the Blues took an important step toward extinguishing those bad habits.
The Blues’ motivated attack, despite some rotation between the entire squad, immediately pinned the Marauders into their own half and began picking apart the visitors with selfless passing sequences.
Hungarian forward David Okorie contributed to the first pair of Blues goals. The Blues’ first goal came in the 5th minute when Okorie forced a dangerous cross into the 6-yard box for an own goal that deflected off a Marauders defender, while the second goal came in the 11th minute when he thumped a deep free kick off the bottom of the crossbar and into the net.
“Personally, I think it was coming,” Okorie said postmatch. “The last three games we played really good, but the only thing missing was the goals. After (the two early goals), I feel like they were mentally defeated, so we just kept pushing. It was very important, because the more this game would’ve went on as 0-0, the harder it would’ve been for us.”
LINK: Postmatch Interviews | Charlottesville Blues v. Virginia Marauders | 6/28/25
Just as well on the right wing, the brotherly duo of forward Jadyn Hsieh-Bailey and defender Jai Hsieh-Bailey caused problems for the Marauders all evening.
The pair combined to set up a simple tap-in for Hungarian forward Zsombor Pall, whose third goal of the campaign changed the score to 3-0 in the 34th minute before a Marauders foul on Jadyn Hsieh-Bailey inside the 18-yard box set up a penalty kick opportunity. Dougald stepped up to the spot and roped the ball into the lower left corner to make it 4-0 in the 37th minute.
“Everyone played a massive part in this,” assistant coach Travis Brown said postmatch. “Jadyn came out and had a lot of great options; him and Jai, the brother connection on the right side was unreal.”
Forward Sulaiman Abdul-Mateen, who replaced Okorie after he picked up a non-contact injury, pushed his team-leading season tally to four goals with a 54th-minute composed strike inside the box to make it 5-0 for the Blues.
Jadyn Hsieh-Bailey’s curling shot from just outside the box extended the lead to 6-0 in the 70th minute once the ball floated into the opposite corner. Defender Alex Kochell capped off the scoring in the 85th minute with an aggressive run through the Marauders’ back line that gave him the separation to roof the ball into the top netting past a helpless Zachary Fontenot, the opposing goalkeeper.
“We knew that we had depth going in, and this is the first time we can really show it,” Brown said. “A few minor injuries have given some people chances and we can roll with it. Everyone’s just being a dog right now. We want to go win and put our best effort out there and see what we can do.”
Blues goalkeeper Tyler Beck made his first start of the season and was rarely tested by the Marauders due to the Blues’ consistent pressing and desire to keep possession, even when ahead by several goals. Beck faced a few late chances from just outside the box but handled everything that came his way to earn the Blues just their second clean sheet of the season – the first coming all the way back in a season-opening 0-0 draw against Northern Virginia FC on May 10.
Though the Blues have wrapped up their home portion of the 2025 USL League Two summer schedule, three road matches remain. While they’re mathematically eliminated from playoff contention in the Chesapeake Division, the Blues are looking forward with positive momentum.
“The table is what it is, but we want to put out a good team and show everybody who we are,” Brown said. “This is just massive for setting us up for the next few games and (getting) some momentum to show who we should be.”
“Showing our quality in the final third (from this match),” Dougald said. “Putting the final third together (against those teams). I’m really excited and I think we’ll get some good results.”
Charlottesville will close the season out with trips to Patuxent Football Athletics on Wednesday, July 2, Virginia Beach United on Saturday, July 5 and Annapolis Blues FC on Saturday, July 12.
—
For further information and questions, please contact:
Brian Krow
Co-owner, Charlottesville Blues FC
Email: bkrow@charlottesvillebluesfc.com
Phone: (213) 924-8811
Kamil Gut
Club Reporter/Intern, Charlottesville Blues FC
Email: kamilsgut@gmail.com
Phone: (708) 864-0861
About Charlottesville Blues FC
Charlottesville Blues FC is a pre-professional soccer franchise in the USL League Two and USL W, committed to excellence on and off the field. As the newest expansion team, the Blues aim to make a significant impact in the league, fostering a strong community connection and promoting the growth of soccer in the Charlottesville area.
Media Contact:
Charlottesville Blues FC Communications Team
Email: bkrow@charlottesvillebluesfc.com
Phone: (213) 924-8811
