In my unending quest to brand™ my content, I've decided to call my midweek piece "Film School." This will be a shorter-form, video-forward breakdown of important trends from across the league. First up, El Paso.
The bad and the ugly
If there's an antonymic version of "hitting the ground running," Evan Newton's opening weeks in goal for the El Paso Locomotive define it. I won't get into the booing controversy or claim that Newton was secretly good, but I think that his horrid statistical profile is partially a product of shambolic defending. When a goalkeeper faces high-percentage shots over and over again, he or she is naturally going to look bad. My Goals Saved Above Average model, which naively considers shot volumes independent of locations or bodies in the box, exemplifies this phenomenon. The three clips that follow can explain what ailed El Paso early in 2022 and how Newton played his part in the chaos.
Each of the following sequences come from the Las Vegas game a few weeks back, a 5-to-4 thriller featuring a star-turn from Daniel Trejo of the Lights.
Let's start with an early Vegas chance. The first line of El Paso pressure features two high wingers alongside striker Luis Solignac. Playing over that narrow front, Las Vegas moves down the right and easily bypasses a half-hearted Dylan Mares challenge. This error is key; from there, Matt Boehner has to step up to apply pressure, forcing his centerback partner to slide over and cover the vacant space. An opposing forward steps into that gap and nearly knocks the cross home.
The second goal for Las Vegas, a wonderful chipped strike from Trejo, came as a result of further flagrant defending. El Paso, on the face of it, keeps an organized shape at the back against the long goal kick. Still, as Richie Ryan contests the header, you can see that shape collapsing. Ander Egiluz, who had to cover in the first clip, tightly tracks the opposing forward and leaves a huge gap between his right-centerback spot and Harry Brockbank at fullback. Ryan loses the aerial duel, the ball leaks through that channel, and speedster Trejo is off to the races. Newton is undoubtedly too far off of his line, but that's a wonderful finish at the same time.
One more example. Here, the Lights press high up the pitch, and Egiluz plays a pass into the midfield that invites pressure from two opponents. Meanwhile, Ryan tracks Cal Jenning's drop into zone fourteen off the ball. When Las Vegas forces a turnover off of that risky pass, Ryan's momentum is carrying him the wrong way. Jennings takes a masterful touch to get by the holder from there. At this point, the El Paso centerbacks are still split wide as buildup passing options, and the opposing striker is able to put a nice shot into the side netting to take a 3-to-0 lead.
Between sloppy passing, subpar tackling in the midfield, bad positional defending, disharmonious coverage, and mediocre goalkeeping, you can see why the Locomotive sputtered out of the gates in 2022. Still, this weekend's Monterey game offered a path forward.
The good
There were a number of factors that led to a transformative defense effort and clean sheet for El Paso in that match. I touched on improved responses to goal kicks as a direct answer to the second clip from above in breaking down the match over on Twitter. Personnel was another key factor. Chapa Herrera's start in midfield was especially influential. #20 replaced Diego Abarca, who showed a lot of burst as an attacking prospect against Las Vegas. Herrera, meanwhile, is a veteran box-to-box figure. Compare his action map to that of Abarca and you can see the difference. The youngster is siloed on the right side of the pitch, and he's likelier to engage offensively upfield. Herrera, meanwhile, roves from side to side and stays deeper; two ball recoveries in the box betray the dissimilarity. Herrera's mobility, positioning, and stability lessen the burden on Richie Ryan. I adore Ryan, but some of the cracks in his aging game worsened things against Las Vegas.
What’s more, Yuma's veteran presence replaced struggling debutante Egiluz, and Andrew Fox slid over to centerback to accommodate Eder Borelli at left back. As a result, the back four and midfield trio resembled a pretty classic Mark Lowry lineup, and that extra chemistry showed. Three further clips illustrate the impact of these swaps and an overall commitment to team defending and organization.
In this sequence, the first thing to note is the tracking back from Brockbank on the flank. He busts his ass to get into position, and the central defenders are able to stay home as a result. At the far side, Borelli shows similar hustle to win the clearing header, buying the Locomotive enough time to settle into their deep defensive shape. Diego Luna recovers nicely to support Borelli, then he stays wide to allow the left back to close down a Monterey man. Everyone is moving in concert, and #15's wide support is a tactical choice to laud.
El Paso turns the ball over in the middle to start this Monterey counterattack, but the fullbacks are in good position, and the Locomotive's central trio sits narrow. The overload in the middle drives Walmer Martinez out of the center of the pitch and slows the tempo of the break. Again, Luna shows great hustle to get back, and again his side forces a feckless cross. Effort, support, and shape prevent the danger from developing.
The last example I'll highlight starts with another turnover. Brockbank pushes to close down as Monterey move across the horizontal plane of the pitch, but Borelli comes deep on the left to mark Chris Cortez and allow his centerbacks to shift as needed. The sequence is familiar from there. Wide support and sublime organization let the Locomotive pack the box as Monterey's attack grinds to a halt.
A greater commitment to wide tracking, more conservative fullback positioning, coverage on goal kicks, personnel chemistry: all of these factors combined to improve things for El Paso. Still, I think that you have to bring up the effort factor. For this team to keep heart and hunker down after a disastrous beginning to the John Hutchinson regime is a great sign in terms of his leadership and the voices in the changing room. Hutchinson himself deserves plaudits for being reactive. It would be natural that a new manager who came in on a platform of high pressing, marauding fullbacks, and aggressive attack to stick to his guns and refuse to change out his new signings. Hutchinson avoids those impulses, made the necessary adjustments, and got improved results for the effort. The Locomotive could still come out and lay an egg in their next match, but I'm fairly convinced that things are settling in El Paso.