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But without further ado...
Title Contenders
1.) SAN ANTONIO: Between injuries and suspensions, San Antonio's front five on Sunday included:
Ignacio Bailone
Jack Lynn
Jordan Ayimbila
Ates Diouf
Cristian Parano
That's, what, one regular starter? You cn argye about Lynn and Bailone, but I'm trusting Patino and Dhillon, both of whom made an impact against Birmingham.
Generally, though, I definitely sensed a lack of chemistry as a result, both in transition and in the battle over the midfield. Birmingham was left with too much time on the ball to pick out passes and move fluidly in build, and a lacking presence in front of the back line ultimately led to an early penalty concession. Still, San Antonio responded nicely and stayed effective on the front foot; Fabien Garcia regularly advanced into attack and got the eventual assist to Bailone when the Legion were sucked too deep.
San Antonio used a full slate of substitutes, and Santiago Patino starred. He got the winner, and his connection and rotation with Justin Dhillon was a treat late-on. I feel rote and boring every time I talk about this team, but it's the same thing every week. Amazing forward depth, a great defense, and a real belief throughout the team.
2.) LOUISVILLE: Enoch Mushagalusa might have the lowest amazing moments-to-attention ratio in the USL. The ex-SKC winger is workmanlike and tireless, but he fills every match with movements of breakneck cuts on the dribble and breathtaking, audacious passes. On the year, he's in the 99th percentile for expected goals amongst wingers while putting up 91st percentile overall value. He and Louisville looked good early, but they conceded first thanks to their high defensive line. Manny Perez sat deeper than usual to mark Antoine Hoppenot, but a burst from Detroit's left back drew Perez high and let the ex-Louisville man slide behind the defense to score.
Josh Wynder came on to form a pseudo-back three for a second consecutive week, and Louisville reasserted themselves from there. The shape required Detroit to press in a truer front three and left them vulnerable to outside-in moves, and Wilson Harris' forays into the midfield regularly powered transition moves. He, of course, got the tying strike in a break scenario. Still, Ray Serrano's shift into the middle amidst that shape shift changed things. His energy in the center won the day for Danny Cruz.
3.) TAMPA BAY: Red-card suspension for Leo Fernandes and injury precaution around Jake Areman left the Rowdies a shade undermanned on their left side as a game against Loudoun loomed this Saturday. Still, it's uh, not a nightmare to slot Jake LaCava in on that side, thin depth notwithstanding. The changes also led to a three-man midfield with Lewis Hilton, Nicky Law, and Yann Ekra; how creative can you get?! Law's left-sided creation paired nicely with Aaron Guillen's attacking tendencies to draw the Loudoun defense and open up LaCava. Rotation in that same vein eventually let Yann Ekra get behind the defense to start a set-piece cycle ending in a Sebastian Guenzatti penalty, and the lead doubled soon after. Good stuff for a team that's finding form at the perfect moment; they ate a new-look diamond alive in the second half to boot. 8-0 doesn't come for bad teams, and guys like Dayonn Harris and 17-year-old Tate Johnson were terrifying out wide off the bench.
And yeah, sickos, Tate Johnson content coming on Twitter this week.
4.) SAN DIEGO: I'll have full coverage of my awards ballots soon enough, but Sunday's New Mexico game felt like an endorsement of my Alejandro Guido love in an all-league and MVP sense. Build in the wide areas, whether that be Ebenezer Ackon carriage or Jack Metcalf's shuttling wingback play, was dynamic if stoppable, but Guido continually shredded foes in two-on-ones with toe drags and slick first-time balls. He obviously scored a nice goal to recover from a fluky early penalty, but everything else is what makes his game special.
Still, this was a sloppy defensive game. Blame Metcalf entering, a 16-year-old goalkeeper, or the halftime Ackon-Elijah Martin change, but San Diego conceded within two minutes of the start of both halves. Amando Moreno is a challenge for anybody, but the Loyal absolutely have to be better to remain a title threat. I chalk some of the issues up to rotation, but the point stands for a defense that ranks darn near average this year.
Oh, and I don't like the Rocket League kits. Fight me.
Borderline Threats
5.) MEMPHIS: After last week's fun with a 17-year-old striker spelled by a debutante and Niall Logue at the #10 spot, we got Phillip Goodrum up top and Logue in the back four as nature intended on Wednesday as Memphis faced RGV. Lo and behold, that first-choice squad scored almost immediately. Jeremy Kelly got that opener in the wake of his side roasting a surprise back three from the opposition, and the interchange in attack was sizzling all night. More vitally, Logue was unflappable against RGV's long-ball attack, and the Molloy-Paul pivot tracked deep to form a lovely six-man wall on the rare occasions that the hosts settled in.
Laurent Kissiedou was the star in the second half. RGV's back-three switch naturally left the midfield undermanned, and #11 ate up. His shows to pick up possession greased the wheels of the attack, and the former Atlanta man drove halfway down the field on the second Memphis goal. Kelly and Goodrum were brilliant in running to make space for Kissiedou, but his carriage and snipe stood out.
Still, you have to question the final half hour. Memphis rarely got a dangerous offensive touch and struggled against a first-choice Toros side. All-out offense can challenge this team.
On Sunday, the side debuted Dylan Borczak on the wing opposite Jeremy Kelly as Chris Allan returned to the starting set. New York was never going to be a tough challenge, but an early goal off the press challenged Memphis. Borczak was bright roving across the pitch in the press; his work rate exceeds that of, say, a Luiz Fernando. One thing I noted was a penchant for long goal kicks. New York presses high but sloppily and doesn't necessitate that approach, but 901 FC consistently uses them to establish high position and launch their own counterpress. Eventually, that pattern led the Baby Bulls to deepened their shape and double up on the wings, leading to a classic Kelly in-cut and assist to Phillip Goodrum for the win. Laborious over 90 minutes, but solid as a result.
6.) DETROIT: Yazeed Matthews had trained for Trevor James for much of the year, but his insertion into the first-choice eleven has been consequential in Detroit. Matthews tends deeper than Pato Botello and forms more of a 3-4-2-1, and that pushes Antoine Hoppenot up as a line-stretching #9 more than a roving creator. Matthews and Rutz took turn leaping high in attack to challenge Louisville, and a few balls over the top challenged their advanced back line. Still, the hosts at Lynn Family Stadium exerted large amount of control by leveraging the height of Rhys Williams at wingback and breaking into their pacey wide men.
If a goal was coming, it was always going to be in transition against the high opposing line. Detroit is in the bottom ten in touches per shot, signifying a somewhat lower-paced system, but their best chances always come on quick breaks. Such a scenario bore out on the Hoppenot opener with Deklan Wynne drawing the defense and slotting the star forward behind to go ahead. Still, Hoppenot went off early in the second half, and the new-look forward line pressed into a true trio that left the midfield weak. Louisville gained control again and ate up on the counter, leading to a Wilson Harris goal and a Josh Wynder corner tally shortly thereafter. We're now at three winless games for Detroit against the Kentuckians on the year, but Le Rouge's competitiveness in each matchup frankly means more than the end result.
7.) COLORADO SPRINGS: Firstly, if you want Hadji Barry coverage, I wrote all about it at Backheeled.
More pertinently, Zach Zandi and Cam Lindley formed one of the best midfield duos in the USL early in the year, but an injury to the former did a lot to derail the Switchbacks this season. Still, the ex-Bethlehem man made his first start since June on Wednesday against El Paso, and Brendan Burke moved the team into a true 4-2-3-1. Jairo Henriquez and Steven Echeverria operated in the attacking midfield, and the latter executed a sick dummy on Michee Ngalina's opening transition goal.
I was interested in Macauley King's midfield deployment. He's one of the best crossers in the league at right back but operated as a #6 with the freedom to drift rightward, and his creative presence added a sense of confusion to his former club's defense. Still, this was Michee Ngalina's game. His pace and skill led to three total goals and assists amidst a lethal counter as the Switchbacks reasserted their case for the #3 seed.
Playoff Likelies
8.) MIAMI: Las Vegas is a weird trap game for almost anybody, and Anthony Pulis' crew came out a step drab as they took their turn in Sin City. The 4-4-2 defense was fine if a step vulnerable in the wide areas when a Lights midfielder dropped into the back line to allow the fullbacks to advance, and the goal came in a wide one-on-one. That Cal Jennings goal saw the two-man center for Miami outmanned when Las Vegas formed a trio, drawing the side in and isolating Danny Trejo against Mark Segbers to cross into a weird own goal sort of thing. Joaquin Rivas was bright off of the bench - signifying that the big guns weren't necessarily out at full power from the get-go - but Miami just couldn't hold together in transition when Trejo and Jennings got rolling. Away playoff match, here we come.
9.) OAKLAND: Given Oakland's late-season congestion, lineup changes weren't out of the question, but Memo Diaz coming in for Edgardo Rito still surprised me given the starting right back's excellence. Still, Juan Azocar was in, and that made the difference just four minutes in. The Venezuelan is in the 94th and 96th percentiles, respectively, for expected goals and shots, and he earned his ninth tally of 2022 off of Jose Hernandez' and his own counterpressure following a set piece. It's the fiery style we've come to expect from the all-league wingback and this Roots team as of late.
Azocar's rotation with Dariusz Formella was notable down the left. #18 would burst into the middle to bolster that thing central press, but the winger was always right behind him to fill in as a proxy defender. A few moments of discomfort came and went, but that dynamic was powerful at back. Still, a early concession in the second half changed the game, necessitating Rito's entrance off the bench. Azocar moved to the left wing, Diaz to wingback, and Rito to right wingback. Shortly thereafter, #72's presence freed an inside move that got Ottar Karlsson his 19th goal. Talk about a move from Noah Delgado for what's looking like a playoff team.
Also, I've got a Tactics Show coming that'll expand on these themes. Get hyped, y'all.
10.) RIO GRANDE VALLEY: After a tight loss to Louisville where the offense really lacked, Wilmer Cabrera decided to almost entirely change his lineup. Ollie Wright caught my eye in the midfield. He made a dozen or so appearances in San Antonio last year but had missed much of 2022 with injuries. Still, Cabrera's choice to move RGV into a back three was the key choice, and it whiffed without a shadow of a doubt. Memphis is so effective because of their inverted wingers slicing inside, and unfamiliar defensive spacing rendered the Toros unable to deal with those moves. The side gained momentum, but their lack of bodies in the middle allowed Memphis to carve through the middle for a second-half double-up, effectively ending the game and really undercutting the Toros' playoff odds.
Rest is necessary, but running your core into the ground so thoroughly that you have to change your entire tactical identity to give the stars rest is mismanagement. The Ruiz-Pinzon-Torres core entered late and completely overwhelmed the hosts, yielding two goals to equalize. Another substitute, Jonas Fjeldberg, was utterly fantastic on the first, facilitating final-third possession and getting the hockey assist ahead of Jose Torres' late-arriving strike. A draw against the East's two-seed is unassailable, but this could've been a statement.
Cabrera didn't make the same mistake twice and came close to his first-choice starting set against Phoenix, but he somewhat bizarrely stayed with a back three. It matched the Rising in a formational sense but weakened the press by requiring more deep responsibility on behalf of the forward line. Joy came in transition. When the opposition pushed up and got adventurous with their ball-carrying defenders, Pinzon and Ricky Ruiz proved able in eating on the counter. In the second half, Akeem Ward and Jonathan Ricketts were liberated on the under- and overlap and challenged Phoenix on the regular, creating space and opening a go-ahead Fjledberg banger. The defense held firm, and that was that to cap a decent four-point week against two tough foes. Playoff time in Edinburg?
11.) NEW MEXICO: The San Diego game was something of an aberration for United, but not in a bad way necessarily. A defensive 4-2-3-1 proved rather ineffective at controlling possession and limiting chances, but Amando Moreno was sizzling going the other way. His late-season return from injury has added a bit of verve to a side sorely lacking for creation; he blends the pace and dribbling of a Preston Tabortetaka with the vision of a Chris Wehan. Ultimately, a Moreno cut under Jerome Kiesewetter created the first goal, and his skill on the ball and leveraging of teammate shielding powered a long-range second. It feels more and more that he's the key to New Mexico making the playoffs and thriving in that one-off format. You need a game-changer, and Moreno is that guy. Still, the defense is weirdly inconsistent for a team with this much talent at back.
12.) BIRMINGHAM: The right side was super effective for Tommy Soehn out of the gates against the vaunted San Antonio defense this weekend, leveraging a rotated opposing midfield to great effect. Jonny Dean would come high and serve as a pivot point in the half space, picking out passes as Marlon danced in and out, Enzo Martinez stalked, and, ultimately, Anderson Asiedu snuck towards the center to earn a penalty.
San Antonio is a team that's beatable if you do outrace them to a 1-0 lead, but the Legion handed them the reins and dropped into a wildly deep one-forward defensive shape and conceded in due course. A good bit of interchange amongst the opposing forwards freed the header, but you'd expect better organization from this unit. Bizarrely, a Birmingham team that always performs better when they're pressing on the front foot continued to absord pressure. Dean regularly had to cover into the middle against transition, and that phenomenon ultimately freed the shot that got San Antonio a 2-1 win. Will Soehn learn his lesson? History says no, but this team is still a threat to raise a ruckus come playoff time.
13.) SACRAMENTO: Welcome back, Rodrigo Lopez! He converted a second-half penalty to get Sacramento a lead, but the first half was somewhat more labored. Aggressive Pittsburgh fullback play limited the Republic, while Damia Viader and Duke Lacroix struggled to contain the Riverhounds' runs into the channels. Lopez and Keko powered transition looks in the other direction by coming deep, drawing the opposition high, and launching switches, and that pattern led to the Lopez penalty.
Still, offense never felt natural. This was a matchup of two low-tempo, moderate-output sides, but you just want more. Mark Briggs deserves credit for swapping Douglas Martinez out at the top of the shape and doubling up with an Archimede/Casey change that created a back four, but the move came late, and Sacramento is way late in the season to be experimenting with new looks. A draw with the 'Hounds is always solid, but you just want a bit more overall.
14.) EL PASO: An injured Dylan Mares is never what you want to see, and his absence against Colorado Springs on Wednesday ultimately doomed John Hutchinson's side. There were nice moments where Eder Borelli could cut narrow or underlap and Lucho Solignac got involved, but the left-heavy attack for the Locomotive couldn't quite figure things out. Matt Bahner sat deep at right back, Liam Rose and Richie Ryan lacked verve in the midfield, and the side became vulnerable to the counter as they pressed up. The 4-1 scoreline was deceiving, but the worst weaknesses of El Paso's system were laid bare without #10.
Chris Garcia and Aaron Gomez were bright in a sub-standard eleven at the weekend, but the side started well enough. Those two pressed like demons and varied their positions between width and narrowness, often dropping deep or pressing high. That sentence should read like ""they were everywhere"" for a reason; both Garcia and Gomez came with energy. Inevitably, that movement drew Orange County out, freeing late runs from Diego Abarca and the eventual Eric Calvillo burst over the top that earned an assist to break open the scoring. The second half was equally clean, and a switch to a 4-2-3-1 with a Richie Ryan/Ander Egiluz pivot saw things out after the lead doubled. I know I was skeptical after the lineup drop, but this was a fairly complete, walk-in-the-park sort of Locomotive performance, late concession notwithstanding.
15.) PITTSBURGH: Heading out to California's capital, the Riverhounds brought a 4-2-3-1 defense based on aggressive fullback play against Sacramento's showing wingers and a drop into a compact 4-4-1-1 in block. Against a side that defends well but struggles to break down set opponents, the decision was astute. What's more, Albert Dikwa was extremely bright getting behind the left wingback for the Republic, though he was mostly on an island outside of a few smart Russell Cicerone runs. Outside of a few inspired swaps between Kenardo Forbes and Robbie Mertz, the side largely lacked for ideas, and a late move to a 4-4-2 with Edward Kizza in the first line wasn't enough to get three points. An away draw against Sacramento is solid enough, but you want more consistent performance levels as the playoffs loom.
Done, Fun, and Fringe
16.) INDY: Cheers to Ayoze on a brilliant stint with Indy Eleven. Starring for the side across five seasons after a sizzling tenure with the New York Cosmos, the Spaniard announced his exit at season's end. He's one of the clubs leaders in…well…basically every category, but his veteran leadership was crucial to the success of those early Martin Rennie sides. He's one of the two or three greatest Eleven players ever for my taste.
This weekend, youth reigned with Ecris Revolorio and Wilfredo Rivera in the mix again, but a different veteran stood out: A. J. Cochran. The lauded centerback is in the 88th percentile for his aerial win rate and the top quarter for most defensive efficiency stats, and my early-season grousing about his play was more of a Mechack Jerome issue than anything else. He was a real sweeper against Charleston's cross-heavy attack. Still, the structure of Indy's front two let the Battery progress through their centerbacks on the dribble, drawing Ayoze up in rotation and opening lanes for progression; that pattern led to the first opposition goal.
Robby Dambrot was great again and paired nicely with Cochran on the left side. His underlaps continue to rock, and they powered the second for Mark Lowry. Dambrot counterpressed to knock Charleston's wingback out of the play, dribbled inside, and loosed Stefano Pinho in the half space with a central defender on a string. A corner ensued, and Pinho hammered home. The fun continued from there against a poor back three, and I, for one, can't help but think this form is going to continue into 2023 at Carroll Stadium.
17.) LAS VEGAS: Kudos to Jorge Almaguer for correcting the record and going by "Ima" now. It's something you see across sports - think about the weird Mike/Giancarlo Stanton situation with the star Yankee - and I consistently find it interesting. More pertinently, I want to show some love to Frank Daroma. He's in the top quarter for his tackle win rate and his ratio of key passes to forward passes. Essentially, he'll sit in the pivot, keep the tempo, and destroy your counters while also springing a lovely through ball when the time comes.
Against Miami, that often meant Daroma would sit between the centerbacks in build to pull the strings and outman a two-man press. Still, he stepped high ahead of Daniel Crisostomo and company to form a strong threesome that sucked Miami in, let Daroma link Danny Trejo in a one-on-one, and led to the opening Lights goal. A later shift into a deep back three engaged more readily Trejo in transition, but, more importantly, forced Miami to come high in possession and thus make themselves vulnerable. That pattern led to the third, winning goal for a team that's still in the thick of it for the seven seed.
18.) MONTEREY: So, the racial abuse thing. For those unaware, Monterey filed a complaint about racial abuse during last week's game against the Tampa Bay Rowdies, and the USL didn't come out with any punishment or real response. We needed more transparency for sure, from the league in terms of investigative transparency to both clubs involved in terms of the accusations. I'm not saying that the player(s) in question needed to be explicitly named without hard proof, but the vagueness just confuses.
Obviously, things escalated when Monterey boycotted their game against FC Tulsa, news that broke late on Friday. Lots of level-headed people think that Monterey handled the situation poorly and put Tulsa under undue pressure. After all, the side was set for season-best attendance on Hispanic Heritage Night. Even so, the primary blame falls on the league office. Even if Monterey acted with a lack of consideration, they were essentially forced to do so by USL inaction. I don't buy into the talk of playoff machinations in the boycott; leveraging allegations of abuse towards such an end would be shocking. More needed to be done to respond to Monterey's initial claims, and that's the issue here.
19.) TULSA: See Monterey above. I miss Dario Suarez…
20.) HARTFORD: There are few teams as chaotic as Tab Ramos' Hartford right now. Last week's six-goal outburst was symbolic of the good, but three concessions back then and a fourth-minute deficit against Oakland this time around illustrate the bad. When things are ticking, Joel Johnson can cut inside to supercharge the magic of Danny Barrera and Andre Lewis. Still, those chances were rare, and Hartford's lone home goal came when Modou Jadama and Tulu stayed high from their base centerback spots to overpower Oakland in the wake of a set piece. In the end, the offensive verve of the central midfielders doomed the Connecticut side and got too stretched, ceding control across much of the match and especially on the slaloming, unperturbed goal that got the Roots a win.
21.) PHOENIX: "Greg Hurst watch" is my favorite semi-recurring segment, so I'd like to note that the striker is in the 88th percentile for expected assists and the 89th for overall Goals Above Replacement. He headlined another 3-4-2-1 as Luis Seijas re-entered in the pivot. The shape was interesting in build, often looking like a wonky back four with King rotating higher on the right side to create overloads alongside Gabi Torres (which I swore was "Gabby" at one point?) and Arturo Rodriguez. Nevertheless, progression was labored against a 5-2-3 with centerbacks popping into the Toros' press at random, and that sort of scenario led to the opening concession for Juan Guerra's side.
Still, Phoenix answered quickly through Torres, but the deep drops from Arturo Rodriguez and Santi Moar caused the strife. Both were essentially serving as members of the pivot as the side broke out and started a wonderfully fluid break. The odd dynamic in terms of back-line build shape eventually led to trouble, however, as soon as RGV got aggressive with their wingbacks. JJ Williams, Joey Farrell, and Joey Calistri changed the shape into a pure back-three, two-forward system, but a red card and the late timing of those shifts meant that this was end of the line for the Rising in 2022. Oh, and we'll end on Greg Hurst watch again because, uh, that was his red.
Down Bad
22.) ORANGE COUNTY: No Milan Iloski, no party, but Korede Osundina is a fun consolation prize for the last-place finisher in the West. He was great using his young legs to challenge an El Paso side that eschews long outlet passes, allowing Sean Okoli to rotate underneath and the wingers to get high. That dynamic reigned on the ball as well. Okoli would come low, Osundina would streak to the ball side, and either Tony Rocha or Brian Iloski would fill in from the flank. Still, Richard Chaplow's press often looked much too light against those possessive defenders, and downfield over-attention against El Paso's ignored central midfield runners too often. You saw that dynamic create the Locomotive's opener. Second-half changes like Osundina going out wide and a return to a 4-3-3 couldn't stem the tide, and OCSC dropped yet another game.
23.) LOS ANGELES: I'm constantly throwing love to the attackers for the Galaxy, but how about Josh Drack and Owen Lambe at the fullback spots? Lambe was great in the early-season back three as the pivot man between defensive permutations, and Drack has been a trooper on the right all year long. Drack is in the 99th percentile for passes amongst fullbacks and really shone on Saturday in controlling the wingbacks and diagonal forward runners innate to Atlanta's 3-4-3. Meanwhile, his opposite number has seven assists on the campaign and 92nd percentile passing volume. You'll notice a lack of defensive stats here, and that was Los Angeles' big problem in blowing their early lead this Saturday. Lambe especially struggled against Raimar's speed in the second half, and his allowances drew the centerbacks out amidst that heavily offense-weighted Atlanta system. The result? A 3-1 loss and a bitter credo to Los Angeles' USL existence.
24.) ATLANTA: Toni Tiente was fairly impressive in the Atlanta midfield yet again, bustling back into defense when the centerbacks got frisky and anchoring the pivot if Nicolas Firmino did anything weird. Basically, the 24-year-old holding midfielder is a calming presence in a manic situation. I've mentioned Loudoun's relative lineup stability here already, and Atlanta deserves similar praise. Tiente is one of the rare late-arrivers, but he slots in nicely behind that fluid front three.
Speaking of that attacking line, I loved the brace for Tristan Trager. His movement has consistently rocked this year, leading to 95th percentile expected goals per shot. #21 has a great sense of when to cut hard off a teammate into space. That was Nicolas Firmino in the first case and Jonantan Villal in the second; both chances were also powered by Raimar down the left. A great last-minute Vicente Reyes save bled into a Villal goal deep into added time to seal it. How about Atlanta?!
25.) CHARLESTON: Fidel Barajas, star youth prospect for the United States and Mexico alike, got his first start as the Battery traveled to the Circle City on Saturday. He's hugely bright as a 16-year-old, and I liked what he brought on the right side at wingback. He swapped left every now and again, and that helped create the first goal for the guests. AJ Paterson continually challenged Indy's two-man front line on the dribble and addled the right of the Eleven midfield, and that opened up the teenager to create Augustine Williams's 16th strike of the year. Williams, by the way, is in the 99th percentile for Goals Above Replacement this season.
Nevertheless, fullback-centerback disconnection and a lack of a true #10 or dynamic, veteran wingers doomed the offense for the most part. Williams can only do so much, and the Eleven narrowed out to rely on their veteran centerbacks as clearing stalwarts, adding a handful of goals to make this a drubbing.
26.) LOUDOUN: Jonathan Benteke, come on down! Loudoun deserves a lot of credit for sticking with a fairly consistent squad down the stretch as compared to, say, the revolving door of the Baby Bulls' lineup, but I do like seeing a big name get a nod every now and again. Still, #9 could hardly get a touch. Jacob Greene performed admirably against the stars of Tampa Bay's side - stop me if you've heard that before against every single team Loudoun plays - but couldn't carry a side that was overmatched by a midfield three with narrow, aggressive fullbacks. Within 25 minutes, it was already 2-0, and the last game at Segra Field for this year ended in disappointment. I'm probably being nice here after an 8-0 drubbing, but this team had so little to play for. We'll always have those first four games of the season when I was all over #PlayoffLoudoun, and I genuinely want this team back next year.
27.) NEW YORK: Ever weird and unpredictable, Red Bulls II jumped out to an early lead against Memphis 901 on Sunday on the strength of their pressing system. The 4-1-4-1 was pesky, and its narrowness really stifled build through Aaron Molloy and encouraged long balls. Eventually, the right side ended up a bit too open and allowed the hosts to break through with regularity, but that early wave of pressure enable a bright transition opener from Stiven Plaza. Still, Ibrahim Sekagya's side ceded the impetus soon enough, deepening their wide players to focus on Jeremy Kelly and company for 901 FC. The gambit mostly worked out, but a late moment of two-on-one Kelly brilliance broke New York's system and allowed for a winner in a crushing 2-1 defeat for the side. It's a classic "prevent defense" issue, but what else do we expect from New York?