There are twenty-seven teams in the USL, I've ranked them all, and I have no creativity: thus, a column name was born. These are my mostly-weekly power rankings featuring write-ups and snide remarks on whichever clubs capture my sprit. If you want more, make sure to check out:
The USL Show, as always. We're live on Tuesdays at 9:00 Eastern and in your podcast queues shortly thereafter. The USL Tactics show is there as well.
I'll be hosting The USL Show's Monday Short Show recapping all of the games from this weekend! Join live to chat with me.
In the meantime, check out my hub for player and team stats
But without further ado...
Title Contenders
1.) COLORADO SPRINGS: You'll sense a theme with the top two here, but that 3-2 scoreline against Vegas was friendly to the hosts. This team is firing on all cylinders despite the Open Cup upset, and Macca King's full integration makes a great team that much greater.
2.) PITTSBURGH: To continue the aforementioned theme, that 4-3 scoreline against Tulsa was friendly to the visitors. Also, shoutout to Dani Rovira. He was box-to-box and touchline-to-touchline as a central midfielder in that wacky 3-6-1 formation, overloading attacking areas and covering at wingback. I love seeing him really hit the ground running.
3.) LOUISVILLE: Louisville's press is just disgustingly good. They push their fullbacks crazily high up the pitch (by the way, how good are Dia and Perez?) to deny wide outlets, have DelPiccolo and Bone push up behind the Gonzalez-Harris-Ownby corps, and subsequently refuse to let you through. This is some full-on Gandalf shit.
4.) SAN DIEGO: That Thomas Amang trade, huh? Nothing against Haji Abdikadir, who, uh, hasn't played for Colorado Springs, but Amang had the upside of a potential impact player last year and is showing it in 2022. More in the USL Tactics Show this week; keep an eye on Twitter!
5.) SACRAMENTO: That performance in the Open Cup was just pure dominance. If you want to see a team that's utilizing its fullbacks to the absolute maximum, watch back the Portland game for the Republic. Duke Lacroix spent more time in the opposition box than his own damn half.
6.) TAMPA: Tampa looked wildly out of ideas for a second consecutive week, but they have the excuse of Neill Collins apparently being abroad to finish his UEFA badges. Which is…somewhat concerning? I digress, because there's a season to play, but might something transitional be on the cards? Tampa switched to a 4-4-2 late against Miami too, which feels heretical for the kings of the back three.
In the Mix
7.) SAN ANTONIO: Long live the wide centerbacks in this side. Mitchell Taintor's intervention up the pitch on the winner in a 1-0 game against Orange County was just wild. He puts in a tackle, puts in another, then crosses for the assist. So, so fun, and so, so San Antonio.
8.) TULSA: Rodrigo Da Costa is a top-three MVP candidate for me, no doubt. He sits in this "nine-and-a-half" role between the forward and midfield lines, connecting everything when need be or providing a full-blown striker's presence in other moments. Next to Williams and Brown, he's been a delight.
9.) PHOENIX: I'll hit on it in my breakdown for the Galaxy game, but the balance that Luis Seijas brings to the midfield trio is invaluable. A Lambert-Quinn-Rodriguez trio is good, but it puts the burden of progression solely on Aodhan Quinn; no offense to Kevon Lambert, but he's not a progressive passer. Double the number of people who can spring a pass via Seijas, and suddenly opposing pivots are scrambling. As an aside, the defense still isn't right here.
10.) DETROIT: Maxi Rodriguez is clicking hard, and his interaction with Pato's up-and-down movement and energy just works. My caveat here is that Atlanta is horrid, but they've strung enough performances together to have earned this spot.
11.) NEW MEXICO: Bye week, and I didn't bother to watch them in the Open Cup, so let's throw out some numbers!
Neco Brett is in the 99th percentile for xG per 90.
Daniel Bruce leads all players in fouls drawn per 90.
Rashid Tetteh is in the 99th percentile for defensive actions per foul, which means he's really freaking efficient at tackling.
On the Bubble
12.) MIAMI: I've not shut up about the Anthony Pulis 4-4-2 and its derivatives, so imagine my surprise when they pulled out a shockingly coherent 5-3-2 against Tampa. It was a super smart move, allowing for good pressure against the opposing back three while matching the Rowdies' attack man-for-man. Othello Bah and Aeden Stanley, two nominal left backs, were studs as the left wingback and left-sided centerback. Good stuff!
13.) EL PASO: Diego Luna is still titanically important to this team's attack, even with Mares and Sonupe rolling. I hit on it on Twitter, but Yuma's aggression on goal kicks was nice in that it showed progress; there was always coverage when he stepped up to contest. This is going to be a rapid riser if the defense stays halfway competent.
14.) BIRMINGHAM: Juan Agudelo looked strong and showcased some instant chemistry against a weak foe in the Open Cup, but Prosper Kasim's performance against Hartford impressed me to no end. He just feasted in that right half space. Still, the second half stasis was real for the Legion attack despite the last-second winner.
15.) ORANGE COUNTY: See below for more, but Daniel Pedersen looks really good in the central midfield. He's taken a step up as a driver of play as his comfort level has risen. Still, where's the firepower for this team beyond Milan Iloski?
16.) LOUDOUN: As happens when you're integrating a random smattering of loanees into a squad, Loudoun looked disconnected in hosting Louisville. That said, it's Louisville, and, like, 80% of the USL can hardly string three passes together against them. Guediri, who features in my early Best XI below, looked a shade one-footed too. Things to figure out after the hot start.
17.) MEMPHIS: The Chattanooga game was truly brutal. They were roundly outplayed by a NISA side (no offense, Detroit…) and looked rather feckless. I'm dropping them too much because of their neighbors in the power rank, but ugh.
18.) INDY: Mechack Jerome and Stefano Pinho, welcome to Indy! Jerome was super impactful, which should be expected from a Lowry vet, but it was a bigger deal to get finishing and active movement from a fully-engaged striker in the form of Pinho. I'm too high on this team still, but the RGV game was at least a semblance of improvement.
19.) LAS VEGAS: A weak performance while hosting Colorado Springs was belied by a close scoreline powered by more clinical finishing; can that last? Cal Jennings and Danny Trejo are awesome, and the 4-3-3 that this team runs is sound, but I have doubts.
Down Bad
20.) OAKLAND: The Roots were awful, awful, awful against Greenville midweek, going against the hype that I built up last week. This team is just so mercurial right now, but they feel a step out of it for me. I miss Wal Fall and his staid presence and visionary passing in the middle for the variety it would bring.
21.) LOS ANGELES: The Phoenix match felt like it said a lot about this Los Angeles side. They're…fine? Preston Judd will get his looks, Liam Doyle will spark some nice moves from the back, and they’ve got a stack of fun wingers, but it doesn't gel into a cogent side. Galaxy II also over-close in the middle quite a bit and don't create, and that's the crux of it.
22.) RIO GRANDE VALLEY: We've got another flat Western side here, one with a few fun pieces (see Dylan Borczak profiled below) and a fine enough system that doesn't have any real fire power. I reacted too hard when they came in with a ton of last-minute player announcements in training camp; this Rio Grand Valley team isn't a playoff threat of any note.
23.) HARTFORD: I was chuffed to see Rashawn Dally get a full look-in for the Open Cup game, and I thought his hold-up added a lot of coherence to an often-disconnected attacking unit. More generally, the shift to the back three was wise. I'm curious to see where Hartford goes from here out; this roster theoretically has playoff talent, but they can't string ninety good minutes together.
24.) NEW YORK: New York gains by being near Monterey, but I'll take a moment to praise Jeremy Rafanello. He's been a prospect for years at this point, but one with actual production behind him. In 2022, that translates to top-ten-percent xG and cross volume.
25.) MONTEREY: Boy, that El Paso game was no fun. Their defense had looked very decent for a few weeks, and then that happened. I'm as high on Kai Greene as anyone, but switching him out for Strong at centerback shouldn't lead to that level of devolution. Oh, and put Robbie Crawford deeper! He's misused as a #10.
26.) CHARLESTON: San Diego straight up shellacked the Battery at the weeked, which couldn't be less surprising. The shots were roughly even, but Charleston hardly saw the ball or created much of note. Hey, at least Leland Archer is somehow still in the 81st percentile for GAR!
27.) ATLANTA: They're still bad even if last week was aberrantly solid. Aiden McFadden doesn't have that same spark, maybe? Or maybe Rhys Williams just had his number. Either way, Atlanta is stinky.
Mailbag
I'll go in reverse order that I received questions in and start with an inquiry from my main USL Show man Kaylor Hodges. He wondered:
Who has been a player who has flown under the radar that is sneakily one of the best in the league?
I'm basically just using this question as a jumping-off point to praise someone who's surprised me, and no one fits the bill better than Dylan Borczak for Rio Grande Valley. He usually starts on the left wing in their 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 approach, and he's legitimately been wonderful in a team that struggles mightily for offense. He's a really mazy dribbler, has a sharp eye for goal, and essentially functions as something like an inside winger that draws opponents in and opens up space near the touchline for leftback overlapping via Jonathan Ricketts.
Above, I've spliced together two sequences featuring Borczak that I'd previously tweeted. In the first, you see his defensive impact with RGV's setup. Now Borczak only sits in the 6th percentile for defensive actions; he's not putting in tackles on the regular, but that isn't his job. What you see here is effort to create a strong moment of counterpressure. He busts his ass to get back and makes himself a nuisance. RGV doesn't press high, occasionally pinching at midfield or closing hard after a turnover, and Borczak makes that approach tick here, leading to a goal.
Borczak's movement and pace have been key as well, multiplying the effect of that dogged effort. In the second clip, he makes an intelligent run into the channel for a nice curling shot on his right foot. Why is this important? RGV is a side that struggles mightily to build through the center of the pitch. They often take on a 4-1-4-1 approach in build but can easily be outnumbered centrally with only Juan Pablo Torres to progress the ball. Here, Emilio Ycaza comes deep, and his vision is liberated by the fact that he has Borczak's excellent running ahead of him. Sequences like these are going to make opponents key in on the left winger, opening space for teammates in future weeks.
Another fun question came in from a different USL Show co-host. Gio Canas asked me:
What team and/or player has been your favorite interaction so far?
So I started covering the league with video breakdowns and statistics during the 2020 season, right after the resumption of play after the COVID hiatus. Shortly thereafter, I got retweeted by both Lebo Moloto and Solomon Asante, and I think that was the first time I realized that the things I put out were really reaching people. In that vein, getting a follow from Eamon Zayed, who I adore as an Indy Eleven fan at heart, was massive for me. To briefly chat with him for my big League One article from the offseason was even cooler.
Overall, the interactions with various coaches have been the most gratifying for me. I obviously worked for Tampa last season, but having Neill Collins slide into my DMs wanting to chat about a potential role was jaw-dropping. Ditto for Mark Briggs reaching out about a job with Sacramento for 2022, I'm never ready to get that sort of validation. One more shout here for Paul Dalglish in Miami, who retweeted my thread on their playoff loss last postseason and attached his actual tactical plan alongside with a caption basically saying that I had him pegged exactly. I'll stop humble-bragging now, but yeah.
Moving back to the pitch, Mr. Collins inquired:
Which teams are better than their record indicates? Which teams are worse?
Note: I wrote this chunk before the matchweek, so I could look like an idiot. Or a genius. You choose...
Two teams pop up immediately for me on the "better" end: Birmingham and El Paso. The former has an easy statistical argument to make. John Hutchinson's Locomotive are enacting their desired high-possession, effect-attacking tactical style already, and they're limiting opponents effectively in terms of shots on target. The issue right now is shot quality conceded and goalkeeping. Everyone has slated Evan Newton, and he's not been great on his line or as a sweeper, but the performance of the central defenders and fullbacks has been nothing short of shambolic. El Paso concedes very few looks, but they're mostly super high-percentage, and my xG and GSAA models are too basic to recognize that. Still, eliminate the errors and you've got something good.
The Legion have been much more average by the numbers, but I'm fully sold on the talent and the system. They've landed on a 3-4-3 shape with Anderson Asiedu and a partner flanked by high-bombing Mikey Lopez and Jonathan Dean in that midfield line, backing up a narrow front three that now features Juan Agudelo at the tip. The nature of that front three effectively allows for overlapping from Dean and Lopez while also planting danger men in the half spaces. Give it a few weeks, and Birmingham will be ticking.
Going the other way, I'm still not wholly sold on Las Vegas. The structure is there; I've covered the aspects of their high-flying, horizontally-shifting 4-3-3 already, and I obviously think it has merit. That said, the current heater that Danny Trejo and Cal Jennings are on is wildly unsustainable, they'll inevitably lose some talent to Los Angeles FC at some point, and that frenetic style is hard to maintain in the first place. I'd love to see their success continue, but I'm unconvinced.
I also got a nice question from Chad Romiti, everyone's favorite public relations guru in Orange County. He requested:
I’d be interested to hear what you think of Daniel Pedersen at Orange County?
I wasn't entirely sold on Pedersen and Orange County's abandonment of their playoff-proven tactical style more broadly, but I've come around on both to a certain extent. You can see Pedersen's positional role in the average touch graphic from Orange County's recent match against Rio Grande Valley; there, he was the deepest member of a central trio in front of a back three. He was fine in that role, but it limited him. Indeed, in USL action he's in the 20th percentile for expected assists and hasn't played a key pass, but he does rate in the top 25% for overall passing volume.
As the highlights below indicate, Pedersen has much more potential than that ball-recycler slot. Against the LA Force in the Open Cup, #12 was tasked with much more of a progressive, attacking-focused job.
Rather than stay back as a holder after initiating moves, you can see Pedersen drive up the pitch after he dishes the ball. There are nice one-twos, moments of powerful dribbling, and lovely cross-field switches. Oh, and how about the technique on the goal. His campaign so far has been fine, but I'm hoping the Open Cup match is the spark that turns it into something more.
Tulsan supporter group 918 Brigade had a two-parter, chipping in to ask:
If you had to choose between smoke, darkness or smell, which would you choose? Second question, what is your Cupset so far?
I'll let my Indy roots show again and go with smoke here. Our play-by-play guy since day one in the NASL has been the delightful Greg Rakestraw, who's a stalwart in local sports media from high school on up. Given the Brickyard Battalion's longstanding penchant for blue-and-red smoke after goals, his goal call eventually became this half-yelled, annunciating "Cue! The! Smoke!" that even spawned the name of a wonderful Eleven podcast that I've appeared on a number of times. So yeah.
More seriously, I'll choose two Cupsets: Greenville over Oakland and Chattanooga over Memphis. The Triumph really controlled the good chances against the Roots, and their defensive system was night-and-day more organized. I'd also die for Don Smart. Meanwhile, Chattanooga's mobile pressure out of the 4-3-3 was wildly effective at blunting a genuinely good possession-based 901 buildup scheme, and the effort of Taylor Gray, their #22, was astoundingly strong. His track record is mostly random youth setups, but I'd be scouting future Chattanooga games to see if this guy can keep up that intense, smart-route pressing and mobile wing hold-up.
Last but certainly not least, Benton of the always-excellent Vamos Morados Louisville apparatus wryly requested:
Who is in your early team of the year?
This is where I'm at right now! I posed the question on Twitter whether to do a mailbag or a full breakdown of this Best XI, so I won't provide too much depth here, but I'll quickly go group-by-group here.
Neco Brett has been a revelation for New Mexico. I talk about gravity way too much, but the attention he demands from opposing defenses opens so much space for overlaps. Da Costa, meanwhile, embodies this awesome half-#9, half-#10 position next to a full striker where he can finish with the best of 'em or play as a creator, and he's maybe my MVP runner-up right now.
In the midfield, Rodrigo Lopez has been astounding as a wide midfielder. He jumps high in the press, drives offense from the channel, and connects wonderfully with his fullbacks. Corben Bone is equally impactful for Lousiville, straddling lines between the "1" and the "4" in his club's 4-1-4-1. Watch back the second half against Indy to see how he's one of the best box-to-box players in league history. Next, up my MVP: Alejandro Guido. He's an effortless dribbling dynamo, a great passer, and a smart runner off of Kyle Vassell's hold-up, and he gives you an underrate amount of steel blowing up counters too. Lastly, Danny Trejo on the right. He's got six goals and assists right now, what more do I need to say?
At the back, Sami Guediri is my left-back. He's a wingback for Loudoun, but his offense-driving and rapid defensive recoveries are elite. Devon Amoo-Mensah plays as Detroit's left-sided central defender, and he puts up defensive action numbers like you wouldn't believe. In writing about him, I also focused on the fire he brings to their offense. Conner Antley slots in next. He's always been a wingback, but I've been awed by his quality as the central centerback in the league's second-best xG defense. My current Defender of the Year sits at right back, and that's Malik Johnson from the Switchbacks. His rapport with Michee Ngalina down the wing is wild, but he's so damn smart with his positioning. Last up, 97th percentile performer and top-three GSAA man Luis Zamudio in goal. Loudoun has three clean sheets in four, and he's a huge reason why.
Just to throw some love to the snubs here, Gabby Torres has been revelatory as a do-it-all left back in Tulsa. Meanwhile, youngster Josh Wynder is undroppable at the core of an elite Louisville defense. I mentioned how good New Mexico's wingbacks have been, and Daniel Bruce is chief among them. Ngalina has been better than Hadji Barry so far, and he might be a top-three MVP guy with Guido and Da Costa at season's end. Last up, the younger of Orange County's dual Iloskis: Milan is insanely good driving offense next to Cubo Torres or Sean Okoli.
That's all for now! Tune in next week for a return to exclusive power-ranking mode, check out the USL Show on Tuesday and my Short Show contributions a day prior, and have a good stretch otherwise.