The Third Half: March 11th 2024-USL Kickoff edition
Colin Shutler's Goalie Goal Highlights Opening Day
Well here we go, the preseason is over, and the games now matter. It was clear we saw some teams still getting their legs, and some overhauled squads looked like they were playing together at full speed for the first time. How did thing shake down in USL? Let’s take a look.
Sacramento Republic 2 Orange County SC 2
Trevor Amann made his presence immediately known to the USL Championship with an opening night brace, his second looking to be the game winner for Sacramento Republic FC. Unfortunate for Amann it was not the game winner as a late surge from Orange County SC resulted in goalie Colin Shutler getting an unmarked header in the last minute of the 5 scheduled in stoppage time to see an entertaining contest end 2-2.
Sacramento Republic is going to look back on this night and regret not scoring inside the opening 25 minutes. It started 2 minutes in when Jack Gurr missed Trevor Amann on a cross that would have led to an easy shot on target. The pressure continued and Orange County SC was forced to scramble the ball clear 6 minutes later when Rodrigo Lopez broke the Orange County line. Lopez’s cross wasn’t the best to Jauregui and his effort towards goal was easily cleared.
The biggest miss of the night for Sacramento Republic came in the 20th minute when 4 opportunities went begging in the penalty area. Jauregui found Nick Ross to spring the sequence, his cross to Jack Gurr saved by Colin Shutler. Within seconds of each other, Cristian Parrano and Amann had efforts blocked before the ball fell to Viader who skied the effort. Failing to score here for Sacramento ultimately was the difference on the night.
Sacramento Republic finally took the lead in the 28th minute. Trevor Amann won the ball back in midfield as Orange County tried to clear the ball off a corner. Amann then spotted Cristian Parano on the wing and started the long game give and go. Parano perfectly timed his ball into the box for Amann to beat Ashton Miles to the ball to head it home near post with pace. It was a well worked give and go and a lead that Sacramento Republic deserved.
But to deserve the lead is to not allow your opposition to flip a switch once going down and that’s exactly what Orange County did Saturday night. The lead would last 14 minutes, but the sequence that led to Orange County’s equalizer started 2 minutes prior. After Rafael Jauregu fouled Sofiane Djeffal in a scramble drill on the edge of the penalty area, Brian Iloski’s free kick was blocked right back to the man taking the free kick. His second phase ball was headed out by Jared Timmer for a corner kick. It was a minor miracle Ashton Miles was able to get a boot to the ball on the far post, but it was enough to force Jared Mazzola to save the ball off the line. The first person to the goal line scramble, Seth Casiple, who beat Rodrigo Lopez to the ball to put it home. Going into the half 1-1, Sacramento Republic FC only had themselves to blame.
The second half played to the same tune as the first: Sacramento Republic getting their chances, Orange County SC defending to the best of their capabilities and only worrying about getting too far forward once going behind. The key moment for Sacramento would be in the 64th minute when making a double change, bringing Aldair Sanchez and Jonathan Ricketts on for Rafael Jauregu and Cristian Parrano. What this did was narrow the pitch up just enough to give Trevor Amann more freedom to roam. This paid off 13 minutes later. Nick Ross spots Amann on the run and puts his long ball right on the forward’s foot. Amann, now one on one with Markus Nakkim, beat Nakkim to the left before firing near post before Shutler could get in position to make the save. The shot, with his off foot, was a perfect example of the substitution paying dividends for the club, who based on play for the night thought they had all three points in the bag. If they only knew things were about to get weird.
3 minutes from second half stoppage time Sacramento Republic nearly gave up an own goal equalizer. Owen Lamb’s centering ball found the feet of Jared Timmer who should have had an easy clearance. Instead, Timmer whiffed on the clearance and redirected the ball towards the far post. If not for Mazzola’s quick reflexes back to the far post, it would have been 2-2 here. Two minutes later, Ashton Miles gets an intercept ball on the edge of the 18, his effort for Orange County skied over the cross bar.
What followed was wave after wave of Orange County SC attack through 2nd half stoppage time. If Sacramento Republic FC missed a trick, it was waiting until the 2nd minutes of stoppage time to bring on Shane Wiedt. One wonders if he would have been more match focused instead of reactionary. Wiedt had to think after the Jonathan Ricketts and Colin Shutler show that resulted in Shutler being booked for being a little too forceful in trying to restart the match that the game was over. Instead it was not. After Ricketts on the other end conceded a corner after Mazzola couldn’t collect the ball from Owen Lamb’s run, Lamb’s corner roared like a lion. The last minute of designated stoppage time saw Colin Shutler come forward for this corner kick, everyone involved with the Sacramento Republic forgetting he was there. Lamb’s corner was perfectly placed for the stalking run made by Shutler, the ball going right over Shane Wiedt for the Orange County SC keeper to finish through the traffic.
One has to wonder how this game would have played out if Orange County played with the same intensity they did going after both equalizers. Sacramento Republic is going to be working on corner kicks for the next six months, their defense of them tonight simply abysmal.
Sacramento Republic takes the diagonal country trip to Miami FC next Saturday night, Orange County making a different diagonal country trip in playing the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
New Mexico United 1 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 0
On the 5-year anniversary of New Mexico United’s first game, the hosts sent the 11,347 strong crowd at Isotopes Park (sidebar what a name) home happy through a late first half goal from Greg Hurst on what was a perfect afternoon for football.
The opening salvo was dominated by Pittsburgh pressing New Mexico deep in their attacking third and winning multiple corners. The corners, all taken by Kenardo Forbes, did little to threaten goal, with only a long-distance Danny Griffin effort coming close to target.
From there, the game developed into an easily identifiable pattern found with any Pittsburgh Riverhounds game. If there’s any way to describe how the Riverhounds defend it’s to say simply they know how to get in their shape, and they know how to move that shape in the same manner you would see the players on a foosball table. Unlike many Riverhounds games of last year, New Mexico United were able to find space in the Riverhound formation, even more so when Pittsburgh was trying to get into shape after losing possession. Marco Micaletto nearly caught everyone in Pittsburgh off guard in the 17th minute with a chip after a weaving run that Eric Dick was forced to tap over for a corner kick. Two minutes prior, Jacobo Reyes took Christopher Gloster’s centering ball that was behind Greg Hurst and forced the Riverhound keeper to hold onto the ball before Zico Bailey could follow-up. Reyes was left unmarked 12 yards out after both Riverhound center backs tracked Hurst.
The game was heading for a 0-0 stalemate going into the interval before New Mexico United struck with a goal they deserved for their first half attacking impetus. As soon as New Mexico United won the ball in the midfield Greg Hurst took off on the run. Jacobo Reyes saw that Eric DeShields was beaten and found a perfect inch perfect pass to Hurst feet. With Eric Dick rounded, Greg Hurst still had to have the composure to get the tap in on what ended up being a tighter angle than he was likely expecting. Nonetheless, Hurst was able to complete the sequence allowing New Mexico United to go into halftime 1-0 to the good.
That goal didn’t go down well with Bob Lilley as DeShields was the lone change at halftime for either side. The change ground the game to a halt, with both sides tighter down the center. Add legs still getting back to full season fitness from preseason trials, and altitude, it was always an uphill climb for Pittsburgh to find an equalizer. The visitors would get late chances after former Tampa Bay Rowdie Dayonn Harris couldn’t put a Nicky Hernandez cross away in the 83rd minute. Two minutes later, Edward Kizza would put a header on goal that would freeze Alex Tambakis in his tracks. In the 89th, the Riverhounds last chance forced Tambakis to dive to the near post and collect a difficult shot made more difficult from a deflection by Zico Bailey.
New Mexico United begin a 3-game road trip next week going across the country to face Rhode Island FC while the Pittsburgh Riverhounds open their home slate against Orange County SC.
North Carolina FC 0 Charleston Battery 0
In a matchup of the two most improved teams in their respective leagues a year ago, the Southern Derby returned to the USL Championship in a game full of spirit, half chances but no goals as North Carolina FC and Charleston Battery played to a 0-0 draw.
It was obvious quick North Carolina FC was going to allow Charleston to have the ball and look to use the pace of Ezra Armstrong, Oalex Anderson and Rodrigo da Costa to counter. That was shown in the 13th minute when Armstrong got free on the edge of the penalty area. The sequence was short lived, as a heavy touch allowed Leland Archer an easy clearance. In the 20th minute, a North Carolina counter by Louis Perez would be promptly ended by Jake LaCava, LaCava earning a yellow card in the process. It would take until the 35th for North Carolina FC to spring their last counter of the half, but the combination of Anderson to da Costa laying off to Armstrong resulted in a blocked effort. It was an effort that took too much time giving the Battery a chance to track back. Had da Costa taken the shot on instead of laying it off, I’m not entirely convinced Adam Grinwis saves it. The lone set piece opportunity for North Carolina FC saw Louis Perez gets three bites of the cherry, the third effort finding Collin Martin, who’s effort was inch perfect for a fan’s nachos nowhere near goal.
The other first half theme in the opening stanza was for all the possession Charleston Battery had they were way too dependent on Aaron Molloy on set pieces. It was Molloy’s boot on at least 5 occasions that was responsible for any attacking chances for the visitors. It allowed North Carolina FC to settle and time when they wanted to get forward with pace. The lone opportunity Molloy wasn’t the primary cause of an effort came in the 33rd minute when Nicholas Markanich’s effort towards goal was not collected by Jake McGuire due to a scramble right in front of McGuire not allowing him to hold onto the ball, the boot of Emilio Ycaza knocking the ball clear.
The second half saw much of the same outside a Graham Smith header from an Aaron Molloy set piece in the 59th minute. North Carolina FC unlocked their attack starting in the 68th minute when a throw in found Oalex Armstrong and led to North Carolina FC’s best chance of the night. The shot from distance ended wide of the far post, and one will have to wonder if Ezra Anderson had reacted sooner if he could have gotten a touch to redirect on goal. This started a flurry of efforts for NCFC, an effort by Collin Martin was blocked by Graham Smith. Moments later Rafa Mentzingen found Armstrong at the far post, the NCFC midfielder unable to head on goal.
Moments after that Armstrong header wide, John Bradford made what looked to be a questionable double switch in the 71st minute, bringing off both Oalex Anderson and Ezra Armstrong for Evan Conway and Nelson Blanco Flores. It was only questionable as the two bright spots in the NCFC attack were finally starting to get in behind the Charleston Battery defense. It nearly paid dividends five minutes later when Blanco Flores nearly found Rafa Mentzingen unmarked. If not for a Joshua Drack intervention, Rafa is in on goal.
For all the pace North Carolina brought to the party in the second half, Charleston had their best chance of the match one minute from the 90 when substitutes Jackson Conway connected with an unmarked Juan Torres, however he was too tall on his effort goal bound and that would end the scoring opportunities for the night. It was also Charleston’s only chance of consequence in the second half, spending much of their time defending and spending little time forward. By the 80th minute, a nil-nil draw looked inevitable.
Credit has to go to Jeremy Scheer for letting this game breathe and knowing when to pull the reigns in on the players either by whistle or card. With the way tackles were coming in tonight this could have easily gotten out of hand.
North Carolina FC go on the road next weekend to face Loudoun United FC while Charleston Battery take a trip to the west coast to face Oakland Roots SC.
Phoenix Rising FC 0 Birmingham Legion FC 1
On a night the champions banner was raised in Phoenix, it was Birmingham who came in to spoil the party. An own goal midway in the second half was enough to see Birmingham Legion leave Arizona with all 3 points.
This was a fascinating chess match to watch. Both teams lined up in almost identical 3-4-3 attack/5-4-1 defensive shapes. It wasn’t Birmingham who used the high line the most tonight, it was actually Phoenix. While Phoenix may have had the appearance of having the ball and efforts, they all had one major flaw: shot right at Matt Van Oekel. Birmingham Legion were more intentional in their attack, resulting in the best chances of the night and a deserved win.
To that point, Phoenix Rising started the brighter team, two early efforts forcing Matt Van Oekel into action inside the first 5 minutes. Birmingham Legion in the 7th minute finally got forward, but Pasher and Turay mixed signals when Turay followed his blocked effort right into Pasher’s path of an attempted effort, the lack of match chemistry showing as that’s a shot Pasher would have had no trouble blasting at Rocco Rios Novo.
It wasn’t until the 23rd minute, and Formella and Varela efforts going right to the Birmingham keeper prior, before Phoenix forced Van Oekel to do something but make a routine save. The corner from Armanenkas did well to get into the mixer, but Van Oekel was the only one to get a touch to the ball clear. Van Oekel’s poor ball 6 minutes later had him out of position for Renzo Zambrano to fire at a near empty net, but couldn’t find target with it.
The best phase of open play would come in the 33rd minute when Birmingham Legion broke Phoenix Rising down. Etaka’s second phase ball found Pasher, his blocked effort nearly falling into Turay’s path. Rios Novo sprung the hosts on the counter that got Rito down the right, shooting before Nwegbo could get back to defend. While the shot was at Van Oekel, it was with enough pace that Van Oekel was unable to collect. However Van Oekel did one thing keepers oft times forget to do, keep trying for the ball. The ball nearly fell to Formella but Van Oekel’s scrambling allowed him to finally collect possession.
The chance of the first half didn’t come without controversy. Right before halftime, Birmingham had broken down Phoenix through the midfield. Again, it was Etaka who put Phoenix in danger with an effort that was saved by Rios Novo. During the effort there was a strong case for Pape Boye to be called for a hand ball. The hand was above the shoulder and the ball made contact, and I’m not entirely sure it was accidental either. Etaka’s second effort was then blocked out for a corner kick, one not taken before Enzo Martinez got booked for dissent. Off the Hernandez-Foster corner kick, Crognale’s header over Wyke looked from one camera angle to cross the line. The linesman likely couldn’t see the ball through traffic and Phoenix was lucky to get into halftime 0-0.
The second half started with Phoenix’s chances turn into half and quarter chances, with Birmingham one pass off a final touch. It was still Birmingham Legion that continued to show signs of a breakthrough, Pasher to Turay from an intercept ball in the 57th a poor finish from Turay. It wouldn’t be much longer before Turay was substituted off for Murana.
The lone breakthrough of the night came in the 67th minute through patience in the buildup, Enzo Martinez playing pivot in the sequence. Martinez eventually found Paterson open down the left, who quickly played a pass to Nwegbo. Nwegbo was simply looking to get the ball into the 18 with a pacy cross, but had the fortune of having the ball deflect off Scearce of Phoneix and roll in at the far post, Rios Novo frozen to his spot in shock the ball took that deflection. On the balance of attacking play Birmingham did deserve the lead.
Phoenix finally made an effort to get better forward options with the inclusion of Rémi Cabral 2 minutes after going down. Cabral in his 21 minutes had 3 opportunities, one in the 76th minute when Cuello found Cabral on a second phase ball from a free kick, the header wide. In the 86th, The long ball to Gallardo was defelcted back to Cabral. Van Oekel continued his man of the match performance by beating Cabral ot the ball before he had the chance to round the keeper. The last chance came 3 minutes into second half stoppage time, but Cabral mistimed his run for the pass from Rito. It made me wonder what would have happened if Cabral came on at halftime, and not once behind.
Phoenix Rising next week take a trip out to Monterey Bay FC while Birmingham Legion FC travel to Hartford for an an early afternoon tilt with Hartford Athletic.
Miami FC 2 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 0: An assist to Kartik Krishnaiyer who was at FIU Stadium on Saturday night and filed this report for Beyond the 90.
Elsewhere Around the USL Championship
Memphis 901 FC 2 Las Vegas Lights 1: Nighte Pickering’s long distance blast before halftime was the difference as Memphis 901 FC started life in the Western Conference with a 2-1 win over Las Vegas Lights.
Emerson Hyndman nearly got Memphis off to the perfect start in the 12th minute, Austin Wormell finding the shot through traffic to deflect out for a corner. 10 minutes later Las Vegas would take the lead. After Giovanni Aguilar did well to win the ball back in midfield and find Edward Berumen, his pass found Valentin Noel in plenty of space. Noel was able to turn Lucas Turci easily before firing near post and in.
The lead lasted only 11 minutes; Memphis having 2 opportunities to equalize prior to doing so. Luiz Fernando nearly had the perfect reply to the opener with a shot that landed on top of the net. The sequence that led to the equalizer started from a poor pass from Emrah Kimenta that Nighte Pickering easily intercepted. His shot was blasted off the crossbar before Gennaro Nigro cleared for the corner. The corner was collected by Wormell, who’s goal kick was poorly touched by Coleman Gannon allowing an immediate fast break by Memphis. Emerson Hyndman found Bruno Lapa who found space to get down the right before centering the ball in. Wormell was unable to handle the ball and it fell right to the feet of Samuel Careaga at point blank range.
Memphis would take the lead before halftime. After some poor ball control by both teams, the ball fell right to Nighte Pickering 24 yards from goal. With no one in the same zip code, Pickering collected the ball, turned and fired over Austin Wormell and in. It was a goal the keeper has to at least get out for corner.
The Lights best chance for an equalizer came in the 89th, a long ball finding Khori Bennett, but his shot was parried by Tyler Deric and ultimately cleared.
San Antonio FC 2 Loudoun United FC 2: New look Loudoun United FC fought hard to earn a late draw on the road against San Antonio FC, doing themselves no favors going down to 10 men after 29 minutes.
San Antonio FC took the lead in the 14th minute, a slow burn give and go between Lucas Silva and Jorge Hernandez saw Silva take the space conceded by the Loudoun defenders tracking Hernandez before firing through traffic far post. Loudoun would trail only 4 minutes before leveling. A poor ball from the back by San Antiono was intercepted by Drew Skundrich. Skundrich found Kalil El Medkhar on the left side of the penalty area, his centering pass to Zach Ryan producing an easy finish as San Antonio was completely caught out.
The 26th minute saw the game have the stupidest moment of madness this weekend. After Mitchell Taintor fouled Christiano Francois, Trainto had some words for Francois while he was on the ground. Francois immediately got up, and thought headbutting Trainto was the ideal solution, a red card ultimately given after consultation.
San Antonio FC took the lead 3 minutes into the 2nd half. On a second phase ball after a throw in for SAFC, a backheel pass found Jorge Hernandez in space. Hernandez spotted Juan Augdelo loitering in the 18, found him perfectly to allow Agudelo to turn and fire in the space Jacob Erlandson vacated.
San Antonio thought they would have been able to hold on, but Loudoun United started showing signs they could find an equalizer in second half stoppage time, ultimately getting it in the final minute of stoppage time. On a counter attack, the ball found it’s way to Thomas McCabe. His ball into the box was cleared right into the path of Florian Valot who blasted it through traffic, Pablo Sisniega likely not thrilled with Mitchell Traintor screening the SAFC keeper from seeing the ball.
El Paso Locomotive FC 0 Hartford Athletic 1: A Romario Williams penalty 13 minutes into the first half was enough for Hartford Athletic to go into El Paso and defeat El Paso Locomotive FC 1-0.
Romario Williams signaled his intent in the 5th minute when firing from the edge of the penalty are wide. He would get the goal from the penalty spot 8 minutes later. A pass into the penalty area to Williams by Jay Chapman saw Williams challenged by Akinyode. Williams got up and to the byline, Akinyode’s second challenge deemed to go through the player without playing the ball, the referee pointing to the spot. Romario Williams got Jahmali Waite to guess the wrong way, slotting it home to Williams’s right. Marcus Epps not long after the restart following the goal found Michee Ngalina charging towards goal, a perfect centering pass put over the bar by Ngalina.
Triston Hodge found Michee Ngalina in the 44th minute, the Hartford attacking midfield unfortunate his shot far post was deflected off the crossbar by Waite. Tony Alfaro had El Paso’s best effort of the night came from a corner kick near the end of first half stoppage, but it just sailed over the crossbar.
Hartford had numerous opportunities to score early in the second half, not finding the back of the net. El Paso second half efforts barely qualified as half chances allowing Hartford Athletic to see the game out.
Oakland Roots SC 2 Indy Eleven 1: Oakland Roots started both halves with the hot foot as goals inside the first 5 minutes of both halves was enough for Oakland Roots to see off Indy Eleven 2-1.
A third minute throw in towards Miche-Naider Chéry was cleared right into the path of Jeciel Cedeno, his shot catching everyone in Indy Eleven red off guard as it went in on the near post. An Indy Eleven Jack Blake free kick in the 21st minute forced Paul Blancette into action saving at the near post. Indy Eleven finally had their pressure pay off in the 43rd minute when off a free kick just inside Indy Eleven’s attacking half, Cameron Lindley found Younes Boudadi. Boudadi’s run put Oakland Roots backline too deep allowing a centering ball to find Jack Blake in the space the backline had to concede with Boudadi on the ball. It was a great shot through traffic to have the game 1-1 at the interval.
Indy Eleven nearly took the lead 4 minutes into the second half when Sebastian Guenzatti was given space 20 yards out to fire near post. The ball ended up hitting the crossbar, a symbol of Indy Eleven’s night in Oakland as 75 seconds later Oakland Roots wound score what turned into the game winner. Camden Riley started the move with a brief give and go before finding the goal scorer Bryan Tamacas. Tamacas was looking to lay the ball off to Daniel Gomez, but the Indy Eleven defense left Tamacas a hole that the pass ultimately ended up a give and go, leaving Tamacas 1 v 1 with Yannik Oettl, Aedan Stanley kept the Oakland Roots goal scorer onside as he finished it far post.
Around USL League One
Greenville Triumph SC 3 Spokane Velocity FC 1: Leonardo Castro’s backheel goal was the highlight to Greenville Triumph’s opening night as despite going down to the debuting Spokane Velocity, Greenville would score the next three to win comprehensively 3-1.
Spokane turned their promising start into the lead from the spot 14 minutes in after Lyam MacKinnon was heavy handed in his foul on Javier Martin Gil. Josh Dolling converted beating the keeper to Dolling’s left. The lead would not last long as the goal woke Greenville up, the hosts equalizing 4 minutes later. A long ball sent in to Nate Shultz started the move with a direct header onto the on running Zion Scarlett. Scarlett put the ball on frame, Ahmed Longmire unable to clear for Spokane, instead finishing the job to make it 1-1. Scarlett was credited for the goal as it was on frame.
Greenville would take the lead 3 minutes into the second half. After Lyam MacKinnon put an effort off the post a minute prior, Evan Lee started the next attacking phase finding Scarlett. Scarlett centered to Leonardo Castro, his effort saved by Carlos Valdez right into the path of Evan Lee, who followed the sequence and finished before Valdez could get completely reset. It was a well worked team goal to give the hosts the lead.
The game would be put out of reach on the hour when Lyam MacKinnon was allowed space down the left to find Leonardo Castro, his backheel fooling everyone as it trickled into the net.
Lexington SC 0 Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC 0: Cameron Lancaster and Lucky Opara efforts late nearly gave their sides the victory, but on a night where set pieces opportunities provided the best chances, neither side found the back of the net in a nil-nil draw.
Northern Colorado nearly opened the scoring 12 minutes into the match. After Nico Brown’s ball was ultimately intercepted by Real Gill, Gill spotted Noah Powder on the run. The ball was perfect, his shot through the defenders legs but falling short hitting the near post.
Yannick Yankam found Cameron Lancaster with a great through ball in the 40th minute, Lancaster unable to put his shot on the near post. Noah Powder had the best set piece opportunity for Northern Colorado in the 63rd minute, his knuckle ball free kick near post forced Amahl Knight into a save.
Lexington will feel they should have won it in the 81st. Cameron Lancaster’s free kick ends up off the post, Pierre Mano unable to finish from point blank range. That feeling turned Northern Colorado’s way in the third minute of second half stoppage time when Opara’s throw in saw the ball ultimately find Opara’s feet again. After turning Christian Young, his shot from six yards out was deflected off the post by Knight, the game ending 0-0.
South Georgia Tormenta FC 1 Central Valley Fuego FC 2: Central Valley looked to make it an easy night with two early goals, but were left scratching their head as South Georgia nearly pulled Central Valley’s 2 goal lead back in the final seconds. Central Valley Fuego would pick up all three points in a 2-1 victory against South Georgia Tormenta.
Central Valley started fast with a penalty won after 54 seconds. Zahir Vasquez’s centering pass to his forward line partner Robert Coronado saw Coranado’s one timer go off the arm of Tavio D'Almeida, the referee having no hesitation to point to the spot. Moe Espinoza got the South Georgia keeper Ford Parker to go the wrong way in scoring to Espinoza’s left.
The 14th minute saw Shavon John-Brown find Zahir Vazquez, Vazquez unlucky his effort didn’t go in on the far post, instead hitting the post before trickling along the wrong side of the goal line. Central Valley would get their second 7 minutes later when off an Espinoza free kick, the ball bounced to Robert Coronado on the edge of the penalty area, Coronado shooting through the traffic. The ball was deflected to Clayton Torr who’s shot got Ford Parker to go to ground while the shot went off the near post, Ashkanov Apollon the first to the ball to finish the set piece sequence for Central Valley. At 2-0, this game looked as good as done after 21 minutes as South Georgia’s defense was simply nonexistent.
South Georgia started to show signs of life in the 58th minute when a free kick by Pedro Fonseca was wide of the near post. What followed was a 5-minute wave of attack, nothing coming from it. It was at this point the game was completely done. South Georgia would make it a more interesting finish when Jason Tunbridge’s corner found Jake Dengler’s head at the far post. The ball moved in slow motion across the six and after a Pedro Fonseca missed bicycle kick substitute Gabriel Rodriguez took the fortune of the ball laying up off the back of Jason Ramos’s leg to finish from close range at the near post.
Tavio D’Almeida nearly found the angle in the 89th on the near post, but his shot found the side netting. Central Valley saw the game out from here, but it wasn’t without nerves as a 99th minute header was bobbled before finally being collected by Carlos Avilez.
Weekend Observations and Musings
1: 9 - the number of names not loaded into the USL Championship player tracker in time for kickoff that I caught. While some have been updated after full time, the league should have had game one rosters and player numbers at the ready in the software they use.
2: I was scratching my head a little when Astorga of New Mexico United didn’t receive a yellow card in the 22nd minute, yet Osumanu picked one up for the Riverhounds 13 minutes later for essentially a variation of a late tackle on the counter.
3: Something I wish we would have heard more of on the CBS Sports Golazo broadcast on the first game was a friendly reminder this was the first game of a double header. Verbal confirmation is your friend broadcasters.
4: While watching the USL News and Notes segment they put on at halftime of each game one thing stood out to me: the promotion of the USL Super League. That’s all fine and good and promotion of the league is needed. However, I keep thinking on the conversation I had with Kartik on the eve of sanctioning when I told him my fears that we aren’t hearing enough from the top brass within the USL Super League. Add the fact we haven’t seen them on any USL coverage this weekend and I wonder when we’re going to hear from them again. It’s been way too long and their silence is deafening to me.
5: I’m happy to see Jake McGuire get a starting gig full time this year. North Carolina FC got a good one. I still believe if he was starting all season Miami FC would have somehow got into the playoffs.
6: My favorite goal of the week. Any time you see a goalie goal at the death to deny a home team full points, it’s my automatic number 1.
7: A memo to the referee’s and USL HQ: if you are going to be intentional about calling dissent and intentional time wasting yellow cards, I want to see the same level of calls I saw this weekend in November. It’s also about time something happened. You should never hear a head coach go ‘we’re going to be in trouble’ in any joking manner about dissent being carded the way it should be.
8: A second memo to USL HQ: if you are going to hyper clip your USL Championship games you should be doing the same to the USL League 1 highlights you put on the picture show known as YouTube.
9: I was happy to see the number of local advertisements on the various score bugs this weekend. Let us not forget that these are made for local broadcasts first, than for the national audience. I think the halftime of these games needs to put a heavier emphasis on what the home clubs are doing locally in their communities as well.
10: After finally having a diagnosis confirmed last year I was both dreading, but found relieving, I have realized one thing about my life. I can tell the correlation between when my anxiety and depression doesn’t spring up to how meticulously structured my day is. Even with two weeks worth of planning for the start of this season I can tell I’m going to have to keep the demons at bay as I adapt to getting back on the grind again. This weekend has shown me how much out of practice I am. I say all that to say if you’ve wondered why my stuff looks the manner it does, that would be why.
Longform Coverage Next Week
March 13th
El Paso Locomotive FC v Monterey Bay FC (full time report on Beyond the 90)
March 16th
Memphis 901 FC v Indy Eleven
Tampa Bay Rowdies v San Antonio FC
Oakland Roots SC v Charleston Battery
Rhode Island FC v New Mexico United
Great work here, and a lot of it. I watched parts of several games, and the entire Bham/Phoenix game. One of the other things I saw was that LV Lights have some potential. It was glaring that they haven't had enough time to really get everything sorted, and their shape fell apart quickly on defense. But it looked like they had the ingredients to be greatly improved.
Bravo, Jonathan! A marvelous writeup --it is much appreciated!
Agree that the Isotopes Park for New Mexico is the coolest name! It should be mentioned that the capacity is 11,124 fans, so this first home game drew a sold-out, standing room only crowd!!
*Fun Fact: Isotopes Park is named after the AAA baseball ball team that also plays in the same park -- named so due to the Springfield Isotopes of Homer Simpsons threatening to move to Alburquerque! In fact, there are statues of Homer, Marge, Lisa, and Bart on the stadium grounds!
*Musing #6: extra thanks for the last seconds, game-tying Keeper heroics link!!
*Musing #10: please do take good care of yourself, Jonathan, and remember to rest You are much loved and appreciated and we need you for the long-term!