The Third Half: March 18th 2024 - USL Week 2
Late Drama, Home Franchise Debuts, Early Worry Signs
Week 2 of the USL season saw Spokane Velocity and Rhode Island FC debut at home as new franchises, late drama in Rhode Island, Colorado Springs and South Georgia, and some early positive and worrying signs for certain teams. How does it all break down? Let’s take a look.
Memphis 901 FC 1 Indy Eleven 2: It was a horror show for Memphis 901 FC until second half stoppage time as goals from Jack Blake from the spot midway through the first half and Douglas Martinez before halftime were enough for Indy Eleven to see off Memphis 901 FC, who ended the match with as many red cards as Indy Eleven had goals.
After an opening few minutes where the referee let things go, he finally had to bring things under control in the eighth minute, booking Callum Chapman Page for dissent. Indy Eleven was lucky to not see Josh O’Brien find the book two minutes later for what sure did look like a professional foul on Samuel Careaga. Indy Eleven’s ability to take advantage of the poorly weighted Memphis 901 FC passes was rewarded on the quarter hour when Aedan Stanley intercepted a pass directed to Oscar Jimenez, Jimenez’s fouling in frustration and picking up his first yellow card.
While Indy Eleven was playing with more pace, they still looked like they were playing too fast. Memphis 901 couldn’t find the weight of their pass until the 18th minute, a ball to Bruno Lapa allowed the attacking midfielder to put a shot over, Memphis’s first attack of the game. From there Oscar Jimenez would win a corner for Memphis, but his failure to get past the first defender would be a theme of the first half from the Oscar Jimenez set pieces.
Indy Eleven’s persistence finally paid off in the 25th minute. This penalty doesn’t get call if it wasn’t for the inch perfect pass from Callum Chapman-Page right to Jack Blake on the edge of the 18. Blake was able to easily get into the penalty area before Waile Tulu took him out. The referee had no hesitation as it was that obvious of a call to make. Jack Blake finished what he started by blasting the penalty over Tyler Deric going to Blake’s left. At 1-0, the scoreline was justified for Indy Eleven.
Memphis 901 FC would finally get some action in their attacking third, a centering ball Nighte Pickering ending up behind Pickering ending the phase of play. A 41st minute Samuel Careaga centering ball fell into the path of Zach Duncan, his effort fired over the crossbar with the same rush of blood Duncan had with the shot. They would pay the price one minute later.
After Memphis 901 FC thought they had taken the ball from Jack Blake, no one bothered to pick it up. That allowed Aedan Stanley to pick the ball up on the run down the left touchline. Stanley got to the edge of the 18 before putting the ball far post, Tyler Deric coming off his line and unable to collect the cross. That allowed Douglas Martinez to chest the ball into what was effectively an empty net, Akeem Ward over committing tracking back. Tyler Deric if he’s coming off for that cross, which was a perfect teasing ball from Stanley, he has to catch it or you will pay the price at least 80 percent of the time. At 2-0 to Indy Eleven this game felt over.
Oscar Jimenez’s horror afternoon would come to an end to start first half stoppage time, a recklessly thought out take down from behind of Cameron Lindley left the referee no choice but to issue the immediate second yellow/red card to, Stephen Glass just staring Jimenez down as he walked to his early shower. Even down a man, Memphis 901 FC gave themselves a chance with essentially the last attack of the half. A give and go between Emerson Hyndman and Akeem Ward nearly paid dividends on the chip in, but Yannik Oettl did just enough to disrupt the play for Hyndman to not get a play on the ball.
The second half would show an interesting dichotomy. Indy Eleven was more willing to let Memphis 901 FC have freedom down the wings, a continued theme from the first half, but Indy Eleven couldn’t decide if they wanted to defend or attack up a player. This allowed Memphis 901 FC to counter, the first one from Marlon Santos to Nighte Pickering found the onrushing Samuel Careaga. Careaga’s shot should have teased the goal but it went well over the crossbar.
It took until the 68th minute for Memphis 901 FC to get a shot of consequence on target, Marlon Santos shot after getting Jack O’Brien to concede space was directly at Yannik Oettl. It was worrying the amount of space Indy Eleven was conceding to Memphis 901 FC while up a player, a team playing way too lax even if Memphis 901 FC wasn’t getting anything of substance on target. Memphis thought they had won a penalty in the 75th minute, Marlon Santos decided to fall to ground the second he got alongside Macauley King. Santos was lucky himself to not pickup a booking for simulation in the process, I think the referee let Santos off very lightly there.
Indy Eleven nearly put the game out of sight in the 78th minute, a Jack Blake pass to Aeden Stanley found former Memphis 901 player Elliot Collier. Collier did well on the half turn to get separation from Aboulaye Cissoko, but Collier couldn’t get square on goal and ultimately put the ball over the crossbar. An 87th minute effort on the counter by Karsen Henderlong found Augustine Williams, but his shot was blocked off the feet of Tyler Deric.
Dylan Borczak took an Akeem Ward long ball that split the Indy Eleven center backs forcing Oettl into a quick save an a telling off of his back line. It was a sign Memphis 901 FC was going to make the end of this game difficult for Indy Eleven. Memphis 901 FC would get their reward for the pressure they were applying to start second half stoppage time. After Neco Brett took Dylan Borczak’s pass forcing a corner after a Oettl save, the corner from Akeem Ward got into the mixer and fell into the path of Aboulaye Cissoko far post. Cissoko was composed to finish the effort with the overhead kick with Indy Eleven at sixes and sevens at the back.
Memphis 901 FC, despite upping the pressure in second half stoppage time was unable to get another effort on goal and Indy Eleven went from comfortable victory to hanging on for survival. The fulltime whistle would bring further bad news for Memphis 901 FC as Akeem Ward was given a red card after the game concluded for violent conduct.
Memphis 901 FC was just too sloppy with the simple things in this game. The short passes they played were mostly shorter than the intended target. Indy Eleven was comfortable conceding the wings and playing between the 18 yard box. However, at some point Memphis found their radar with their centering passes which should have forced a change for Indy Eleven to expand where they were defending. Akeem Ward is going to be a huge miss in their next matchup against Sacramento as he finally found his footing midway though the second half and gave Indy Eleven fits. For Indy Eleven, they did enough in the first half to deserve the victory and that’s about the only solace they can have in this one because Indy Eleven’s second half was simply wasteful.
Tampa Bay Rowdies 2 San Antonio FC 2: Two late goals from San Antonio FC spoiled Robbie Neilson’s debut for the Tampa Bay Rowdies as the Rowdies dominated the opening 80 minutes, forgetting the game is 90 minutes in length, and were lucky to ultimately escape the game with a 2-2 draw.
Tampa Bay would start fast, opening the scoring four minutes in. After Cal Jennings won a corner kick for the hosts, Blake Bodily found Jennings on the edge of the six near box. The header was aimed far post perfectly, Jennings not having to leap to put the ball home in front of Mohammed Abu. It was the perfect start for the hosts against a side who conceded late last week.
The Rowdies thought they had made it 2-0 in the 12th minute, Manuel Argeaga rightly called offside after Pablo Sisniega didn’t collect the initial shot from Damian Rivera. San Antonio would get their first opportunity 4 minutes later from an Aaron Guillen yellow card challenge, Jorge Hernandez failing to find someone in the white San Antonio kit. It would continue to stay chippy, Cal Jennings picking up a booking minutes later for planting his studs onto the top of Luke Hankenson’s foot. The referee’s card getting a workout an additional 3 minutes later when Forest Lasso’s hand got the face of Juan Agudelo.
The start/stop nature of this contest continued into the middle portion of the first half, both sides being caught out straying for the high lines each side had set up. The better side on the ball was the Rowdies, but after the opener they lost their way as they got to the 18. Blake Bodily would become the third Rowdie into the book before the half hour, throwing himself at Jorge Hernandez without getting the ball.
Jordan Farr did well to hold onto Juan Agudelo’s effort in the 43rd minute, a shot many keepers would have given up a corner kick on. It was also the first chance of consequence for San Antonio in the first half. Not long after, Daniel Crisostomo would become the fourth player booked, running through Luke Haakenson (who took a beating in the first half). Going into halftime, San Antonio looked incapable of keeping possession and Tampa Bay looked ill-disciplined with key players on yellow cards.
Tampa Bay will wish their effort inside the first 30 seconds was better. Cal Jennings did well on the touchline to find Pacifique Niyonagbire, but he ultimately ran his shot right onto the angle Pablo Sisniega was covering. The Rowdies continued to pepper the San Antonio FC goal in the first eight minutes of the second half, ultimately nothing of substance coming from the corner kicks won. It was obvious Robbie Neilson lit a fire under the side at halftime. The best chance of the sequence came in the 53rd minute when Manuel Argeaga had his effort blocked out for a corner from eight yards out.
San Antonio whenever they would get forward in the opening quarter hour of the second half only resulted in one thing, shots that Jordan Farr had covered. Lucas Silva had the best chance from Jorge Hernandez’s pass on the hour, but the angle of shot was always going toward the Rowdies keeper.
The second Rowdies goal came out of nowhere. Jordan Doherty took the free kick after Cal Jennings was fouled outside the center circle. Pacifique Niyongabire did very well to collect the ball, beat Lucas Silva, get to the end line and find Manuel Argeaga. Argeaga timed the run to perfection getting in front of Carter Manley to finish into an empty net, Pablo Sisniega getting caught out on the near post. At two nil, based on the balance of play, this game felt over.
Had this been the Neill Collins Rowdies they would have seen the game out from here. Things looked to turn when Niyongabire thought he won a penalty in the 79th minute, the referee judging the legs got tangled and not awarding the call. From there San Antonio FC upped the pressure, Tampa Bay doing whatever they could to take the sting out of the game, Jordan Farr taking his time whenever he would get the ball.
The San Antonio pressure and keeping the ball in Tampa’s half finally was rewarded in the 83rd minute. The ball down the right was sent in to Kameron Lacey, who spotted Bura alone. Bura wasn’t afraid to take the shot on the tight angle, getting the shot off before Jozy Dezart got there. Jordan Farr deserves some blame as Bura put that ball between the near post and where Jordan Farr positioned himself.
It was at this point Leo Fernandes was brought in for Tampa Bay, thinking their best course of action was attack instead of shoring up the back. With San Antonio having confidence for the first time in close to 120 minutes of game action, they showed it. The goal also looked to zap the legs out of the Tampa Bay Rowdies, the Rowdies unable to keep the ball for long. The Rowdies would pay the price right before second half stoppage time began.
Off a Luke Haakenson throw in after a San Antonio free kick where they brought everyone but the keeper up, his cross found Jorge Hernandez. Hernandez went to put the shot in with power but ended up putting a touch on the ball that teed up Carter Manley. Blake Bodily has to put his body on the line to block that shot knowing it’s going to hurt in the morning and Aaron Guillen can’t give up that much space on the near post. Instead, Bodily turns his body, Guillen is a yard and half off the post, and Manley blasts the ball between Guillen and the post to equalize. It was poor fundamentals all around for a tired and ragged looking Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Forest Lasso’s last ditch effort in the second minute of stoppage time saved Rowdie blushes as Jorge Hernandez was looking to make it 3-2. The resulting corner kick found the back of the net, but Kevon Lambert’s foul waved it off.
This is a very worrying sign for the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Once the legs from the Rowdies went they were hanging on for dear life. San Antonio’s level didn’t drop, Tampa Bay’s crashed that much. This is a game where the Rowdies in the past would have seen it out with ease. The thing is San Antonio should be called to task for not going after the guys who had bookings for the hosts more often. San Antonio will feel better for getting the draw, Tampa Bay are going to have a long week trying to figure out how to stay disciplined for the entire 90 minutes.
Oakland Roots SC 1 Charleston Battery 1: With Oakland Roots missing a bevy of players due to non-Covid illness, the cards looked stacked against the Roots as they hosted the Charleston Battery. However, the Roots showed plenty of fight to get an early second half goal and see out a 1-1 draw Saturday night.
Charleston started this game on a much stronger front foot than last week. Diego Gutierrez forcing Bryan Tamacas into a yellow card just seven minutes in for intentionally holding the jersey. Mark Segbers’s pass to Arturo Rodriguez won Charlston a dangerous free kick 12 minutes from 19 yards out. Rodriguez was able to get the shot off the wall for a corner, Aaron Molloy unable to find a Charleston player on the six yard box. Oakland was not helped when they had to make a sub prior to the free kick, Miche-Naider Chery had to replace the injured Napo Matsoso.
Oakland’s first serious foray forward ended with Juan Sebastian Palma booked on the quarter hour for his foul on Johnny Rodriguez, an unnecessary foul 30 yards from goal. The sequence from the free kick ultimately came to Jeciel Cedeno, the touch final touch poor allowing Charleston to clear the danger.
You could tell Oakland’s plan was to slow the game down as much as possible considering the situation they were in. Free kicks and goal kicks were taking longer than one would see in the first half. With the urgency Charleston was playing with it made sense. Nick Markanich and Diego Gutierrez in the 25th minute were showing how much they thought the quicker they scored the quicker they thought they could see the game out with minimal fuss. Gutierrez’s shot was skied over from 10 yards out. Credit has to go to Paul Blanchette for giving all the encouragement he could give his side on the pitch, the mark of a true leader.
Charleston’s pressure would pay off in the 35th minute, Markanich’s forcing Justin Rasmussen into a corner kick. While Aaron Molloy’s corner was cleared the second phase would start through Mark Segbers. Segbers found Arturo Rodriguez, the centering ball to Nick Markanich put the Battery forward in front of Niall Logue. Paul Blanchette will rue not keeping the header from getting through the five hole as it trickled into the back of the net.
A scary moment came near the end of the first half when Neveal Hackshaw looked to roll up on the ball, after a minute he was able to walk the injury off, more shock at what happened than anything else. Credit has to go to the Oakland Roots for tightening up after giving up the goal to keep it 1-0 going into the half. Oakland to their credit got a set piece with the near the end of the first half, a free kick from 25 unfortunately skied by Johnny Rodriguez. Going into the half, Charleston had the lead, but Oakland was still in the battle…a dangerous combination.
Oakland Roots signaled their intent in the opening seconds of the second half, Jeciel Cedeno firing from distance wide. It showed they weren’t going to go away easily, their determination rewarded in the 49th minute. After Charleston was flagged due to Jackson Conway being offside, Oakland went route one. The ball eventually landed to Miche-Naider Chery, who beat Chris Allen, laid the ball off behind to Guillermo Diaz who’s ball far post found Ilya Akeseev, who had his own zip code of space to head the ball into the net. Everyone went central to cover Johnny Rodriguez, Nathan Dos Santos the defender the most out of position. Adam Grinwis was way too late in chasing to the far post, allowing for the easy finish. It’s a goal Oakland Roots can celebrate as the USL Academy product came good as you could tell he was not expecting the ball to get to him.
Charleston nearly had the immediate response from the restart, Jackson Conway’s shot deflecting off Justin Rasmussen. The spin caught Paul Blanchette by surprise, who could only put the ball off the post. Chris Allen was flagged for offside even though his second chance went off the crossbar.
The game would fall into a box-to box period until the 65th minute when Chris Allen’s side volley off the Charleston corner kick was blocked by Paul Blanchette, the ball going in under the crossbar if Blanchette didn’t get his hands to it. While Charleston had plenty of possession in the final quarter of the game, they were unable to put another shot of consequence on goal and Oakland was able to see this game out, if not for a moment of madness late when Adam Grinwis and Johnny Rodriguez collided, Grinwis trying to bait Rodriguez into a second yellow card. Grinwis ended up with the booking for his stupidity after the foul.
Considering what Oakland was up against tonight, this was a major result. What their depth showed having to play in game against the Eastern Conference champions was nothing short of miraculous. Charleston will regret not doing more to try and break Oakland down in the second half, their game looking way too direct and without having a plan b. Make no mistake, no wins for Charleston through 2 matches isn’t good, but considering they were renewing a rivalry and making a west coast trip I’m willing to give them a pass for now. Oakland Roots having 4 points through 2 games is a bonus for them. The Roots look to be building something here, and that’s positive to see.
Rhode Island FC 1 v New Mexico United 1: Christopher Gloster own goal in second half stoppage time saw New Mexico United lose two points as Rhode Island FC started their existence with a 1-1 draw, giving the home side plenty to build on for the future.
Rhode Island opened in a 4-5-1, with Stephen Turnbull playing far more forward than I anticipated. In the opening 8 minutes of action Turnbull spent more time in the attacking third than the Rhode Island defensive third. That was helped because New Mexico’s shape looked very similar to what we saw against Pittsburgh last week, a 3-4-3 that defended the middle of the park. That gave Turnbull more freedom to get forward.
New Mexico’s first opportunity would come in the 7th minute, a Jacobo Reyes to Greg Hurst to Marco Micalletto sequence saw Micaletto put a shot wide of the far post. Rhode Island would get their first chance on goal two minutes later, Jojea Kwizera’s corner kick causing Alex Tambakis all sorts of trouble. Rhode Island will wish they had kept their forward runs going because it was a sure goal if someone had gotten a touch. Kwizera would get a second chance to cross and the header from Frank Nodarse ended the danger for Rhode Island.
New Mexico should have been ahead in the 11th minute. Dayonn Harris did well enough to collect the ball on the edge of their attacking third and lay it off to Avionne Flanagan. Flanagan beat Kanita Yao, but waited too late before going near post and allowed Grant Stoneman to track back to block the shot out for a corner, which was never close to target from the short corner. Rhode Island had their first opportunity come in the 28th minute. Kojea Kwizera got down the left to the end line before putting his centering pass near post to Albert Dikwa. Due to Dikwa’s positioning, it allowed Alex Tambakis to make the point blank block.
A poor Tambakas restart was taken away to Clay Holstad 32 yards from goal, and he was very unfortunate the ball didn’t curl in on the far post, instead the long distance effort put a dent into the left post. Rhode Island’s midfield was doing an exception job through the first half closing down the lanes New Mexico wanted to use in the midfield, pressing them closer and close to their attacking third. It would take until the 36th minute for New Mexico to get forward again, having to bypass the midfield to do so. However Clay Holstad was there to deny Greg Hurst’s effort, Hurst loitering in the box and not getting a shot off in the process.
Stephen Turnbull showed his defensive strength in the 43rd minute, the pass to Flanagan behind, allowing Turnbull to spring the counter to Noah Fuson, Fuson winning a corner in the process. The corner ultimately found Clay Holstad while Alex Tambakis was arguing for a foul. Holstad aimed for the upper 90 far post and thought his opener was going in but dipped off the crossbar. Going into halftime, Rhode Island was definitely the better side, New Mexico taking way too long in their decision making.
New Mexico again was way too wasteful three minutes into the second half. Jacobo Reyes did well to find Dayonn Harris perfectly to put a shot on target from 12 yards out. Harris’s mistake was putting an extra touch on the ball, which gave Marc Ybarra and Koke Vegas the ability to block the effort. It was the kind of performance where if Rhode Island was playing anyone who played a side who could react faster they’d have been behind.
New Mexico would take advantage of a set piece to take the lead in the 67th minute. After Clay Holstad found the book for his foul on Jacobo Reyes. The resulting free kick by Marco Micalletto exposed the poor high line from Rhode Island FC as the ball made its way all the way to Sergio Rivas. Rivas’s header back central wasn’t punched in full by Koke Vegas, allowing Jon-Talen Maples the finish from 3 yards out between Clay Holstad and Frank Nodarse. It was beginning to feel like a set piece was going to be needed for New Mexico to score and Rhode Island handed them a gift on a high line platter.
As Rhode Island showed urgency for an equalizer, Rhode Island lost their shape, New Mexico for the first time all afternoon showing the same defensive lines seen against Pittsburgh. It took until second half stoppage time for the hosts to finally find the probing ball to get a deserved goal. After New Mexico couldn’t clear, Gabriel Alves started as the pivot, spotting Clay Holsted before Holsted found Noah Fuson in space. Fuson, with one of the rarer balls sent in on that part of the pitch was sent in for Mark Doyle. Instead of Doyle getting the final touch, it was Cristopher Gloster who put the final touch into his own net for the own goal. It shows what Rhode Island can do if they can balance out the play between Stephen Turnbull on one side, Noah Fuson on the other.
Rhode Island nearly won it in the last minute of stoppage time, but Prince Sayee’s shot was blocked by Tambakis, the ball back into Mark Doyle palmed out for a corner kick.
This game shows that Rhode Island isn’t that far away and with time are going to be a difficult side to play against. I do worry about them playing teams right now who don’t need all the additional time New Mexico United were taking in the box. Teams are going to learn quick they can’t let Stephen Turnbull have freedom of the wing because he will eventually punish them. As for New Mexico United, they have to get faster with their decision making, they left at least three goals on the pitch trying to set up the perfect shot.
Elsewhere Around the USL Championship:
El Paso Locomotive FC 0 Louisville City FC 1: A Wilson Harris goal before the hour gave Louisville City a winning start to their season, and condemning El Paso Locomotive FC to only 1 point at home in the 3 games they have played in 7 days at Southwest University Park to open their season.
After a tight opening half hour that saw El Paso lose Brandan Craig on the quarter hour to injury, El Paso Locomotive were the first to blink. A Wilson Harris cross on 29 minutes was nearly put in at the near post by Craig’s replacement, Noah Dollenmayer. It took a Jahmali Waite boot to spin the ball out for a corner saving El Paso from going down. 3 minutes later a probing ball far post by Ray Serrano forced Waite into making the save, the ball too close to the far post to give any benefit of the doubt.
Louisville City’s being the incrementally better side was rewarded in the 56th minute. A spell of possession started with Elijah Wynder, moving the ball to halftime substitute Niall McCabe. McCabe spotted Sean Totsch down the right, Totsch then beating his marker in Lucas Stauffer before his centering ball found Wilson Harris to head past Waite on the far post before Tony Alfaro could get there to defend.
El Paso Locomotive, for the shots deemed on target, finally had something of substance in the 70th minute. After Stauffer gained possession for El Paso Locomotive the counter attack was on. The ball to Justin Dhillon was perfect, his centering ball to Amando Moreno even better as he got his shot off before Sean Totsch and Jake Morris could settle, Damian Las up to the task at the near post to palm it out for a corner. The corner would be weakly collected by Las, ending El Paso’s best chance of the afternoon.
Loudoun United FC 3 North Carolina FC 1: Second half goals by Zach Ryan and Abdellatif Aboukoura was the difference as Loudoun United’s promising start to the season continued with a 3-1 victory over North Carolina FC.
Loudoun United would open the scoring in the 23rd minute. A midfield pass to Kwame Awuah sprung the attack, with no defender on Awuah, Shaft Brewer out of position and late to get back, Awuah was able to put a cross in to the far post towards Kalil El Medkhar. El Medkhar was able to beat Paco Craig as his header found the twine. Evan Conway nearly took Nelson Flores cross six minutes later and found the equalizer, but his header trailed wide of the near post.
North Carolina FC would find the equalizer 7 minutes from halftime. Off a free kick from a Wesley Leggett foul of Shaft Brewer that earned Leggett a yellow card, the ball found its way far post to Collin Martin. His ball back into the mixer found Michael Maldonado at the near post who beat Jacob Erlandson to the ball to find the empty net.
North Carolina had their chance to take the lead in the 56th minute, the poor goal kick by Hugo Fauroux sent straight to Collin Martin. Martin’s first touch pass to Evan Conway put him in a great position to find the far post, but found the space just wide of goal to end the surprising threat. Five minutes later, Loudoun United would hit the front for good. After Kalil El Medkhar fired a warning shot that forced Antonio Carrera into a diving save just minutes prior, Loudoun would take the ball from the back, Kalil El Medkhar ultimately finding Zach Ryan on the run between Paco Craig and Adrian Pelayo. Carrera was late to cut off the angle and Ryan had the easy finish.
Oalex Anderson came off the bench to provide a spark for North Carolina FC, and his shot from close range on the tight angle finding the near post in the 72nd minute. Anderson’s effort in the 78th from Rodrigo da Costa forced Fauroux into a save as Anderson though he had rounded the Loudoun keeper. Loudoun would add the icing on the cake 5 minutes from time, a give and go between Abdellatif Aboukoura and Zach Ryan got Paco Craig out of position for Aboukoura to finish far post.
Miami FC 0 Sacramento Republic FC 1: Trevor Amann’s goal before the hour mark was enough for Sacramento Republic to go on the road to defeat Miami FC 1-0 in a tight encounter where Miami FC will regret two golden opportunities to score on a night Sacramento Republic was shooting right at Daniel Gagliardi.
Sacramento’s pressure nearly paid off in the 41st minute, Russell Cicerone getting a second bite of the cherry to force Daniel Gagliardi into a rection save from 18. Miami would get their best chance of the night with a quadruple effort before halftime that should have resulted in a goal. With Daniel Gagliardi playing from the back, Rocco Genzano pass sprung Mattia Gagliardi. His shot was blocked to Allen Gavilanes, his effort saved by Daniel Vitiello. Daniel Gagliardi would get a second chance in the sequence but his shot was deflected by Vitiello onto the path of Rocco Genzanno. Genzanno’s his effort was touched by Vitiello onto the path of Daniel Gagliardi, who’s knee couldn’t redirect it into the net and with it Miami FC’s best chance of the night squandered.
Before the hour Sacramento Republic found the front. With a spell of possession in the midfield, Nick Ross found Jack Gurr. With Gurr in plenty of space due to Alejandro Mitrano being out of position, Gurr was able to get the cross into Trevor Amann, who between Daltyn Knutson and Achille Truchot put his header in on goal with Daniel Gagliardi being caught on an island. Sacramento Republic would be professional with their bookings to see the game out from here, Miami FC having a golden chance off a second phase from a corner kick, but Ben Ofeimu’s centering ball was wasted when Michael Vang directed the ball wide of the far post instead of in the back of the net, having the net at his mercy.
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 0 Orange County SC 2: Brian Iloski’s third minute goal set the tone as Orange County SC rode the late comeback last week to a comprehensive 2-0 victory on the road against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
Orange County struck quick from the back. Colin Shutler started the piece, the ball eventually finding its way to Ryan Doghman. Doghman beat Jackson Walti and Daniel Rovira, put his centering ball across the six, ultimately finding Brian Iloski. Iloski beat Brunallergene Etou to the ball and past Eric Dick, who was scrambling to get back on the far post.
Pittsburgh Riverhounds had their first opportunity of the night in the 42nd minute. Robbie Mertz laid the ball off to Daniel Rovira with plenty of space to get a cross into the box. The ball in by Rovira found Babacar Diene who beat his marker to the shot, Colin Shutler having to dive late to make the reaction save. In first half stoppage time, Rovira found Robbie Mertz 12 yards out, Mertz’s shot blasting off the crossbar. Going into halftime, Pittsburgh Riverhounds had momentum and we wishing halftime didn’t come.
After Langston Blackstock failed with his header from a corner in the 75th minute, Orange County would immediately strike and put the game away. From the resulting goal kick, Shutler’s ball would eventually find second half substitute Christian Sorto. Sorto in plenty of space found Cameron Dunbar, who settled the ball, beat Patrick Hogan and put the ball past the keeper. It was a goal very uncharacteristic of recent Pittsburgh Riverhound teams.
Langston Blackstock had a point-blank effort in second half stoppage time, Shutler denying the effort from Pittsburgh in their best effort to pull one back late.
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 1 Detroit City FC 2: A late Connor Rutz goal was enough for Detroit City FC to go on the road to defeat Colorado Springs Switchbacks, who ended on 10 players, 2-1.
Detroit City would find the front 11 minutes in from sloppy defending from Colorado Springs. Ali Coote started to movement to Brett Levis. Levis would play a 1-2 with Maximiliano Rodríguez before his centering pass found an unmarked Elvis Amoh, who had no one within 2 yards of him to score on the far post.
Koa Santos would pick up what looked to a be a profession foul taking down Elvis Amoh just outside the penalty area in the 23rd minute, the resulting free kick going right to the Colorado Springs Switchbacks keeper.
Colorado Springs would find their scoring boots 2 minutes into the second half. After Steven Echevarria won a free kick, Devon Williams found halftime substitute Quenzi Huerman. Huerman put a deft touch to Maalique Foster, his centering pass getting through traffic to the feet of Matt Mahoney. With Mahoney already beaten James Murphy, Mahoney had a point blank shot Nathan Steinwascher would have only saved if he was already in that spot. For the huffing and puffing Colorado Springs did in the first half, they finally found their radar to have a deserved equalizer.
Colorado Springs should have found the front in the 56th minute. After Ronaldo Damus picked the pocket of James Murphy in midfield, his pass found Malalique Foster in space perfectly. Foster made the perfect run, got Nathan Steinwascher to commit to the near post, before putting his shot just wide of the far post. As it would turn out, things would go from bad to worse for the hosts.
4 minutes later Koa Santos would be sent off for a reckless foul on Ali Coote. Santos went right through Coote without any attempt to play the ball, a foul one already on a yellow card should never be attempting in the first place. Even going down to 10, Colorado Springs still had an opportunity to find the front from a 75th minute Mahoney header off a corner kick. However Nathan Steinwascher was strong to the task to make the reaction save.
Detroit City would find the winner in the 89th minute. With Colorado Springs immediately getting back in to their 4-4 defensive shape, Detroit City was given the freedom of the midfield. Michael Bryant would lay off to 77th minute substitute Rhys Williams. Williams puts a probing ball into the six, the ball bouncing off Matthew Mahoney, then Delentz Pierre, before the ball fell to Connor Rutz. Rutz, falling to his back still had enough juice to finish as Herrera was caught thinking Rutz wouldn’t be able to make the touch to beat him from 2 yards out.
Las Vegas Lights FC 1 FC Tulsa 3: 2 goals inside the first 25 minutes were enough for FC Tulsa to see off Las Vegas Lights 3-1 in their season opener on the road.
It would only take 11 minutes for FC Tulsa to find the front. Off an Arthur Rogers throw-in to Boubacar Diallo, Diallo laid it back off to Rogers. Rogers beat his marker Edison Azcona to the end line before putting his cross in to Stefan Stojanovic, who split Shawn Smart and Emrah Klimenta to head it home near post. Tulsa would double their lead to start the 26th minute, FC Tulsa finally winning possession on the edge of their attacking 18 when Coleman Gannon and Ngando Mbende couldn’t collect. The ball eventually fell to the feet of Phillip Goodrum, who fired near post before Hayden Sargis could challenge, Austin Wormell on an island.
Some good in the box defending from FC Tulsa saw the first half out, and they would nearly make it 3-0 six minutes into the second half on a training ground set piece pass from Justin Portillo right to Blane Ferri, his shot reverbing off the crossbar. Five minutes later, poor Las Vegas clearing would result in the game being put away for good. Phillip Goodrum found Arthur Rogers his cross deflected off Joseph-Claude Gyau forcing Austin Wormell into a diving save. A Las Vegas Lights pass fell right to Blaine Ferri, his layoff to Milo Yosef allowed him to fire far post before Emrah Klimenta to cover, Wormell caught too close to the near post.
Las Vegas Lights would prevent the shutout on the hour. Second half substitute Riki Alba spotted Edison Azcona down the left inside the center circle and pinged the pass out. Alba kept his run going, Azcona beat Arthur Rogers before his centering pass found Riki Alba in front of Patrick Seagrist to finish. Las Vegas had their chances to make it interesting late but couldn’t find a second to get FC Tulsa asking questions.
Monterey Bay FC 1 Phoenix Rising FC 0: Rafael Baca’s 22nd minute goal was enough for Monterey Bay FC to win their home opener against Phoenix Rising FC 1-0.
After a tight opening quarter to the game, Monterey Bay’s ability to force a mistake paid off in spade. From a poor Jose Hernandez touch, the ball fell right to Adrian Rebollar. Rebollar settled the ball enough to find Rafael Baca unmarked on the edge of the 18, the pass perfect and with no one within 2 yards of Baca, Baca was able to fire central, Rocco Rios Novo shocked his pass to Hernandez went so bad.
Phoenix Rising would have no chance of consequence until the 56th minute, after finally beating the pressure, Panos Armenakas found Federico Varela, his shot through the traffic not seen by Antony Siaha until late. Siaha was close enough to the effort to palm it out for a corner kick. Armenakas may have been a nuisance in the second half, but he wasn’t able to find a final touch to equalize, Monterey Bay’s defensive structure holding firm for Monterey Bay to get a four point opening week.
Around USL League One
Lexington SC 1 Chattanooga Red Wolves SC 0: A 79th minute goal from Yannick Yankam was enough for Lexington SC to collect their first win of the season as they had to hold on against a game Chattanooga Red Wolves.
Chattanooga nearly found the front 12 minutes in. From a Pedro Hernandez throw in, Ricky Ruiz put enough of a touch on the ball to find Stefan Lukic in space from 22 yards in front of Kaeion Fox. The shot curled late far post, ultimately going out for a goal kick. Five minutes later from a Chattanooga second corner in succession Ualefi nearly surprised Amahl Knight from 18, the shot requiring a reflex save.
Lexington will rue not taking the poor pass from Jamil Roberts in the 40 minute that ultimately fell to the onrushing Jayden Onen, who used the already built pace to beat Leo Folla. However he put the shot on the angle TJ Bush had covered instead of taking on Gustavo Fernandes, the intercept ball quickly wasted.
The 66th minute would see Chattanooga again come close to opening the scoring. From a Lukic’s end line cross, the ball would find it’s way through to Ricky Ruiz from 7 yards out. His shot through traffic looked goal bound, if not for the feet of Kaeion Fox to clear on the end line. 13 minutes later Lexington would get the win from a free kick crossed in by Alasanne Ates Diouf. The ball would get lost by Gustavo Fernandes and Leo Folla, allowing Yannick Yankam to collect and fire first time near post, TJ Bush unable to see the ball through traffic until it was by him in the back of the net.
Chattanooga would get two golden chances to equalize late. The first came in the 87th minute, but Ricky Ruiz’s header from point blank range from Ropapa Mensah’s cross was saved well by Amahl Knight. In the fifth minute of stoppage time, with Lexington’s defense out of sorts, Ropapa Mensah and Chevone Marsh would both hit the crossbar from a corner kick, Lexington finally clearing the danger and picking up 3 points.
Spokane Velocity FC 2 Richmond Kickers 1: Spokane rode the emotions of their first home game to two goals in the opening quarter hour, which was enough to hold of the Richmond Kickers 2-1.
Richmond nearly had the perfect start in the opening minute, but Nil Vinyals was unable to shape the ball near post. 3 minutes later Spokane Velocity found the front. After Jack Denton’s cross field pass found Romain Metanire, Metanire fired a centering ball far post. Instead of finding Josh Dolling in the middle, the ball curled off the far post and across the goal line before anyone realized what had happened. Dolling had beaten Dakota Barnathan, acting as a screen to allow the ball to get over the line before Pablo Jara could recover.
After Nil Vinvals overran his effort in the 12th minute allowing Spokane to cover his shot, Spokane would double their lead on the quarter hour. From a corner kick taken by Luis Gil, the ball was sent far post to the waiting Ahmed Longmire. Longmire leaped, Ryan Sierakowski did not, Jara caught completely out of position as the header came back from wince it came. Spokane Velocity’s perfect start would see a reality check 5 minutes later. From the long throw by Maximiliano Schenfeld the ball ping ponged in the box before falling perfectly to Adrian Billhardt who blasted the ball far post to pull one back for Richmond Kickers.
Marcelo Lage nearly replied with a long throw header goal of his own from Pierre Reedy’s long throw in the 52nd minute, his header going out off the far post. Richmond’s best chance to equalize came in the fourth minute of second half stoppage time, a Chris Cole long throw found the Maximiliano Schenfeld, who’s shot from 18 came off the crossbar.
Charlotte Independence 1 One Knoxville SC 2: Angelo Kelly-Rosales goal 12 minutes from time was enough for One Knoxville to leave Charlotte with a 2-1 win over Charlotte Independence.
In a first half where chances were few, Tresor Mbuyu’s blocked effort in the 17th minute the best chance of the half, the game came to life in the second half. The 49th minute would see Knoxville spring a counter attack from a poor Charlotte throw. The ball would be played to Angelo Kelly-Rosales, who found Frank Ross on the run. From there Ross beat Bachir Ndiaye and put his effort on goal far post, beating Austin Pack with ease. Hugh Roberts should be called out for not tracking back further, allowing Ross to get the shot on goal.
The lead would last until fifteen minutes from time when Charlotte Independence would equalize. From a corner taken by Luis Alvarez, Hugh Roberts first effort was saved by Sean Lewis. Clay Dimick beat Dani Fernandez to the rebound to finish the effort. It was a perfect set piece to get back in the game. Unfortunately for Charlotte, it would take 3 minutes for One Knoxville to find the front again. One Knoxville would take the ball in the midfield weaving their passes eventually to second half substitute Rodolfo Castro. Castro’s ball out to Callum Johnson would be centered to Angelo Kelly-Rosales, his header put on frame and in right front of Hugh Roberts.
South Georgia Tormenta FC 1 Forward Madison FC 1: Niall Watson’s goal in the sixth minute of second half stoppage time was enough for South Georgia Tormenta to earn a 1-1 draw with Forward Madison in a game Forward Madison will know they threw two points away.
Forward Madison had the first opportunity of the night 19 minutes in. Juan Galindrez from a 1-2 with Jimmie Villalobos ended up too close to goal, Galindrez’s shot easily blocked by Ford Parker. The follow-up effort by Ferrety Sousa blocked by Jake Dengler. It would end up being the best effort of the half.
Forward Madison would get a surprise effort before the hour, Devon Boyce taking Ferrety Sousa’s cross and unmarked heading it goalward, Ford Parker having to palm away for a corner. Nine minutes later, Forward Madison would hit the front. Off a free kick Forward Madison got down the left, put in a cross that was dummied by Christian Charney onto the path of Devin Boyce, who had the freedom of the space the South Georgia defenders gave up following Charney to put the shot past Parker near post, the South Georgia keeper leaning far post.
Forward Madison had their best chance to put the game away 13 minutes from the ninety. Jimmie Villalobos play with Christian Chaney resulted in a Villalobos shot blocked by Ford Parker. The ball fell right to Chaney, who’s shot was blocked by Preston Kilwien, a foul ending the sequence.
South Georgia after some probing half chances after conceding the opener found the equalizer late. After a spell of possession, Philip Spengler found Nicholas Akoto on the right. His cross missed Gabriel Rodriguez on a diving header and fell to the feet of Niall Watson from point blank range. Having beaten Stephen Payne, Watson blasted the ball in for the equalizer to ensure points were shared.
Central Valley Fuego FC 1 Union Omaha 2: Aaron Gomez’s goal after the hour mark was enough for Union Omaha, as they were able to hold off Central Valley’s efforts to comeback to win 2-1 on the road.
It would take 18 minutes for Union Omaha to find the front. Off a deflection for a corner kick, the ball in by Joe Gallardo was headed onto the path of Blake Malone from Steevan dos Santos. Malone found the space in the Central Valley backline to put it far post, Carlos Avilez screened by his defenders. On the half hour, Missael Rodriguez got in 1 v 1 with Avilez from a Victor Giro through ball, his chip ended just wide of the near post.
Union Omaha would double their lead in the 62nd minute. William Perkins’s ball across the box found Pedro Dolabella, who beat Omar Lemus and put the ball far post. The ball was headed back central from Steevan do Santos right into the path of Josue Gomez, the substitute beating Jason Ramos to the ball to put it into an empty net.
Central Valley would huff and puff and finally pull one back in the 71st minute. From a ball played in from midfield by to Shavon John-Brown, who split Marco Milanese and Luca Mastrantonio to fire past an out of position Rashid Nuhu. The Union Omaha keeper was more worried about asking for an offside flag that was never coming.
Despite a Jose Carrera-Garcia long distance effort in the 86th minute that was saved by Rashid Nuhu, lucky the ball didn’t roll across the end line but out for a corner kick, Union Omaha was able to see the game out for a huge road win to open their season.
Weekend Observations and Random Musings
1: I was very surprised, and equally worried, seeing Tampa Bay Rowdies only have six players on the bench this week. When home teams are allowed 9 due to rules surrounding younger players (7 regular, 2 program players), the bare expectation is seven on the bench. The Rowdies had depth problems at the end of the last season that bit them when it mattered, they have to find depth here soon. It’s a long summer, and the warm temperatures have already arrived in Florida.
1a: It also isn’t a good sign for the Rowdies having 5 players on the injury report to start the season. Furthermore if Leo Fernandes, on the salary he’s on, could not break into the starting eleven, one has to wonder if the Achilles injury was not completely healed at the end of last season. That’s an injury at his age I wonder if he isn’t healthy now, he may not be fully fit again.
2: One spring/summer sport I have followed for years are the various iterations of indoor/arena football. One of those teams I grew to appreciate from afar was the Spokane Shock. When I saw USL League One was putting a team in Spokane I thought they had a good chance to set a high bar. That crowd this weekend in Spokane set that bar. As long as the Velocity continue to remember the key to success in the Spokane market is community involvement they will be a rousing success.
3: This is something that has bothered me with a few of the USL League One broadcasts so far this year that the clubs need to remedy starting next week: if your putting the starting eleven on the screen do not have a bench of #N/A. That’s for a null value on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, not a television broadcast. It also gives the impression you don’t have a bench. Either take the few minutes to add the names or just eliminate that portion of the graphic.
4: With nearly 9 percent of their season already done, I’m starting to get very concerned for El Paso Locomotive. Having 3 games in seven days to start the season can be a blessing if you get the results. However, it can also be a curse in exposing the flaws to your teams structure. Their midfield to defensive shape when defending has been out of sorts and their transitions into attacking play is either too fast or too slow. One name, who was brought in to great fanfare, that hasn’t played yet, Joaquin Rivas. The injury report says he’s out due to a back injury. Are we 100 percent sure that’s the case?
5: My favorite goal of the week: it may have looked messy but whenever I see an overhead kick find the frame I pop. Runner up has to go to USL Academy product Ilya Alekseev getting one of the easiest first goals one might get. Son, they’ll get harder from here to finish.
6: It wasn’t until watching the New Mexico United and Pittsburgh Riverhounds second games that I have some concerns this Riverhounds side may not gel for a while this season. The biggest thing that worries me is the lack of fight the Riverhounds midfield has shown. Past iterations of Bob Lilley’s sides would be bossing the game between the midfield to defensive lines. The space they are allowing is being way too easily exploited.
7: My pleasant surprise of the opening two weeks is a tie between Loudoun United and Monterey Bay. I am trying not to get carried away with both, but they have not had easy starts and to have 4 points through two games is a building block I’m betting both sides didn’t expect to have this early in the season. You may not make the playoffs in the opening weeks of the season, but those lost points early may matter late in the season come being near the in/out line…or even possibly hosting a playing game.
8: If the USL website does not do a story and video feature on how Juan Torres came to Charleston they are doing their league a seriously major disservice. Just hearing the elevator speech version on the broadcast was incredible.
9: A change for next week. Instead of doing longform coverage on 4 games, the amount will be reduced to 3 for the remainder of the season. The first two weeks have given me a format I trust, but the one thing I’m running out of is time. I want this ready for publish by 8 am on Monday morning, but doing 4 full games solo is just taking the juice out of me. I also want to do my best to keep this within the Substack word limit for email.
Longform Coverage Next Week
Louisville City FC v Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Indy Eleven v Sacramento Republic FC
Monterey Bay FC v Rhode Island FC
Love you, Jonathan! Thank you for all this! USL should hire you as the "official recapper"!!!
I like this following link to watch the Game Highlights, as it shows the most recent games in chronological (or popularity) order:
https://www.youtube.com/@USL/videos
My heart breaks for all the home-opening crowds that suffered defeats (El Paso, Memphis 901, Miami, Pittsburgh, Colorado, and Las Vegas). Why did El Paso have to play THREE games in one WEEK? Apparently last year it had to suffer the same, too, but I can't find an explanation in online articles.
p.s. Thanks for the Juan Torres' tip! Will look it up!
"8: If the USL website does not do a story and video feature on how Juan Torres came to Charleston they are doing their league a seriously major disservice. Just hearing the elevator speech version on the broadcast was incredible."