USL All-League: who's in at the two-thirds mark?
Assessing my picks for the USL's end-of-year distinctions
After 273 games out of 408 on the calendar, we’re just over 66% done with the 2023 USL season. As the campaign winds down, I want to reflect on the players that have left the biggest marks on the year to date.
You can see my all-USL picks above, and I go blow-by-blow to explain why each of my selections deserves a nod. If one of your favorites isn’t here, I lend you my condolences. There’s a ton of talent in this league, and this is an incredibly difficult exercise.
First Team
Tani Oluwaseyi (FW, San Antonio)
In only 13 matches, Oluwaseyi has soared to the lead in the Golden Boot race, scoring more than a goal per game. He’s riding a sizzling 35% conversion rate on the way there, and he’s a huge reason why injury-riddled San Antonio leads the league in goals and has a chance at the West’s top seed.
Milan Iloski (FW, Orange County)
Orange County’s rise from 11th place to home-field contention in the West has been remarkable, but it would’ve been impossible without the reigning Golden Boot winner. Iloski has 10 goals and four assists as a narrow left winger that demands the respect of opposing defenses, and he’ll continue to be crucial down the stretch.
Russell Cicerone (FW, Sacramento)
Despite injuries to Rodrigo Lopez and Juan Sebastian Herrera this year, Sacramento has evolved into an elite offensive team and cemented themselves as the best team in the USL, and Russell Cicerone has allowed them to do so. He has 13 goals, but his fluid interchange with players like Keko and his ability to link with overlapping wing backs is essential. Moreover, Cicerone’s defensive effort (third on the Republic in tackle attempts) is underrated in solidifying their deep 5-4-1.
Aaron Molloy (CM, Memphis)
No player has created more shots for his teammates than Molloy, who’s done so 58 times already this year. He and Jeremy Kelly have borne a heavy load in the pivot for a reworked Memphis side, and Molloy’s set piece excellence and box-to-box work rate have more than met the challenge. #6 was an MVP finalist last year, and he should be in the conversation once again.
Charlie Dennis (CM, Tampa Bay)
The Rowdies have never quite settled on an attacking mix, but they’re second in the East in goals because of Dennis’ consistent presence. He’s played in 77% of available minutes and chipped in the league’s second-most key passes, all while providing a sharp free kick threat and a potent blend of ball-advancing dribbling and distribution.
Jordan Doherty (DM, Tampa Bay)
Someone from the Rowdies’ defensive unit had to make an appearance here, and Doherty is the underrated key to their overall stinginess. He’s second on the team in interceptions and total passes, but the Irishman’s biggest contributions won’t show up on the stat sheet. Vanishingly few USL players boast Doherty’s ability to always pop up in the right positions to overload an opposing defense or shore up his own.
Amadou Dia (LB, Louisville)
When Louisville needed a steady pair of hands in build, they used Amadou Dia as a deep-lying passer. When they moved to a back three, they let Dia rip as a high-flying wing back. He’s been a stellar defender all the while, and his 34 interceptions put him amongst the league leaders. For my taste, Dia is unassailable as the best left back in the USL.
Conor Donovan (CB, Sacramento)
The Republic have only allowed 16 goals in 23 matches, powered by the excellence of Donovan as the anchor in the middle of their defense. He’s top ten in the league in clearances, ranks first in blocks, and has started all but one match. His solidity allows the rest of the Sacramento back line to carry the ball aggressively and step up as a defensive backstop, and he deserves more attention as a star at this level.
Arturo Ordonez (CB, Pittsburgh)
If the USL had a rookie of the year award, Ordonez would’ve been in the mix in 2022. His defensive prowess and ability to advance on the ball are definitional for the East’s best team, and he seems to have improved in every facet of the game in his sophomore campaign. Ordonez is top three in the USL for interceptions and second in aerial wins, illustrating how he can get the job done in his box or stepping up to blow up attacks.
Jack Gurr (RB, Sacramento)
If the season ended today, Gurr would get my MVP vote. No player is as fearless at putting in challenges or flying into the box on a perfectly timed run. For those traits to come from a wing back? Incredible. Gurr has five goals, four assists, and the fifth-most completed crosses in the USL, but his end-to-end work rate and instinctual connection with Sacramento’s attackers are every bit as crucial as the hard numbers.
Paul Blanchette (GK, Oakland)
Blanchette has played every available minute for the Roots, and his 11.2 goals saved above expectation are the reason why they can afford to play such a bright attacking style. At the bad times, the netminder is the lone thing that preserves results for Oakland. At the best moments, Blanchette’s underrated long distribution keeps his side in the attacking half and supports the Noah Delgado system.
Second Team
Albert Dikwa (FW, Pittsburgh)
Last season, Dikwa set a career high with 11 goals in 33 appearances for the Riverhounds. The striker is at that mark already in 2023, and he’s doing so while providing a crucial physical presence atop his side’s long-ball heavy build-up style. There’s a clutch aspect to Dikwa’s game; he finds moments in a way that no one else on this team has been able to recreate.
Nick Markanich (FW, Charleston)
Fidel Barajas has the assist numbers, and Augustine Williams has the goals, but Markanich does it all for the Battery; Charleston is a fully 1.01 goals per 90 better off with him on the field. As a winger or second striker, Markanich has a veteran sense for finding space and keeping the offense moving, and he’s slyly the most important player to making the Battery attack tick.
Enzo Martinez (FW, Birmingham)
Few teams are as streaky as the Legion, and they seem to live and die by Martinez’s contributions. Almost exclusively a forward in a 4-4-2 this year, #19 has 13 combined goals and assists, and the Legion have lost 75% of their games this year when Martinez isn’t on the scoresheet. Still, he’s an elite creator and pesty pressing presence even when Birmingham is in a funk.
Kenardo Forbes (CM, Pittsburgh)
Anyone who’s halfway into the blurbs about some nerd’s all-USL second team knows that Kenardo Forbes can pass. What stands out from King Kenny this year is the defensive work rate. As a No. 8 in a 5-3-2, a proper holding player in the pivot of a 5-4-1, or anywhere in-between, Forbes has put in an unreal effort for someone that’s 34 years old and far-and-away his team’s leader in key passes. Forbes’ wholesale buy-in to Lilleyball keeps the Riverhounds ticking.
Carlos Harvey (CM, Phoenix)
In a team loaded with attacking stars, Harvey takes your breath away with full-field dribbles, deft turns, and crunching tackles more than any other Phoenix player. He gets end to end and has the third-most shots of any Rising player, but he also has the tenth-most duel attempts of any USL player and the second-most tackles on the team. The Panamanian is an engine for Phoenix from back to front, with and without possession.
Chris Allan (DM, Charleston)
There’s a long tradition of cerebral holding midfielders flying under the radar in the USL, with Richie Ryan and Tyler Gibson as notable examples. Allan is the next great player to carry that burden. Despite having no assists, he’s a wonderfully effective passer that can dictate a game’s tempo; Allan has created the third-most shots on the Battery to boot! He’s also 16th in the league in interceptions, but his role is much better defined by the brilliant positioning that won’t show up on the stat sheet.
Memo Diaz (LB, Oakland)
Oakland’s offense is so effective because of its wide dispersion of threats, but I’d argue that Memo Diaz holds the system together. As a proper wing back or the left-sider in a wonky 4-4-2, Diaz has put in 26% more challenges than any other player on the Roots while also leading the team in chance creations. His ability to do the job at both ends is ceaselessly impressive.
Danny Barbir (CB, Oakland)
One of eight players who hasn’t missed a minute in the league this year, Barbir is the eighth-leading interceptor and thirteenth-leading passer by volume in the league. He’s the rare center back who you trust to casually slalom up the pitch on the dribbler. Barbir’s relationship with Memo Diaz on the left is definitional to Oakland’s tactical philosophy, but what the center back does in the box sets him apart in comparison to the USL at large.
Sean Totsch (CB, Louisville)
Another of the eight players who’s played every minute available, Totsch continues to be the heart and soul of LouCity. A persistent set-piece weapon, the veteran defender has four goals and won almost 70% of his headers in 2023. More importantly, his leadership in a revolving door of a back line has kept Louisville amongst the stingiest defenses in the USL.
Morey Doner (RB, Monterey)
You may be sensing a theme: Doner is another of the eight iron men left standing this season, but that doesn’t begin to encapsulate his value for Monterey. The right back is the piece that makes this team’s offense tick. Doner has completed more crosses than any USL player, and his ability to overlap into the final third opens up the pitch and stretches defenses. He’s a spirited two-way defender as well, constantly getting back to cover behind his center back partners.
Nate Steinwascher (GK, Detroit)
Le Rouge have 17 goals this year, five less than second-to-last Las Vegas, and their oft-injured defensive unit has conceded the fourth-most expected goals in the USL. That Detroit is in the playoff hunt and maintains top-end defensive results comes down to Steinwascher’s elite goalkeeping. Sixth in the league in saves, Steinwascher might be the most important player out there, period.