Super League Tactical Takeaways, Week 13

Breaking down every USL Super League cafter a packed matchweek

They say that 13 is an unlucky number; hotels omit it in their floor plans, and you’ve got a whole horror franchise centered around that day of the month. That didn’t stop the 13th week of Super League action from living up to expectations. We got a debut derby, a comeback shootout, and a nil-nil chess match all in the space of a weekend.

What stood out for each club that hit the field? Let’s dig in.

Lexington SC (2) - Dallas Trinity (3)

When Lexington’s high press is clicking, few teams in the USL are as fun to watch or as able to produce thrilling moments. They showed off that potential against Dallas on Saturday night, at least before the defense collapsed to the tune of 3.0 xG against and three disastrous late concessions.

Michael Dickey set his team up in more of a 4-3-3 or 4-1-4-1 than we’ve typically seen in Kentucky, and the shape shift was designed to shut down Trinity build-out. The three forwards - Hannah Richardson, Madi Parsons, and Amanda Allen going from left to right - matched up against Dallas’ three center backs. In the midfield, Shea Moyer tightly marked Sam Meza, and you also saw moments of full back-to-wing back marking as Lexington sought to control the opposing 3-1-4-2.

Zone retention was the name of the game for Lexington, who used their territorial control and Amanda Allen’s vivacity to get on the board. Her ability to beat defenders around the edge and force Dallas into rotation gave the hosts their spark. Allen tried five dribbles and created a chance from her wing position, and she set the table for Lexington’s go-ahead goal.

That play is shown at its inception in the top frame, where Allen has beaten one defender (Jenna Winebrenner) around the edge and forced defensive midfielder Amber Brooks to rotate low toward the endline. Meanwhile, Parsons slices toward goal and forces the other two Dallas center backs (Hannah Davison and Waniya Hudson) in deep.

Dallas clears the ensuing cross from Allen, but softly. Because Brooks has been sucked deep to cover space, the Trinity aren’t as structured and can’t cleanly exit their zone; Shea Moyer steps up to make the recovery for Lexington amidst that muddle.

Moyer, Claire Winter, and Autumn Weeks combined for 20 ball recoveries on the night, 10 of which came in the opposing half. When Lexington could force Dallas to shell into their own area, the three-man Lexington midfield had the room to regain in dangerous spots on the edge of the box.

That’s the case in the second frame, where the hosts have kept the zone and re-focused on the left side. The still is taken just as a cross is arriving and as Dallas recovers into shape. Meanwhile, Allen and Parsons double on Winebrenner toward the far side, allowing for the latter to convert a glancing header to take the lead.

It took time for the guests to circle the wagons from there. For one thing, Dallas was without Chioma Ubogagu, who I’ve praised effusively since Pauline MacDonald moved Trinity into a back three. Ubogagu brings a forward’s instinct to the wing back spot; in her stead, former Indy Eleven standout Rachel Pace got the nod and brought a different profile to the table.

Pace attempted just three dribbles and one solitary cross, but providing out-and-out width wasn’t really her charge. Instead, #33 tended to take narrower positions and link action between the lines from the half spaces. That wasn’t universally true, of course: Dallas grew into the game when direct passes toward Pace and Julia Dorsey at the wing back spots allowed them to circumvent the home press. The variety was what paid off.

At halftime, Sealey Strawn entered at right wing back for Dallas, pushing Dorsey into the defensive line. There were occasional moments of pretty ball movement thereafter - notably exemplified by a 52nd minute side-to-side sequence punctuated by a late Pace run into the box - but they weren’t common enough. Lexington still found chances to beat Strawn and probably ought to have killed off the match with a third goal.

That’s not what happened. Instead, Trinity got forward Cyera Hintzen into the game and really leaned into the combo of her pace with Jenny Danielsson’s hold-up play up top. Meanwhile, Dallas’ vertical passing game started to force errors. Concerted movement from Strawn up the right and curling runs out of the midfield only heightened the effect.

Sarah Cox was the most visible manifestation of Lexington’s collapse. Just before the 80th minute, the goalkeeper errantly tried to sweep and clear a ball Dallas had lofted over the top; a similar error recurred in the 85th minute with Sam Meza bearing down. Cox’s parry of a Gracie Brian cross in the 81st would tee up a Hintzen goal to bring the deficit to one.

That move was a result of incredibly keen pressure from Meza, who disrupted the hosts, routed into Danielsson’s feet on the hold, and got a run in via Hintzen from there. Dallas grew even more dominant thereafter. Sealey Strawn got a shockingly easy chance over the top moments later off a stunning Hannah Davison diagonal, and she’d tee up Danielsson’s equalizer just before the end of regulation time.

The ideas that Dallas had only partially executed for about 80 minutes finally came good. Yes, you can blame Lexington for a slew of vital mistakes, but Trinity kept them under massive amounts of pressure late-on. That never-say-die positivity and systematic trust earned Dallas the full three points.

Carolina Ascent (0) - Spokane Zephyr (0)

Some nil-nil draws are a snooze. Others, like the one contested by Carolina and Spokane on Saturday, are end-to-end affairs where you’re shocked that somebody didn’t find the back of the net. The Ascent and Zephyr combined for more than 3.0 xG, but that led to goose eggs on the scoreboard nonetheless.

Carolina was at their best when the forward line could…ya know…do forward things. Too often, the Ascent were content to drop Mia Corbin and Ashlynn Serepca low in search of touches, something Spokane was all too happy to let happen. When the No. 9s probed and occupied Zephyr defenders, that dynamic flipped.

Serepca, who’s played everywhere from right back to the wing to striker in 2024, led that charge. It’s often assumed that a forward needs to constantly ride the back shoulder of the defense to make a mark, but Serepca’s horizontal runs flashing in front of the visiting back four were especially potent.

Runs in that manner came in a few flavors. There was a notable chance in the eighth minute where #19 ran from right to left, thereby freezing Spokane’s right back (Julianne Vallerand; more on her momentarily) and right-sided center back (Syndey Cummings). In doing so, Serepca allowed for winger Jaydah Bedoya to make an unperturbed run over the top.

Likewise, forward movement in that manner could free up switches over Zephyr’s 4-1-4-1 press. On a few occasions, Serepca or Corbin would camp in the half space to freeze the back line, thereby opening a left-to-right diagonal from Jill Aguilera into an advancing runner.

Even so, Spokane mostly did well to force the Ascent toward the wide areas. Touches toward the sideline hurt less than central penetration, after all. Relatively tight midfield marking from Katie Murray and Marley Canales, Spokane’s No. 8s, did well to limit breaks down the middle, but it was Taylor Aylmer who really stole the show as the No. 6.

You see Aylmer’s defensive contributions mapped above. More than any other Zephyr player, she made sure that drops out of the Carolina forward line didn’t prove fruitful. She was the shield in front of the defensive third, and she rarely let the Ascent through.

#2 also retained an ability to rotate low, and she did so most effectively when supporting Julianne Vallerand at right back. Now, don’t misread that: I absolutely wouldn’t say Vallerand had a poor defensive game. Rather, Aylmer’s surety allowed Vallerand to step up and make more of an offensive impact.

A West Virginia alum with Canadian youth international experience, Vallerand was a contributor in the “delivering passes from the half space” mold rather than the “overlapping toward the endline” alternative. She and winger Natalie Viggiano had a real sense of chemistry on the right; Vallerand ended up going 11 for 15 on her final third entry passes, most of which routed toward Viggiano. If Emma Jaskaniec could join the fun as an overloading third option, Spokane was in business against the defensive 4-4-2ish shape Carolina sported.

Still, the game slowed down somewhat out of the break. Carolina didn’t get a shot attempt for almost 20 minutes after halftime, and it took Spokane a full half hour to earn another try. The Ascent did better to support against those wide overloads, and they also worked to control outlet passes towards Emina Ekic.

Brining Jenny Vetter on at striker and leaning unabashedly into vertical passing helped Spokane’s cause. Despite using Aylmer and Canales as a double pivot in build rather often, Zephyr’s best looks came when circumventing the midfield (see that central gap in the heatmap) and going directly to the top. The increased speed and craft was best seen in a 77th minute chance where Vetter cut into the right channel off fellow sub Mollie Rouse and nearly connected with Ekic at the far post for a tap-in.

Like every other chance on the evening, it was close but no cigar. Carolina will probably come away happy with yet another point as they extend their unbeaten start. Spokane can’t be mad at a well-earned draw, but you still hope to see this team put away their chances sooner rather than later.

Fort Lauderdale United (1) - Tampa Bay Sun (1)

The first Florida Derby in the Super League didn’t disappoint, with Fort Lauderdale’s still-new back three shape coming together just in time to face off with Tampa Bay. A draw was probably fair in the end, but both of these clubs brought clever approaches to the table.

Amidst heavy rain, the Sun pressed high in a 4-2-4ish shape, often allowing full backs Kristen Edmonds and Natalia Staude to fly ahead in support behind the elevated front line. Tampa Bay took no prisoners if Fort Lauderdale dallied at the back, pressing up on Heather Hinz in net if she lingered on the ball.

As that formation transitioned into attack, Tampa Bay wanted wingers Sydny Nasello and Cecilie Neilsen to push high and find spaces over the top. Combination play between Nasello (three crosses, two chances created) and Staude (two shots, one cross) on the right was especially effective, as has so often been the case for the Sun.

The formula was to generate a two-on-one against a wing back in Fort Lauderdale’s 5-4-1, then break through. Doing so would allow the Sun to isolate a scrambling center back on an island.

You see those structural issues for Fort Lauderdale being punished here. While you’d absolutely call Tryone Mears’ shape a back five, United had wrinkles in their formation. If Tampa Bay worked up the sideline, the ball-side wing back would step up into a five-player midfield.

The result? More of a 4-5-1. Still, balance was needed. As the ball-side wing back stepped high, the off-ball wing back needed to rotate low and close gaps further back.

Above, Fort Lauderdale struggles to make that rotation. Sabrina McNeill (left wing back) steps up as Tampa Bay advances, but she’s easily passed by. Meanwhile, Sh’nia Gordon (right wing back) is caught between worlds on the flip side. Gordon is stuck in a pickle between two runners; Tampa Bay can find a hole, work wide of Gordon to an overlapping Kristen Edmonds, and nearly score off the ensuing cross.

That sort of outside-inside-out passing sequence gave United fits, and the go-ahead tally for Carlee Giammona fit in the same genre. There, Edmonds was able to hit Nasello making a right-to-left cut across the face of back three. When Nasello dribbled to the endline, she drew a majority of the back line her way, setting up the cutback to Giammona to score.

Giammona played an important role going both ways, anchoring the 4-2-4 by stepping next to pure striker Natasha Flint to become an extra forward. In the face of that setup, Fort Lauderdale’s challenge was to break the first line and go to work.

United ended up with 58% of possession and showed off ample patience in finding pockets through the press. Their best route to progression ran through Felicia Knox in the pivot. Knox actually played less passes (53) than midfield partner Darya Rajaee (59) but did better to advance action behind Sun lines. Indeed, she completed 11 passes into the final third while still maintaining an overall 87% passing accuracy.

Curling around a forward and splitting through the dead center was a surprisingly effective method by which Knox got her touches, but Knox could also nestle into the channel between forward and winger. Mears’ side liked to shift into a midfield three at times, flashing one center mid into the right channel as Addie McCain popped low to the left.

When McCain received, good things happened. If McCain could receive on the turn and partner with McNeill against an isolated Sun full back, it almost always led to a nice serve for Fort Lauderdale. Ultimately, the forward created four chances and tried 10 passes into the box and zone 14, evidencing her brightness on the ball.

Fort Lauderdale ended up with 22 shots in total, but they didn’t get over the line until the 93rd minute. They came on strong at the end thanks to Nia Christopher and Sheyenne Allen’s energy off the bench.

The shape didn’t really change, but fresh legs and enlivened movement powered the comeback effort. You can blame Lauren Kozal’s costly error in the Tampa Bay net, but United deserved a point - and we’re now set up for a tremendous return fixture come March.

Cover Photo Credit: Fort Lauderdale United / Twitter