Tape Session: League One's title game, Championship conference finals

Previewing this weekend’s action across the Championship and League One

The USL season feels like the longest slog on earth,¹ but it goes by in a flash. Opening week at the beginning of March feels like an eon ago, yet the trends that started in the spring still hold valuable insights in the postseason.

We’ve got three games to play this weekend, including a title bout in USL League One. Which matchups will be most important to each game, and what should you expect tactically? Let’s dig in.

(1) One Knox - (3) Spokane Velocity

It all comes down to this in USL League One. Ian Fuller’s Knoxville is looking to run the table by adding a playoff trophy to match their Players’ Shield. Leigh Veidman and Spokane are out to make the final leap after losing in the 2024 title game.

The path through the playoff bracket has been bruising . One Knox holds a mere +0.12 xG margin through two games, navigating an unexpectedly ferocious Charlotte press and a far more structured Naples. Meanwhile, Spokane needed penalty kicks to beat Tormenta and Portland – two match-ups where the Velocity relied on their low block and key bench contributions to get through.

If the game tape from a slim Knoxville victory in these clubs’ meeting on August 30th tells us anything, it’s that the League One final ought to be another close one.

Back then, Spokane attacked in a “three-box-three” with a pivot of Collin Fernandez and Andre Lewis behind Nil Vinyals and Luis Gil as No. 10s. Since then, Fernandez has gone down injured, Vinyals has become a postseason super-sub, and Veidman has reverted to a far more traditional 4-4-2 across phases.

You see the defensive upside of that simplified structure here. As One Knox builds, they’re essentially in 4-2-3-1 mode and work toward Stuart Ritchie at left back. As Ritchie receives, Callum Johnson (faded blue) makes a neat third-man run out of the midfield while narrow left winger Gio Calixtro (darker blue) stands pat as a central receiver.

It’s a pattern you’ll see regularly from One Knox, and it’s something Spokane struggled to defend against Portland when Ollie Wright and Nathan Messer got involved. Here, though, the response is perfect. The Velocity’s ball-side winger sticks to Ritchie, and defensive midfielder Andre Lewis tracks Johnson’s diagonal run. Meanwhile, Lucky Opara’s stays home at right back to clog space.

Spokane pin Knoxville against the sideline to regain, and their poise on the ball thereafter just as important as the 4-4-2’s rotation. Knoxville is excellent in the five-to-10 seconds after a giveaway, but they can’t pounce here. Opara, Lewis, and defender David Garcia make quick decisions and position themselves to escape any forming trap. As such, the Velocity will be able to reset and start their own attack.

With Fernandez’s stellar one- and two-touch progression available back in August, Veidman could experiment with his shape. Jack Denton and Bryce Meredith have their upsides as replacements, but we should expect a more pragmatic look in the title game.

Knoxville isn’t a pure 4-3-3 pressing team, but they often push into a 4-1-4-1 to mark opposing No. 8s. They’re splitting the difference between the set-ups in the clip above, and Spokane stretches the field to take advantage.

That “stretching” happens on a few levels. Right winger Shavon John-Brown – used on the left in the postseason – stays high to pin Knoxville’s back line. Spokane’s center backs split wide and stay deep to goad the press higher. Together, those factors pulls One Knox’s front and back ends in opposite directions. Thus, goalkeeper Carlos Merancio can chip a pass into a midfield pocket to push Spokane into the attacking zone.

The Velocity like to build on the ground but know when pragmatism is required. That clip you’re seeing is from March 16th, but we‘re seeing the same idea in November; Merancio’s long passes toward Opara in that exact pocket forced Portland to completely alter their defensive shape in the semifinal round.

What’s the response? Knoxville may adhere to a 4-2-3-1 to stop those passes, using Johnson and defense-first Abel Caputo to improve their spacing through the pivot. Indeed, defensive adaptability is One Knox’s calling card no matter who they’re up against.

There’s a track record of success against Spokane this year already; the Velocity have averaged merely 0.89 xG per 90 in their head-to-head matchups. If Knoxville can stay that steady, limit Spokane’s versatile offense, and work with enough tempo to break the 4-4-2, they’ll be walking away with a trophy on Sunday night.

(For more, we talked all about the League One title on The USL Show.)

(1) FC Tulsa - (3) New Mexico United

FC Tulsa and New Mexico United may represent the postseason’s most tactically diverse duel. On a per-game basis, Tulsa is completing 199 passes and advancing play by 11.1 yards per pass; New Mexico is completing 420 attempts with an average distance half as long. Luke Spencer and co. finished with the USL’s stingiest press, allowing merely 6.2 passes allowed per defensive action (PPDA), while Dennis Sanchez’s side was third-from-bottom with a 10.8 mark.

That’s a lot of numbers to make a simple distinction: Tulsa goes long and presses hard, while New Mexico controls a match with short passing. The beauty of the USL is that these teams have been highly successful while doing opposite things.

Tulsa swept the season series this year, and they haven’t lost a match to New Mexico since 2023. Still, both of these teams have grown late in the year. United’s style has diversified in short order, whilst Tulsa has repeatedly adapted their shape in the face of injury. The conference final will be a test of each club’s evolution.

When I discuss New Mexico’s growth, I’m talking about the tempo of their attack. This club wants to keep the ball on the ground, but they’ve learned how to bait opponents out and burst forward with a real sense of killer instinct throughout 2025. Build-out from the back is “Plan A,” but it’s also a defense-stretching tool. Here, New Mexico uses it to pull FC Tulsa’s 5-2-3 press into a bad position and then strike.

Notably, it’s Talen Maples stirring the drink out of central defense. Maples has since moved to right back, but it’s his dribbling under pressure that forces two-thirds of the front line to collapse in this September example. Because of Maples’ bravery, Chris Gloster is free at left back.

In front of Gloster, there’s movement aplenty. This match came on short rest for United, so they’ve got Zico Bailey playing the unique No. 8/No. 10/No. 9 hybrid role designed for Valentin Noel. You wouldn’t know the difference here; Bailey feints like he’s dropping in, sees Gloster come open, jukes to wrong-side a marking defender, and receives on the through. Just like that, it’s a chance.

United’s alignment these days isn’t “dual false No. 9” to the extent of Noel and Edison Azcona for Sanchez’s Las Vegas Lights last spring, but striker Greg Hurst‘s ball-seeking instincts mean it isn’t far off. In other words, New Mexico’s front line is always willing to move in this manner, something that’ll test Tulsa if they stick to a flat 5-2-3 or 5-4-1 template.

Tulsa’s press is rarely so plain. Against Phoenix, their 5-4-1 pinned Rising with an extremely high midfield line, but they found ways to cover what could’ve been a major gap between lines. Spencer used his three center backs to man mark Rising’s forwards on the drop – a scheme that, thanks to additions like Ian, Tulsa is far more comfortable executing now than in the fall.

Adding more layers to the shape itself is another potential approach, and you’re seeing that here as Tulsa adopts a 5-1-3-1 press. That formation stops the wide rotation problem we covered a minute ago. Tulsa can address the opposing fullback to force the ball (thanks to winger Alex Dalou), and they don’t leave an open lane up the middle (as midfielder Giordano Colli occupies that space).

When the clip fast-forwards to the ensuing throw, New Mexico knows what’s coming. They immediately switch the point, finding winger Dayonn Harris to enter the attacking zone wide of the 5-1-3-1 defense. Still, Tulsa retains their shape, and they certainly won’t be upset that it’s taken more than 40 seconds to merely cross halfway.

Boubacar Diallo’s presence as an elite No. 6 back in September set the table for that formational stance. Now, he’s injured. If Spencer goes 5-2-3, the choice of whether to start Delentz Pierre in Diallo or the offensive-minded combo of Colli and Jamie Webber will loom large. No matter what, halting New Mexico – something no one in the West has done for the last two months – is the requirement.

(4) Pittsburgh Riverhounds - (7) Rhode Island FC

Many uninspired hacks have noted that defense wins championships, but it’s a truism for a reason. The Pittsburgh Riverhounds and Rhode Island FC have combined to allow exactly zero goals in 450 playoff minutes, using three penalty shootouts between them to meet in the Eastern Conference Final.

This is sure to be a defensive battle, but which team can find enough quality in the box? Pittsburgh has generated 1.56 xG across their two postseason games, but they’ve only put 0.96 xG on target across 29 shot attempts. Rhode Island is above water by that same on-target calculus, but only because Albert Dikwa buried a shot from the halfway line against North Carolina.

Thus, the stakes are simple. If one of these clubs can access the 18-yard box and actually finish, they’re in business. If not, we’re due for a knockdown, drag-out battle.

When Pittsburgh and Rhode Island last met in August, neither side was at full strength. The ‘Hounds ran an unfamiliar 5-2-1-2 with Bertin Jacquesson next to Augi Williams up top and no Robbie Mertz in the team. RIFC didn’t have goalkeeper Koke Vegas available, and star center back Hamady Diop was still a month away from signing.

Still, the patterns you’re seeing are relevant. Pittsburgh adopts a 3-1-5-1 in the final third, using ample off-ball motion and overwhelming numbers on the edge of the box to draw Rhode Island in.

The movement on the left side is particularly notable. Because Pittsburgh has two runners probing that space, RIFC’s Amos Shapiro-Thompson (right wingback throughout the playoffs) and Maxi Rodriguez (in the pivot here) have to give chase.

Suddenly, there’s a seam. Jackson Walti sees it opening and makes a run past the committed Rhode Island players, but there’s a catch. Striker JJ Williams pursues from behind, closing on Walti and preventing him from hitting a potentially lethal cross. It’s a stellar play from Williams, indicative of the team-wide buy-in and effort that’s needed against an increasingly fluid Riverhounds side.

How can Rhode Island break Pittsburgh down? We’ve seen RIFC’s 3-4-3ish attack ping the ball around the back until a press overextends throughout November. Rob Vincent’s side rarely loses shape, but every inch of space you can wrench out of their defense counts – especially in a defensive match-up where second balls are everything.

The clip here comes from a Jagermeister Cup match in the spring, one where Rhode Island defended in a 4-2-3-1 but shifted into a left-heavy 3-2-4-1 in the attacking zone. You see that construct here, with left back Aldair Sanchez bombing up and attacking mid Noah Fuson drifting to become the pseudo right winger.

Initially, both center mids and that three-at-the-back demand attention from Pittsburgh. The 3-2-4-1’s base stretches the Riverhounds, and by the time a long ball goes toward JJ Williams, four players are level (or better) against the Pittsburgh pivot. An advanced ball recovery ensues. From there, the technique shines through, and Williams is able to backheel an assist into winger Jojea Kwizera.

Can Williams bully Pittsburgh’s back line and set up similar overloads in the final third at Highmark? If so, Rhode Island will be in terrific shape. Pittsburgh is built to deny those sorts of chances, however, and their recent attacking upswing – playoff xG aside – means they’re a handful in every phase of play. No matchup feels harder to predict entering the weekend.

(Also: check out our deep-dive Championship preview on This League!)

1. Writing about every single Championship team every single week has that effect…