The Back Four: Cup runneth over
Breaking down the tactical trends that caught my eye in the first-ever round of intra-USL action
Welcome in to The Back Four!
Before we start, check out Backheeled for a deep-dive into all things Jagermeister Cup. From Naples’ big win to Greenville’s wavering form to the Sacramento system, I’m hitting on the big winners and losers from the cup’s first weekend. You can also find This League! on the site for an audiovisual dive into the week that was.
Without further ado, let’s get to it.
Westchester, Rhode Island, and the USL project
I was fortunate enough to attend this weekend’s match between Westchester and Rhode Island in person, and I came away excited.
I mean that in a few ways. I’m excited about Westchester’s future. I’m excited about everything Rhode Island has accomplished since entering the league last season. I’m excited about the inauguration of the Jagermeister Cup and the future of inter-league connectivity in the USL.
Westchester ultimately reported an attendance number a tick under 2,800, which is about 71% of their capacity at Memorial Field. The energy felt more vibrant than that (strong!) number might indicate, and you could feel local marketing paying off based on the families in attendance.
In talking to the folks at the club, it’s clear that they’re still ramping up for their first League One home game against Charlotte in early May, but the atmosphere was already solid. It’s easy to forget that this WSC wasn’t even announced at this point last year!
The quick build-up has been nothing short of impressive, and the stadium itself felt pro-ready. That matters! The 914th Infantry supporters’ group is still growing, and Westchester will learn on the fly, but that’s only natural. Rome wasn’t built in a day, nor is any League One fanbase.
Rhode Island, meanwhile, showed what it can look like when a club does everything right – on and off the pitch. I spent a large chunk of the game hanging out with traveling RIFC supporters, and it was a serious delight. You can’t say enough about the fan-driven energy around the team, but the club itself has done splendidly to back their supporters without stomping on their independence.
That’s what it means to be a grassroots, community-first club. When you get triple-digit travelers for a Sunday afternoon haj, that’s a sign of dedicated support. Westchester would be wise to follow that model to the best of their ability.
In terms of the match itself, the 4-1 scoreline feels about right in a game that Rhode Island dominated. Westchester struggled to defend in transition, and they couldn’t connect in possession. In the first half, Dave Carton’s side completed just 54% of their passes in the attacking half. I loved the ideas, and this team’s vertical sensibility will eventually pay off. That day hasn’t yet arrived.
Still, back up a year and consider where Rhode Island sat. This club meandered out of the gates in the Championship in 2024, drawing their way to a bubble position by the time summer arrived. When things clicked, they clicked in magnificent fashion, and RIFC ultimately won the Eastern Conference. That’s a lesson in patience that Westchester, a side afflicted by heavy travel and defensive injuries, ought to heed.
I do want to focus on Rhode Island’s improvements in this game. Khano Smith’s side entered Jagermeister Cup play ranking 15th in the USL for xG per 90 minutes but seventh in terms of shot attempts per game. Chance creation? No problem. Quality chance creation? Not quite.
Between a more direct style and an inability to counter consistently – RIFC had only earned four shots on the fastbreak all year long before Sunday – the offense simply hadn’t taken the fight to opposing defenses. You wouldn’t have known it watching them go to work in Mount Vernon.
Defensively, Rhode Island lined up in a 4-2-3-1 with Aldair Sanchez used as a true left back, Rio Hope-Gund holding down right back, and Clay Holstad pairing with Zach Herivaux in the pivot. We seldom see this team use a back four, but the shape did well to limit space in the defensive zone. Grant Stoneman kept star WSC forward Juan Obregon in his back pocket, whilst the Holstad/Herivaux pivot combined for 14 recoveries and 13 defensive actions.
The real source of joy came in Rhode Island’s transition between phases. Yeah, they sat in a back four without the ball, but they flexed Sanchez forward upon regaining and pushed into an almost 3-2-5ish attacking shape in the offensive half.
Maxi Rodriguez, clearly fueled by a chastening return to Detroit a week ago, underpinned those liminal moments. Rodriguez defended like a disciplined No. 10, but he also took three shots and tried 10 passes into the final third. He provided key runs across the putative “front five,” but he also tried 12 passes and two dribbles in the defensive half.
That’s Maxi at his best: this is a player with a skillset full of contrasts, and they meld into something dangerous when Rodriguez is afforded freedom to explore. RIFC gave it to him on Sunday.
You see the team-wide attacking flow here, with Jojea Kwizera receiving on the right wing and going to work against the Westchester back four. Immediately, though, you’ll notice that Sanchez has advanced to the level of the forwards, forcing the hosts to stretch. Meanwhile, Rodriguez starts to probe forward for a well-timed run as Westchester hews toward the ball.
Kwizera, JJ Williams, and Noah Fuson form a gorgeous passing triangle opposite those two near-side attackers, connecting in a terrific one-two-three sequence to free the Rwandan international in behind.
As that move progresses, Rodriguez sneaks toward the center of the box and forces the opposing right back to cover his movement. The result? By the time Kwizera crosses, Rodriguez is a viable option up the middle and Sanchez is entirely unmarked at the far post. RIFC doesn’t connect on the ensuing cutback, but they generated chances like this all afternoon long.
It’s been a somewhat shaky start in 2025 for Rhode Island, but a return home to Centreville Bank Stadium and an ensuing run of home matches is right around the corner. Khano Smith has finally found a style that works for this year’s version of the roster, and the sky is the limit for the rest of the season.
For expansion clubs, it’s about trusting the process. RIFC has done so in exemplary fashion since 2024. They have a vision on the pitch, they’ve developed one of the USL’s best fanbases in short order, and they’ll play in one of the league’s nicest stadiums starting next weekend. Being able to tie teams like Rhode Island and Westchester together on the pitch can only be good for the growth of the league.
Westchester is off to a solid start to life, but they’re aiming for bigger and better things. Taking a page out of Rhode Island’s book is the best way to get there.
Lexington and Pittsburgh’s travails
In the least surprising correlation known to man, USL teams that play a greater share of crosses than their opponents typically earn a greater share of shots, too. Not exactly groundbreaking!
When I say “share,” I mean that in a team-by-team, match-over-match sense. Lexington, for instance, has played 116 crosses while allowing just 73. In my naive reckoning, they’ve thus held a 58% cross share.
It’s back-of-the-napkin stuff, but it elucidates two clear outliers in 2025 that haven’t been able to turn territorial control and voluminous service into actual chances: Lexington and Pittsburgh.
On a pure xG basis, Lexington ranks fifth in the league with a plus-0.44 expected goal difference per match. Much of that success comes down to a high-possession style that restricts opposing opportunities, and it’s evidential of a statistically elite team that isn’t living up to the numbers.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, is a tougher nut to crack. They’ve posted the 22nd-ranked expected goal difference in the USL thus far, coming dead last in the East. The Riverhounds have mustered just seven shots per match…which is dismal.
Lexington usually dominates matches by shifting into a “three-box-three” attacking shape and overloading you with waves of numbers in the final third. Pittsburgh uses a more muscular, midfield-dominant system to achieve a similar type of control. The approaches are different, but the outcomes have been the same: strong field tilts but lagging shot creation.
In Pittsburgh’s case, Bob Lilley has fluctuated between a back three and back four system throughout 2025. He returned to a defensive back five that bent into a 3-1-4-2 attacking look in Detroit over the weekend, but the results were indicative of what’s gone awry this year.
There’s a big caveat to address, of course: neither Augustine Williams nor Bertin Jacquesson started the Jagermeister Cup match. The former got 19 minutes off the bench, but it was primarily an “oops, all mids” approach with Danny Griffin and Aidan O’Toole paired up top.
Here, both strikers probe rightward to potentially pursue a longer ball into the channel. Meanwhile, Robbie Mertz – the No. 10 in the defensive 5-2-1-2 who picked up an advancing partner as Pittsburgh advanced into the attacking zone – stalks toward the weak side.
Optimally, you’d want to see Mertz make a decisive run in behind to keep pushing Detroit’s defense back. That’s not what happens. He stands pat, and the ‘Hounds patiently work from side to side. By the time they’re able to find a passing angle into the box anew, another problem has emerged in that Griffin and O’Toole are outside of the 18-yard area.
Neither player is a natural No. 9, and you can tell as much here. Both do well to chase down a Mertz chip, but DCFC really isn’t troubled. For now, Pittsburgh is simply too conservative in their off-ball motion and hasn’t yet identified their line-leading striker that can force defenses to bend.
Lexington is different. They’re comfortable pinning opponents deep into their defensive zones, but the timing of passing and movement in the final third haven’t fully clicked yet.
Take two similar attacks from the loss to Loudoun over the weekend. In each case, defender Joe Hafferty (in dark green in both frames) has emerged from the defensive line and pushed far into the final third. His movement is emblematic of the overloads that make this team so effective – and underlining how this team is oh-so-close to being a juggernaut.
The first play sees Hafferty step up in the halfspace, forming a passing triangle with Nick Firmino and an advanced Marcus Epps. With Loudoun’s attention divided, the center back can play Epps in and set up a cross toward the heart of the box. The problem? The rest of the attacking unit is too passive. Lexington has Cory Burke, Eliot Goldthorp, and a wide Michael Adedokun ostensibly ready to meet the Epps cross, but no one is actually crashing toward the net.
It’s the same issue in the second screenshot. This time, Hafferty has made the Epps-esque run to the endline, intending to drive a pass across the edge of the six-yard box. It won’t yield anything because Burke, Goldthrop, and Speedy Williams all linger at the penalty spot.
Should Hafferty have cut the ball back here? I mean, sure, but you’d expect at least one of those three Lexington attackers to cut hard at the net! It’s the perfect example of how a very new roster is still finding its sea legs.
That’s the difference between Pittsburgh and Lexington for me. Both are dominating territory, but LSC has a repeatable process that feels closer to coming good. That’s not to say the Riverhounds are cooked; we’ve seen what a single offensive weapon (e.g., Russell Cicerone, Edward Kizza, or Albert Dikwa) can mean to Lilley’s system, and Pittsburgh has multiple candidates that might hit such a level.
For now, though, these two teams are still waiting for their “a-ha” moment.
Dogwood duel
What sets the Charlotte Independence apart? For my money, it’s the fluidity of their offense when Luis Alvarez is really cooking in front of a stout defensive structure. Mere days after a late collapse against North Carolina FC in an Open Cup edition of the Dogwood Derby, Charlotte got a second chance to flex those muscles in the USL’s first-ever inter-league Jagermeister Cup match.
I covered the Independence’s back five and the excellence of Nick Spielman over on Backheeled, so I want to shine a light on Charlotte’s attacking balance here up top.
For one, the impact Christian Chaney had at striker was immense. We’ll get to his goal in a moment, but the way that Chaney – who went eight-for-15 in the air and attempted a stunning 24 duels – occupied Conor Donovan in the NCFC line was paramount for Charlotte. Chaney wasn’t just a physical presence, either. His transitional runs and ability to trade places with, say, Rafael Jauregui elsewhere in the front three kept the hosts on their toes.
Charlotte’s go-ahead goal ended with Chaney, but it was the consequence of clever interchange at every level to break North Carolina’s disciplined 5-4-1. You start above moving up the left side, with wingback Fabrice Ngah tucking in and clearing space for Alvarez toward the sideline. That mix of runs forces NCFC to commit their right wingback high, thereby removing a layer of coverage further back.
Moments later, central midfielder Omar Ciss joins the fun alongside Ngah and Alvarez to create a three-man overload. Rafa Mentzingen (the aforementioned wingback) and a dropping Pedro Dolabella start to pressure the ball at this point, but Louis Perez – surprisingly cast as a center mid on Friday – doesn’t close to create true parity. As a result, Charlotte can slip Ciss through into space thanks to their localized three-on-two.
Behind Perez, there’s another crucial Independence run in action. Bachir Ndiaye, ostensibly Ciss’ partner in the pivot, flashes into the halfspace to attract attention. He succeeds in doing so, forcing Bryce Washington to push up out of the back three to track a dangerous outlet.
Step by step, Charlotte has broken down the North Carolina structure. NCFC’s two remaining center backs hedge behind Washington in support, but doing so allows Chaney to sprint behind and meet a decisive through from Ciss. It’s a terrific sequence full of engaged team movement, and it ends with Charlotte finding the back of the net.
With that goal and an Alvarez-sparked penalty in their back pocket, the guests took on a defensive mien for the lion’s share of the final 60 minutes. The onus was on North Carolina to break them down – and it took inspired midfield play from Mikey Maldonado in tandem with clever Dolabella movement to do it.
Consider this sequence, where Mikey Maldonado, Perez, and a dropping Dolabella essentially form a midfield three. They’ve got numbers on the rival pivot as a result, given how Jauregui is hesitant to slide inside to fill a role that isn’t his.
Maldonado cuts toward zone 14 as Dolabella holds firm in his deeper position, and that allows the No. 8 to receive an entry pass into the final third with momentum. He beats Charlotte’s midfield line, draws the Independence defense tight, and plays wingback Patrick Burner into the box. It’s supremely slick stuff.
Those sorts of plays – Dolabella drops in, Maldonado knifes up – created a natural three-on-two against Ciss and Ndiaye and let NCFC advance with relative ease. The Independence sat deeper and deeper in the final 45 minutes as an answer, and they ultimately did enough to hold on for the full three points. That’s a huge credit to Spielman, Levy, and especially Jeffries for setting Charlotte up to express themselves early and see things out late.
Winning in the first round of Jagermeister Cup action is a huge deal. The Independence still have a difficult path with Lexington, Loudoun, and Richmond on the docket, but they don’t have to play LouCity and crucially banked three points. If they keep looking this clever, Charlotte might just find themselves advancing come July.
Dengler and Evans, dynamic duo
I’ve highlighted Karsen Henderlong and the FC Naples transition game at various points this season, but Jake Dengler and Brecc Evans define this team’s successes in 2025. Naples is conceding just 0.09 xG per shot, a top-four mark in League One. They’ve allowed just 5.8 xG in seven matches all the while. That identity starts at the back.
The defensive quality isn’t an apparition. Naples has done it while playing the most matches in the division and shouldering the load of a heavy cup schedule – including a win against Charleston where the League One side put six shots on net while holding the Battery to three.
Matt Poland kept with his usual modus operandi even while facing a heavyweight. Naples sat in a 4-2-3-1 (occasional Kevin O’Connor run to mark Aaron Molloy notwithstanding) and trusted their core to hold firm. The results were sterling. Dengler put in 14 clearances and three further blocks. Evans totaled 12 clearances and went six-for-seven on duel attempts. Even Chris Heckenberg got in on the fun with eight clearances all his own from the No. 6 spot.
We know Naples can shut you down in low block, but their defensive communication on the back foot proved equally effective – and arguably more important in the context of the Battery win. Charleston feasts when they can find space in semi-transitional moments, but the Floridians were too organized to fold over,
Here, Evans and Dengler face down one of the USL’s best strike pairs in the form of MD Myers and Cal Jennings. At the start of this play, that duo decides to make complementary high-low runs in the face of a recovering Naples defense. Myers drops low to find a touch and drag players his way, while Jennings makes a diagonal run behind him.
The hosts’ read is flawless in the face of that action. Evans steps up to Myers and essentially fills the vacant No. 6 role to immediately halt Charleston’s forward momentum. Meanwhile, Dengler turns and shadows Jennings as he cuts behind. Their concerted marking slows the guests down and allows the Naples midfield to re-structure themselves.
The Battery are still able to find Myers as he makes a second move toward the right edge of the 18-yard-box, but Evans doesn’t give him space for an easy pass, and Dengler hovers to clear any danger that might flash across the middle. The play ends with an overcooked cross, but it’s the result of stellar central defensive play from beginning to end.
The League One side is far more structured in this second case, and you can watch how the midfield shifts from a standard 4-2-3-1 to mark Molloy at the top of the clip. Because of that organization, Charleston opts to be more daring and try a pass over the top almost immediately.
Again, it’s Jennings flashing above a lower-seated Myers, and, again, Dengler and Evans make the right choices. You can see Dengler make a half-hearted step toward the high runner, but he knows better than to overreach and trusts Evans to get the job done. If Dengler stepped, it would’ve left a gaping hole up the middle – one that a Battery player could’ve leveraged to score.
That’s not the case. Dengler holds firm, Evans does the job against Jennings as he gets endline, and even though Charleston earns a close-range shot, Naples is able to clear it off the line because they’ve packed the box with bodies. You know who makes the goal-line clearance: none other than Jake Dengler,
What more can you say? No one in League One is doing it like Brecc Evans and Jake Dengler at the moment. They’ve quickly become one of the best defensive duos in the entire USL, and they’re the backbone of Matt Poland’s incredibly fun Naples team.
Quick Hits
In other news this week…
Massive thanks to Mitch Baruchowitz and the whole Westchester SC organization for welcoming me in over the weekend and putting on a great show more broadly. I’ll be making more Metro-North trips up to Mount Vernon this year whenever I can.
On that same note, I’m really grateful for the welcome I got from the Defiance 1636 crew and everyone else that traveled down from Rhode Island. I do what I do because of the community (or because I’m a weird obsessive…but put that aside) and the RIFC crew made me feel that in a tangible way.
Pierre Reedy and Derek Waldeck took Oakland’s lunch money on Sunday night in a super impressive showing from the Spokane Velocity. Reedy is making the leap this season with his hyper-active movement and two-way one-on-one excellence – see five fouls drawn and six defensive actions – and the way he dominated Jurgen Damm was proof.
Brian Ownby, welcome back! It’s a genuine delight to see him and Rodrigo Lopez working their way back into the mix this year.
I took a much-needed afternoon off last week and basically just effed around on a lovely spring day, and I’m happy to report that I saw a teenager in a Monterey kit on the High Line in Chelsea and a dude in a DC Power hoodie at Othello on Broadway. There are cathedrals everywhere for those with eyes to see them.
Cover Photo Credit: Rhode Island FC / Twitter
Reedy has been excellent since his return. Amazing bounce back from injury. Also, I can’t prove it, but it seems like he’s the most fouled player in USL1.