The Back Four: oops, all Western Midfields
Tactics, stats, and other developments that defined the week for New Mexico, Orange County, Spokane, and San Antonio
Welcome in to The Back Four! This week - and with a shoutout to Andy King, my unofficial ombudsman when it comes to conference bias - I’m honing in on Western sides from the Championship and League One.
Per usual, be sure to check out Backheeled for the dive into every team. Without further ado, let’s get to it for Week Four.
New Mexico hitting their stride
On Saturday night, New Mexico United went into Phoenix and barely held 40% of the ball, yet they owned their rivals in a defensive masterclass. Yeah, Rising were pallid, but New Mexico held them to just 0.3 expected goals. Indeed, Eric Quill’s team has allowed only 1.17 expected goals a game this year, and it’s thanks to their improving press.
This team has the third-highest goals added per match from interrupting in the attacking half, per American Soccer Analysis. Pressure out of a defensive 4-1-4-1 is New Mexico’s calling card, and Quill has his side constantly jumping passing lanes. No team in the USL has more interceptions than New Mexico’s 44 in 2024.
You see the basic shape against Phoenix above. This moment came later in the match, with New Mexico having led for about 50 minutes, but they aren’t sitting back and absorbing attacks. Indeed, the entire midfield line is poised in the attacking half.
Two Rising players sit in front of the press, both pivot men in Phoenix’s 3-4-3. Their positioning is a marker of New Mexico’s pressing dominance. Ideally, this Phoenix team can keep at least one center mids higher up the pitch behind the front line of pressure. New Mexico didn’t let Rising leverage their center backs as line-breakers nearly enough, hence the deep support.
When the play continues, Phoenix is able to hit attacker Emil Cuello as he tucks low into the center circle. Still, progress is fleeting thereafter because of the defensive reaction. Immediately, holding midfielder Zico Bailey crunches down on Cuello. Simultaneously, New Mexico’s No. 8s hedge deeper to apply backpressure.
This was the formula all night long in the Valley. The midfield trio of Bailey, Nicky Hernandez, and Marco Micaletto totaled 13 defensive attempts, a majority of which were in the Phoenix half of the pitch.
New Mexico’s defensive integrity has been especially impressive this year because of injury troubles (Kalen Ryden has just one start, Alex Tambakis missed a game, etc.) and because the back line that has often featured three new signings. Holdovers like Arturo Astorga, the man of the match on Saturday, have been impressive, but thuere’s a lot of change here.
Excepting a rout against Charleston where the Battery gave New Mexico a dose of their own pressing medicine, 2024 has been bright. This team dictated the terms in a statement opener against Pittsburgh, innovated with the ball to draw at Rhode Island, and controlled the tilt of the pitch to down Phoenix. If this keeps up, a home playoff game could be on the cards.
The Djeffal Effect
When you’re establishing a tactical system, you’ve naturally got a trade-off to face in the central midfield: are you looking for technical passing or defensive grit? Unless you’ve got Aaron Molloy, choosing one path tends to come at the expense of the other.
Orange County aren’t breaking those rules, carving out a path of moderation in the heart of their 4-3-3. Still, the top-level performances Morten Karlsen has got from Sofiane Djeffal this season have elevated this club in a meaningful way.
Djeffal had a stellar career as a box-to-box weapon at Oregon State and was a second-round draft pick of DC United ahead of the 2022 MLS season. As a rookie, he started 19 games and appeared off the bench nine times more, though he mainly took on the role of a holding midfielder and ball-recycler. A move to Austin in 2023 didn’t pan out amidst injuries, and the Frenchman hit the open market this winter.
A later-arriving signing for Orange County in the offseason, Djeffal had the vibe of a lottery ticket more than a sure thing. Given Kyle Scott’s absence, however, he’s been called upon to step up immediately in 2024, and the returns have been immense.
Scott is a hard man to replace. He tends to play quarterback in build before bursting up as the highest midfielder in the press, and Djeffal wisely hasn’t aped that unique style. While the 24-year-old occupies Scott-ian areas in the left half space, he tends to operate in a more traditional manner. Don’t read that as a limitation: Djeffal has ranked in top third of USL midfielders for his tackle win rate, fouls drawn, shots attempted, total passes, and touches per game.
You get three examples of Djeffal giving opponents the business in three different scenarios below; all are emblematic of the midfielder’s strategic value.
In the first sequence from Week Two, Orange County is pinned low against seven pressing Riverhounds players. Kevin Partida, the deepest and most defensive man in the midfield three, quickly hits Djeffal with a pass; the Frenchman is immediately pursued by multiple Pittsburgh players.
That’s where the magic happens: Djeffal takes a brilliant first touch, carries past multiple defenders, and plays an inch-perfect ball to enable an overlapping sequence. This sort of play gives OCSC the confidence to defend in deep block without wholly cancelling out their offensive threat. It’s wonderful transitional leadership.
The next example begins with Orange County already settled into attack against Tulsa last Saturday night. #4 receives a pass in the half space with runners in the box, but there isn’t a clean window and possession resets. As Tulsa lets their guard down, Djefall finds his moment to turn through two defenders, cut onto his right foot against Tulsa’s momentum, and strike home.
No one else on this roster has those consistent “we’ll do it live!” abilities, and if a No. 8 like the former DC United man can be a source of self-creation, that’s a major asset.
You get one more play, with Orange County in their mid-block defensive 4-1-4-1 against Sacramento. The Republic are a unique attacking threat, and left winger Bryce Jamison has broken that shape by design to track deep and hedge between Sacramento’s wing back and center mid. To replace him, Djeffal charges up the pitch with abandon. He takes a denying closing angle against a Sacramento defender and charges all the way to the opposing goalie to make life difficult.
Sofiane Djeffal does it all. With Scott approaching full health, Karlsen is blessed with a wonderfully deep midfield, but Djeffal is now a must-start player. Having too many good choices is an optimal problem to have, and it’ll be fascinating to see how Orange County accommodate stars new and old.
Sensational Spokane
Through four league games this year, the Spokane Velocity have won the expected goals battle every time out. They edged Charlotte this past Thursday, albeit in a losing effort, and they’re plus-0.54 expected goals per match in 2024 while sporting a top-four attack.
That quality with the ball has been the standout feature for Leigh Veidman’s unit. Spokane is completing a league-best 81% of their passes, holding onto 54% of possession, and completing the third-shortest average pass in League One at 6.2 yards per kick.
The central midfield in the Velocity’s 4-2-3-1 has been the standout. Collin Fernandez, Andre Lewis, and Jack Denton have been tremendously controlled and precise in the pivot, backing up all-time League One great Luis Gil at the No. 10 spot. Their read on the game powers an inside-out offensive philosophy that could make this team a title threat.
Here, you see a move from the Northern Colorado game a few weeks back, with the ball swinging rightward through the heart of the pitch. Fernandez starts the sequence and works into Gil, who’s showing deep. From there, the ball ends up at the feet of Andre Lewis in the right-center sector of the pitch.
Cumulatively, the group of Fernandez, Denton, and Lewis is averaging 68.4 passes per 90 so far. Pick two of ‘em, and you’re getting almost 140 passes per game. That’s insane. In their season-opening win a few weeks back, Central Valley completed 145 passes in total; that’s the Spokane pivot on any given night.
Gil “only” averages 38.4 passes per game, but that’s because of his elevated positioning. The star midfielder still has a team-best seven chances created so far, and he knows when to pick his moments to facilitate in lower spots to force defensive overreactions.
Back to the play. If you fix your attention on the movement developing around Lewis as a half-space hub, you’ll see winger Kimarni Smith hugging narrow as full back Romain Metanire pushes along the sideline on the overlap.
This is how you complement that tempo and skill in the pivot. Spokane knows how to draw opponents tight and slice around them, and they’ve crucially got the skill to make it all come together.
The proof is in the pudding: Metanire is averaging seven crosses per 90 minutes this season, which is another mind-boggling sum. Meanwhile, Smith has a team-high seven shots to date.
You see it play out in the clip above. Fernandez and Lewis get touches, and Gil drops in to join the fun. In the process, the No. 10 drags a Charlotte center back with him.
When Spokane moves into Metanire from there, it’s a mismatch. The entire Independence back line has to rotate to his side with a man out of place because of Gil’s gravity. You end up with a cross to a far-post runner in a one-on-one.
A similar formula earned a goal against the Independence last Friday, with Javier Gil - Metanire’s alternative at right back - benefiting at the far post. Expect to see more attacking dividends from these same sorts of sequences all season long.
Kevon Lambert and the “new” San Antonio
Coming into the weekend, San Antonio’s marquee offseason signing, Kevon Lambert, had gone 23 for 42 on duel attempts through three matches. 14 duel attempts per game is breath-taking; only Oakland’s Irakoze Donasiyano exceeded that number amongst regular starters last year. Carlos Harvey came second in the league at 13.5, and he earned an MLS move for it.
The big storyline at Toyota Field this year has been change. San Antonio is playing the second-lowest ratio of long passes in the league, evolving “dump and run” into something more controlled. Still, the intensity of their press hasn’t dipped, and Lambert is the man holding it together.
What you see marked up below is a pressing sequence against a restart. Facing a Colorado Springs team building in a 5-2-3, Alen Marcina positions his three attackers and central midfielder Mohamed Omar just feet away from the opposing center backs and goalkeeper. To achieve parity, San Antonio’s wing backs also mark their opposite numbers.
The aim is to stay tight and limit lanes, and San Antonio is very good at doing so. Nevertheless, there’s a gaping hole in the heart of the pitch. That’s where Lambert comes in. Yes, he’s ostensibly marking a Switchback, but he’s also taking responsibility for the crucial central zones of the park. If Colorado Springs drops a forward into that hole, #27 will cover to them
What sets Lambert apart is his ability to take the ball away with control. Past iterations of San Antonio would’ve used Lambert as a pure destroyer. An opponent starts to sneak by? Foul them without a second thought. Regain possession? Lump the ball right back into the mixer.
By contrast, Lambert has brought the volume (26 defensive actions), efficiency (only eight fouls) and possessive nous (82% passing accuracy) that support both pressure and considerate offense.
You get another example of the Jamaican international’s defensive intelligence here. After a knocked-down goal kick, Lambert pressures a Monterey man in the heart of the pitch. That’s the first move denied.
Still, #27 is equally aware of the pressure release valve to his right, one created by a closing wing back. When Monterey moves that way, Lambert does the same and assures that nothing squeaks through.
That headiness, that ability to do the small stuff: that’s the Kevon Lambert experience. With Mohammed Abu retiring unexpectedly, this team isn’t necessarily the deepest in the pivot, but Marcina needn’t worry: Lambert is unmatched in the center of the park and does exactly what’s needed to help San Antonio refine their game in 2024.
Threads!
I post too much, so here’s a backlog of my bigger game recaps. Want the good on the Tampa Bay comeback smash over Rhode Island? Check out this week’s USL Tactics Show.
Final Thoughts
Some other stray items…
Am I annoyed that the expansion recap is my most-read Substack piece ever by, like, multiple thousands of clicks? Yes, yes I am. I’m once again asking for people to care about the actual game of soccer as much as they do boardroom machinations.
Nicholas Murray’s Young Player Spotlight pieces are required reading every week (especially for Euro scouts, am I right?), and he’s got a great one on Ray Serrano.
Want more on Spokane? The Spokane Soccer Show is the place to be. Benji Wade and co. have totally hit the ground running.
Detroit City is probably the story of the USL season so far, so check out the work Jer and Fletcher do for The Daily Detroit to cover the team. Nolan Bianchi is great for all things Detroit sports as well, and I’d be remiss not to shout out the rabble-rousers at Channel 4:51.
Prayers up for Mike Pendleton. Age comes for us all.
See you later this week with US Open talk at Backheeled!