The Back Four: Bubble bonanza
Featuring League One havoc, Phoenix and North Carolina’s shapes, and more USL miscellany
Welcome in to The Back Four!
As always, check out Backheeled for more USL content, including Week 33 power rankings plus a best XI of U-21 prospects from across the Championship and League One. Also, check out This League! for an audiovisual dive into the week that was.
Without further ado, let’s get to it.
League One, around the horn
The League One playoff picture is messy, and Week 33’s results only made it more so. As we enter the final weekend, we’ve got:
8. Charlotte Independence (37 points)
9. AV Alta (35 points)
10. Forward Madison (35 points)
11. Greenville Triumph (32 points)
We’ll hit each of the clubs, but we’ve only got a race in the first place because Chattanooga took care of business against Charlotte on Friday night. You might look at the box score and assume the 2-1 win was business as usual for the Red Wolves – score early, grind the Independence to a halt, etc. – but that wasn’t the case. Scott Mackenzie broke out a rare back four to get the job done.
I’d probably call it a 4-4-2, but Chattanooga did well to bend as the situation required. Forwards Grayson Mercer and Pedro Hernandez took turns dropping a line to help mark the opposing pivot; Ualefi and Wynand Wessels did the same from the No. 6 spots. Situational awareness and teamwide chemistry have defined the Red Wolves throughout 2025, and they stood out against Charlotte.
Here, the Independence are starting to work around the wing, hitting Jon Bakero (their left-sided attacker) at the sideline. “Hitting” implies a level of control that’s overly generous. Immediately, Ualefi rotates to Bakero, supported by fullback Yanis Lelin. There’s no room to breathe, and a turnover will ensue just after this frame.
Lelin did more than just support a mid-block defensive posture. There were a handful of moments where Lelin tracked a low-dropping Bakero to halfway, and he ended up with five recoveries on top of nine momentum-stalling duel attempts. He also helped out in the attacking phase, where Chattanooga’s almost 2-2-6ish base gave Charlotte regular problems.
The beauty of the setup was its versatility. Yeah, the Red Wolves started with a two center back, two center mid spine, but they’d often drop Ualefi into the back line and let Aaron Lombardi become a No. 8 in more of a possessive 3-2-5. In other words, Mackenzie had a full bag of tricks suited for any and all situations, and Charlotte couldn’t claw their way to points.
Am I focusing too much on a non-bubble team in a bubble-centric section? Yes, so let’s shine the spotlight on Antelope Valley, 2-0 winners against Richmond on Friday night. Where Alta ran a 4-4-2 two weeks back in Charlotte and floundered against the Independence’s verticality, a switch into a 4-3-3 looked far steadier in Week 33.
Eduardo Blancas and Jimmie Villalobos operated as the No. 8s, taking turns pistoning ahead in the press to deny the Kickers’ pivot. Behind them, Osvaldo Lay (four recoveries, four tackles, 71% duel win rate) was absolutely dominant as the No. 6, clearing up danger and choosing the right moments to cover wide against threats like Darwin Espinal and Adrian Billhardt. In low block, Alta’s 4-1-4-1 felt nigh untouchable.
Offensively, Antelope Valley was full of verve. Blancas and Villalobos both retained the ability to drop next to Lay and hit a switch from in front of the Richmond press, but the former also took his turn pushing ahead like a No. 10. As soon as Blancas moved high, left back Christian Ortiz would tuck inside as a low-seated table-setter in his stead.
You’re seeing that dynamic above. Blancas is about to cheat high, while Ortiz sits low. Meanwhile, right back Sebastian Cruz is starting to fly up the opposite sideline. Cruz ended up attempting 14 passes in the final third, more than doubling Ortiz and paying off Kleiban’s designed imbalance. Here, that forward impetus allows Cruz to receive over the top and dish Alta’s go-ahead assist.
The Cruz-led right side gave Richmond troubles all night. Jerry Desdunes took 37 touches as the right winger, whilst Adam Aoumaich ended up with only 22 from the left. Again, that’s not meant as a judgement: the sheer number of vertical runners Antelope Valley brought to bear was the key component to the 4-3-3’s success, regardless of which side of the field shone through in the end.
With the win, Alta kept themselves in the hunt for the #8 seed, evening up with Forward Madison. This was a brutal weekend for the heretofore in-form ‘Mingos, who got shellacked 4-0 (on a 1.8 to 0.2 xG margin!) while visiting Omaha.
Matt Glaeser didn’t reinvent the wheel, persisting with his typical 3-4-2-1 formation. Against the maelstrom of Omaha’s hyper-flexible 2-2-4-2ish shape, however, the bend-don’t break defensive sensibility centered around Derek Gebhard and Devin Boyce simply couldn’t hold. Interplay between the opposing wingers and wingbacks constantly put Nico Brown and Damia Viader at a disadvantage; a bad giveaway from the latter in the 57th left the back line out the dry, putting Madison in a 2-0 hole. Things didn’t get any better from there.
Greenville started in the most precarious position of all, needing a win to stay alive. There was a risk-taking aspect to the Triumph‘s approach that was admirable in context, but it ultimately allowed opposing Tormenta march to a 4-1 win.
The safe play for Rick Wright would’ve been a reversion into the 5-3-2 that powered an August-into-September revival for Greenville. Instead, the Triumph went with more of a 4-1-4-1, albeit with plenty of wrinkles involved. Devin Benton was the right back, but he tended to play low and narrow to counter Yaniv Bazini’s pocket creation. At left-sided center back, Brandon Fricke was often charged with chasing Sebastian Vivas on the drop, at which point he could be replaced by Ivan Agyaakwah out of the No. 6 spot. It wasn’t a true, flat back five, but it approximated the same numbers.
I really liked the approach, but it couldn’t slow South Georgia down. After 13 minutes, a long ball into Vivas caught Fricke high and allowed Bazini to get one-on-one with a lonely Zane Bubb as the last line of defense. Tormenta kept bringing the pressure after going up 1-0, honing in on Greenville’s midfield whenever someone got isolated as a single pivot player. Connor Evans was on the wrong side of the press in the 24th minute, leading to another golden chance between Bazini and Vivas. That sequence anticipated the 66th minute strike which gave Tormenta a 3-0 lead; in that case, Agyaakwah was forced to dribble into no-man’s land, setting up another short-field break against an unprepared back line.
With the dust settled across the League One map, the stakes are clear. Greenville is out, whilst Madison needs a Henny Derby win on the final day to have a chance. Alta also needs a win as they travel to Portland, and they’ll almost certainly have the tiebreaker on the ‘Mingos in case both clubs end up on 38 points. For Charlotte, it’s even easier: a win locks up a playoff spot, as does a draw.
If this weekend was any indication, however, it’s probably going to be a drama-filled end to League One’s regular season.
North Carolina’s shape change
Since their title-winning League One campaign in 2023 ended in glory, North Carolina FC has almost exclusively run a 3-4-3 shape. Now, because of injuries and late-season struggles, that’s changing.
Is a new formation enough to right the ship heading into the postseason? It’s probably too soon to make a hard conclusion, but the new 4-4-2 that John Bradford broke out in Week 33 certainly added a sense of defensive solidity last weekend against Rhode Island.
The math was simple. When you’re running with three center backs, you naturally have less resting numbers at the back than with a four-man defensive line. That’s particularly true if you’re keeping your fullbacks deep. NCFC used that fact to their advantage against the RIFC opposing front three, and the shapeliness meant that Rhode Island mustered just 14 touches in the box.
When the system worked, North Carolina proved highly effective at dissuading passes over the top thanks to their numerical edge in the defensive zone and then pouncing in the mid-high press. The 4-4-2 was ostensibly undermanned against the three center backs on the Rhode Island side, but support from Thomas Roberts or Louis Perez off the wings could make up the difference.
Above, the gambit works. Roberts properly times his run to tighten the screws on RIFC’s Hamady Diop, and Raheem Sommersall supports behind that closing run out of the pivot. While the guests clear the first line of pressure, Sommersall’s close-down is perfectly timed to create a turnover and spark a break.
At that point, the relationship between Oalex Anderson and Pedro Dolabella shines through. Dolabella is an anchor in the right pocket, helping to freeze the defense. That lets Anderson find a lane over the top, his prodigious transition skillset shining through. In every sense, these were the sorts of defense-into-offense chances NCFC’s new system were designed to create.
That said, the balance wasn’t always there. I took on a more negative stance while talking about the 4-4-2 in Backheeled because those closing runs from Roberts and Perez were often mistimed. That wouldn’t have been problematic if the NCFC fullbacks could step up and fill space, but Finn Sundstrom and Patrick Burner struggled to balance their responsibilities within the back four.
You’re seeing that through their heatmaps, which evidence a real lack of forward zhuzh on the part of Sundstrom and Burner. Take a look at the final third, which is absolutely barren. The twosome combined to create one chance and attempt zero crosses. Again: North Carolina’s fullbacks didn’t attempt a cross!
Conservatism in one direction doesn’t automatically apply in another, but Sundstrom and Burner were staid in both directions out of an abundance of caution. The flatness of the back line prevented an opportunistic Rhode Island front line from squeaking through, but it also limited NCFC’s ability to generate breaks and influence the field tilt. In other words, the 4-4-2 might be new, but we’re still seeing the passive, almost rope-a-dope philosophy that’s defined this club for most of 2025.
Phoenix stabilizing
Between May 28th and October 10th, a 19-game stretch, Phoenix didn’t register a single clean-sheet win. Rising straddled the line between ramshackle disorganization and a genuinely inspired attacking approach out of the 4-3-3, but something needed to change.
Enter the back three. Two weeks back against North Carolina, Pa-Modou Kah broke out a 3-4-3 shape for the first time all season and earned a 2-0 win in Cary. The shape change could’ve been a one-week experiment meant to match NCFC, but it lasted through Week 33’s dominant 1-0 victory against San Antonio. Suddenly, Phoenix is looking like one of the USL’s hotter teams as the playoffs approach, and the new formation is making it happen.
Over the weekend, Phoenix’s variability in the press combined with steady counterattacking to make the difference. San Antonio isn’t exactly a juggernaut, but Rising had them on a string for the full 90 minutes.
Against North Carolina and for portions of the match against San Antonio, Kah’s side tilted into more of a 5-3-2 in the press. Darius Johnson was almost always the hinge player, sinking from the left wing into the midfield line. The calculus relied on Johnson’s speed going both ways. Need quick coverage toward the sideline? He’s got it. Need someone that can instantly push forward on the counter? Johnson will do it far faster than Charlie Dennis might.
In the example clip, that alignment forces SAFC into a turnover. Johnson immediately becomes the outlet through which to break, carrying the ball up the left with the support of an overlapping Ryan Flood. While the Grenadian international can’t connect on his early cross, this is the model of how Phoenix wants to attack in their new shape – they’re forcing turnovers, using their wingers as hubs, and getting the full-field support of the wingbacks.
Here, the initial look is almost 4-2-3-1ish given how high Collin Smith starts at right wingback, but the focus is on the ensuing break. We start with a San Antonio turnover once again, collected by a low-dropping Noble Okello out of the midfield. Immediately, he dinks a pass into Jean-Eric Moursou to lead the break.
Moursou arrived on loan in early September, bringing Ligue 2 pedigree with him. The 20-year-old has only become a starter this October, but he’s crucial to the balance between the lines for Rising. In this instance, his ability to take a perfect first touch past the stride of a closing defender and then right-foot a pass into Charlie Dennis is what really allows Phoenix to get going.
You see the ensuing attacking shape highlighted once Dennis receives. It’s a 3-2-5, one with central ball-movers (i.e., Dennis, Hope Avayevu) pairing with outside vertical threats (i.e., Flood, Smith) to overwhelm San Antonio. By the time Avayevu gets a touch, the defense is stretched thin by the width of the Phoenix attack. Thus, Johnson can slip into the box on the end of a through ball.
It’s exemplary soccer, but it starts with that deft middle-third progression from Moursou. The young Cameroonian has done everything so far. In an admittedly small sample size, Moursou is putting in 9.0 recoveries and 1.6 interceptions per match. He hasn’t been credited with any dribbles (not sure how that example above doesn’t count?) but has only been dispossessed once in 280 minutes. For a player this young to look this good while navigating a new system is remarkable.
Rising has actually allowed more final-third passes per match since the formation switch, if only because they’re taking leads and seeing matches out in a low block. What’s remarkable is how steady the back five looks under pressure: opposing box touches per match are down from 22.4 to 17.4, and Phoenix’s xGA average has plummeted from 1.44 to 0.38.
In other words, everything is clicking at just the right time in the Valley. Phoenix’s press is flexible enough to stymie any opponent, and it’s setting the table for organized transition offense. The low block has vastly improved with an extra center back in tow and Moursou arriving as a pivot shield. USL playoff matches often go the way of whichever team is in the best form, and the 3-4-3 version of Rising might be hitting their 2025 peak at the perfect moment.
Super League potpourri
17 minutes into their Thursday duel with Fort Lauderdale United, first-place Lexington went and did this:
For those of you scoring at home, that’s a long throw from Hannah Sharts wreaking havoc and allowing LSC to take a lead over their previously unbeaten guests. This was a rout, in fact, one punctuated by another throw-in goal that put Lexington up 5-0. That time, Sharts’ throw threat drew such a defensive response that short service was the answer, allowing midfielder Tati Fung to hit the decisive assist.
I’ve talked about set pieces quite a bit this year, but Lexington is the first team to really leverage long throws in the Super League. Brooklyn has two goals off throws in 2025, but it’s a different style. Their most recent throw-in chances were a quick, short toss against Jacksonville that produced a wild chip goal from Samantha Rosette, plus a throw from around halfway that cleared the DC back line and furnished Leah Scarpelli with a look at the far post – distinct from what we saw from Sharts.
The upside of that uniqueness? Lexington can hurt you in any phase. They’re third in the Super League for both set piece goals (0.6) and set piece xG (0.4) per game, all while also leading the division in run-of-play production.
Not to dally too long on Lexington, but I’m loving their use of Shea Moyer this season. Last year, Moyer tended to appear as an energetic midfielder; good, but not a blow-you-away standout. Against Fort Lauderdale, she started next to Addie McCain at striker rather than at the No. 8 spot.
Moyer is perfect in that position because LSC doesn’t need a bruising in-box No. 9 at all times. They’re wing-driven, using players like McCain to set the table before arriving into the box a bit later. Moyer’s ability to press with gumption and circulate play in order to open up wing runs was paramount to the ultimate 5-1 result.
On a more dour note: odd times for Dallas Trinity! Stellar attendance at the Club America friendly aside, they’re riding a four-match winless streak and sport the Super League’s worst goal difference (-7) in the process. Some of that statistical pain owes to a 6-1 drubbing at Lexington’s hands, but what’s behind it all?
As you’re seeing in the screenshot from that aforementioned loss, Dallas has struggled to balance a phase-based shape with chemistry across the back line. This team wants to attack in something like a 3-2-4-1, but that requires Cyera Hintzen to fly upfield from left back out of a defensive back four to become an auxiliary winger.
Above, there’s a breakdown amidst the three-to-four defensive recovery. Dallas allows penetration between their lines, and the dominoes fall from there. Maya McCutcheon, the most advanced of the resting center backs, is already being played past. Gracie Brian – a center mid filling in like a proxy defender – is about to charge at the ball to no avail. The result will be a Lexington through and a 2-0 deficit for Trinity.
Things went far better against Spokane last time out, with Dallas holding their hosts to a measly 0.28 xG. Nonetheless, Zephyr still ended up 2-0 winners. The problem, once more, owed to momentary central breakdowns forcing defensive overextension.
With Hannah Davison as the pseudo-right back, Trinity did well to keep a lid on Tori Zierenberg’s vertical threat for Spokane. As a team, Dallas didn’t allow a single shot attempt in the run of play until the 60th minute – yet that proved to be the winner. Spokane broke lines, forced center back Amber Wisner to step, and then benefited from a sensational left-to-right Zierenberg run to fill the gap behind Wisner to score.
Wisner’s relocation into the defensive group this year may be the biggest issue of all. Last season, she operated as the No. 6 and didn’t miss a single one of Dallas’ 2,610 minutes played. No defensive midfielder did more to cover space and stop opposing moves; Wisner put in 2.3 takeaways per 90 minutes last year.
Without that presence between the lines, Trinity’s proactive defensive numbers have cratered. Their midfield recoveries are down 17%, with tackles and interceptions dropping by roughly the same magnitude. Meanwhile, Dallas has been forced to clear the ball out of their own area nearly four extra times per match.
Moving Wisner from one spot to another isn’t the only issue, but it might be the root cause of Dallas’ ills. There’s an argument to make that reconsidering the personnel mix might just be Trinity’s panacea.
Post-mortem positives, Week 2
As we get to the end of the season, I want to highlight something that stands out for each of our eliminated clubs. Without further ado, let’s continue the eulogies.
Texoma FC: That one stretch of games between May and July!
Between May 4th and July 12th, Texoma didn’t lose a single match and pushed up the table like a legitimate playoff contender. No, we will not be mentioning their xG during that stretch of time.
No matter whether there was luck involved, that run of games holds lessons for the future of this team. I don’t think Texoma is ever going to top the budget table in League One, but if they can lean into being a hard-nosed, low-block team with verve on the counter, 2026 will look a lot brighter.
Retaining pieces like Ajmeer Spengler and Teddy Baker while replacing and/or rehabilitating Solomon Asante will be key to that effort, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility. When he joined Texoma FC, Adrian Forbes didn’t have any real knowledge of the USL. He’s now got a year of experience under his belt and hopefully understands what’s needed to right the ship.
Greenville Triumph: The next wave
In League One, building a young core is an increasingly fickle thing. Tighter links between the third tier and the Championship means that you’re likelier to lose your budding stars to a suitor higher up the pyramid. We’ll see what the future holds in Greenville, but they assembled a small army of first- and second-year building blocks this season.
I’ve written at length about Connor Evans, who’s running away with the chances created crown. At age 23, he’s either going to end up as a Championship starter or return as a locked-in MVP candidate for the Triumph in 2026. Still, he’s not the only young standout. Rodrigo Robles has racked up 14 goal contributions across USL competitions in his second season out of James Madison. Further back, Zane Bubb is the future of the Greenville defense, while rookie Ivan Agyaakwah is a blossoming Swiss Army knife between the No. 6 and central defensive spots.
Veterans like Tyler Polak, Brandon Fricke, and Leo Castro have set the tone for the Greenville program for years, but 2025 felt like the changing of the guard to a certain degree. The Triumph might’ve missed the playoffs, but they still reached the Jagermeister Cup semifinal, ran one of League One’s most attractive systems, and did so while integrating up-and-coming players. That’s nothing to scoff at as we enter the offseason.
Oakland Roots: Out-of-the-box Benny
I felt a tinge of guilt when I predicted that Oakland would finish last in the West, but that didn’t end up being far from the truth. My reasoning was mostly based around defensive question marks and the fact that Panos Armenakas was the Roots’ only legit creator. Imagine my surprise when Armenakas popped up at left back!
As it happens, Benny Feilhaber’s choice to make that change was inspired. For an Oakland team that, in my estimation, really didn’t have the talent to compete, Feilhaber provided bold change that at least made 2025 interesting at the Coliseum. His initial three-box-three inspired some very pretty soccer that maximized Morey Doner and a midfield full of one-note passers; his switch into a 4-4-2 with Armenakas in defense was equally inspired, if equally unable to patch the roster’s biggest holes.
I hope Feilhaber is back for more next year, because he’s clearly got the ideas and demeanor for the job.
Monterey Bay FC: Alternative roster build successes
I’m not here to tell you that Monterey got everything right. We’re talking about a non-playoff team, one that owes their fans a 20% discount on season tickets because of their failure to launch! At the same time, this MBFC team showed promise despite some of my skepticism about their unorthodox recruiting choices.
Wesley Fonguck, loaned in from the English sixth tier, looked like one of the slickest center mids in the entire USL. Anton Sojberg (0.50 goal contributions per 90) was pure energy after moving from the Faroe Islands. Nico Campuzano is certain to lead the Championship in saves after playing just two matches for a terrible Lexington team in 2024, and Nico Gordon earned early-season all-USL hype in central defense after moving up from MLS Next Pro. Those players and more represent real recruiting wins from outside the typical Championship milieu.
Still, it’s no coincidence that this team’s performances picked up once intra-league vets and MLS ‘tweeners like Miles Lyons and Johnny Klein nailed down spots. Monterey is finding efficiencies in the market, but they need to temper the approach come 2026.
Quick Hits
In other news this week…
There’s a legit chance that Lexington misses the playoffs, but if that’s the case, they’re going down swinging. Playing Alfredo Midence at right back last weekend was awesome, and it should’ve helped LSC to a three- or four-goal lead by halftime against Sacramento. Obviously, that didn’t happen, but Terry Boss should hold his head high after a 2025 season full of similarly clever gambits amidst an ever-changing and oft-injured roster.
More on Sporting Jax soon, but you really need to be watching Ashlyn Puerta. The 18-year-old had offers from Gotham and Real Madrid before electing to attend Florida State. Somehow, first-year Jacksonville coaxed her away from college and into the Super League.
Already, Puerta leads the division with seven goals. Meanwhile, she ranks in the 87th percentile for successful dribbles and final-third regains alike. The teenager tends to play in a free left wing role within Jacksonville’s 3-4-3, and she looks absolutely dominant in the process.
As mentioned on The USL Show: the original 1950s version of Godzilla is incredible? Almost every piece of kaiju media since then (Shin Godzilla notwithstanding) has operated in “big monsters go boom” mode, but the original is far more elegiac and character-focused. If you were moved by the themes of Oppenheimer, it’s doing the same thing…but better.
(And, yes, there’s a stellar monster sequence in which Tokyo gets stomped. I think it holds up wonderfully, but that’s in the eye of the beholder. The score is doing heavy lifting – the main Godzilla motif might be one of the best bits of movie music ever.)