Previewing the Super League final
Breaking down Fort Lauderdale and Tampa Bay ahead of the Super League title game
We’ve got a Florida derby in the first-ever USL Super League title game, a match-up pitting two of the division’s most vertical, aggressive teams against one another for all the marbles.
The Tampa Bay Sun entered 2025 as a putative favorite, and while it took time for them to get settled, Denise Schilte-Brown never wavered on the road to the final. Fort Lauderdale, meanwhile, experimented with a few versions of their shape and system before Tyrone Mears learned how to maximize his squad and control tempo. In a tactical sense, it couldn’t be a better match-up.
What separates the two systems, and what’s going to make the difference on Saturday? Let’s dig in.
From a statistical standpoint, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa Bay share tenets. After the winter break, both ranked top-three for takeaways in the middle and attacking thirds of the pitch. Likewise, the clubs led the division in fast-break xG (nearly 0.2 per game) and slotted in as top-three long passing teams.
The unifying thread? United and the Sun relish the chance to create transition opportunities, whether through launched passes or aggressive pressure.
There are distinctions, too. Fort Lauderdale held far more possession (53%) than Tampa Bay (48%) on average. Tampa Bay led the Super League in crosses per match (13.7) while their in-state foes (9.0) ranked second-to-last.
The style of pressure is different on each side. Mears’ team attempted 25% more tackles per game (24.1) than Schilte-Brown’s (18.1) as the Sun finished last in the league in that category. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, led the division in interceptions thanks to their focus on passing-lane denial.
Tactically, Tampa Bay uses a 4-2-3-1ish shape with a few defining tics. Natasha Flint, just named as a first-team all-USL forward, is the linchpin that holds things together from the No. 10 spot. If any player embodies the Sun’s personality, it’s Flint. A native Englishwoman, she won 52% of her aerial duels, put in 1.04 interceptions per match, and led her team in shots on target this season.
The Sun like to use their pivot, usually composed of Jade Moore and Jordyn Listro, in fairly tight man-to-man coverage. That makes it hard for opponents to advance up the middle, restricting passing options and yielding that high return of interceptions. Building off the Vivianne Bessette-Brooke Hendrix base in central defense is a luxury that sets the table for said aggression; the pair has combined to play 5,000 minutes this year.
When Tampa Bay regains, they’re very quick to push ahead. It’s common to see wingers Sydny Nasello and Carlee Giammona cheat inside to receive in the halfspaces, and both are willing dribblers. Nasello attempted 148 dribbles across the 2024-2025 season, 25% more than any other Super League player!
There’s a distinction between the starting wingers’ profiles. Nasello attempted five times as many crosses as the inside-cutting Giammona over the course of the year. You’re likely to see the right back overlap and push forward as a result. Schilte-Brown has drilled the wingers and fullbacks to understand when and how to create overloads without sacrificing their rest defense.
Meanwhile, Flint’s two-way ability to drop in like a third center mid keeps Tampa Bay connected from back to front. Flick-ons and physical challenges are a regularity, and she’s terrific at sniffing out space on the edge of the box in transition.
You’re seeing Tampa Bay build out from the back here, with Flint waving for the ball in between the lines. As the Sun work toward their left side, Nasello shows deep toward the ball – she loves to receive on the turn and then drive at defenses – and is replaced by Moore in more of a 4-1-4-1 alignment.
The step from Moore sets up Tampa Bay’s second-ball structure; it’s very common to see her and Flint line up next to each other to contest chipped passes. The Sun don’t win the first knockdown after they go long, but they’ve got four players in position to quickly regain.
That’s what happens. From there, striker Cecilie Fløe knocks the ball loose and sets the table for a lightning-quick charge at goal.
Tampa Bay completed 54 less passes per game than Fort Lauderdale this season, and the example above is a great representation of how that happened. United doesn’t really create second-ball chances in that same manner, and they’re far likelier to settle down in the final third and go to work.
It’s the mix of driven passes into Sh’nia Gordon and Jasmine Hamid out wide with patient central incision that makes Fort Lauderdale so hard to stop. The threat on the wings opens up space in the midfield. That’s why Addie McCain, Darya Rajaee, and Felicia Knox each finished the year as 90th percentile final-third entry passers from within the United midfield.
United typically builds out in a 2-4-1-3 shape, sitting two center mids deep and allowing McCain to serve as a connector between the lines. Fort Lauderdale isn’t afraid to hit a pass into the channels and hope for the best, but they’re varied enough to bounce off of McCain with far more control if the space is available.
Gordon and Hamid combined to take 96 shots this year, and they’re the Super League’s best scoring duo from the flanks. Since Kiara Locklear signed in December, United has enjoyed having a No. 9 that relishes in making off-ball runs to freeze defenders. There’s the possibility of variety as well, given that Locklear and midseason signing Jorian Baucom can form a classic “speed and physicality” strike duo if needed.
Locklear got a brace in the semifinal, and her activity buys the Gordon-Hamid duo that much more space to work. Finding balance up top is key; turnovers that occur when Fort Lauderdale is in attack mode can leave the fullback spots somewhat isolated. This year, only last-place Lexington was beaten on the dribble more than Fort Lauderdale, who allowed opponents to get by them 258 times.
In the press, Fort Lauderdale prefers a 4-1-4-1 in which Rajaee and McCain step up as No. 8s in the central midfield. Mistakes aren’t all that common – United allowed just 1.18 xG per game – but Cosette Morche must rise to the occasion in goal if they arise. She ranked second-to-last in the Super League by allowing 5.9 goals above expected this season, whereas Tampa Bay’s Ashley Orkus prevented 1.3 expected goals to rank fourth among starting ‘keepers.
Why trust United? For me, it’s the bend-don’t-break aggression they bring to the table without the ball. At times, the Fort Lauderdale shape can look like a Christmas tree – think Hamid and Gordon sitting level with the holding midfield – with the No. 8s stepping high to deny central progression. Force the ball to the outside, and then you can use your wide players to create turnovers.
You get an example of that formula above, but this is a situation where the timing isn’t quite right. What’s impressive is how United responds to an opposing breakthrough.
To start, both McCain and Rajaee pinch to one side to spring a trap against the sideline. The opposition is able to pass their way through, but United’s rotation from there is absolutely flawless. Taylor Smith steps to the receiver from the No. 6 spot, thereby slowing the potential break. Meanwhile, Rajaee rushes to cover low and replace Smith. In an instant, Fort Lauderdale is back in their structure and forces a reset.
If Fort Lauderdale lifts a trophy this weekend, these are the sequences that they’ll need to get right. Tampa Bay is ruthless in the way they enter the final third and control territory. Their combination of counterpressure, physicality, and technical dribbling is difficult for most teams to stop.
Still, there’s a reason these two clubs drew in three of their four match-ups this year. The stylistic similarities tended to cancel each other out. Tampa Bay held a slight xG edge (5.9 to 4.7) in sum, but anything can happen on Saturday. The club that can execute on their pressing game and activate their wingers to the greatest degree will write their name in Super League history.
hiya I like this coverage, where do you get these deep USL Super League stats