USL Super League Power Rankings: inaugural edition!

Who’s looking like a title favorite as the USL Super League hits its stride?

Four weeks in, and it’s official: every team in the Super League has played a game! Brooklyn FC’s debut match in Spokane sealed the deal and capped off what was a really exciting round. Since we’ve officially got game tape and data for all eight clubs, it’s finally time for me to drop some rankings.

Who’s on top in the very early stage of the season? Let’s dig in.

1.) Carolina Ascent

Result: 2-1 win vs. Fort Lauderdale

Every bone in my body wants to be a hipster about this. Putting the #1 team in the table atop the power rankings is boring!

Nevertheless, Carolina is simply undeniable right now. They aren’t eye-catching in attack quite yet, but their defense has been the stingiest in the Super League by a distance. At even scorelines this season, the Ascent are allowing just 0.48 xG against per 90 minutes.

This weekend, Addisyn Merrick’s debut at right back was the big bit of news. Merrick previously spent a season with the NC Courage, and she was effective as a full back and center back across multiple journeyman seasons in the NWSL. Across more than 1,200 minutes in 2022, she put up +0.4 G+ as an interruptor; her dribbling was a similar standout in 2023 while she was with Kansas City.

Merrick’s Super League debut saw her put in three interceptions and go two-for-two on tackles, underpinning that elite Ascent defense.

You see Carolina’s 4-2-3-1 shape above, with Merrick streaking up the right side to close down. As Fort Lauderdale moved wide in this match, the Ascent - led by their new addition as well as left back Renee Guion - sought to pin them against the sidelines.

The results were obvious. Merrick made eight ball recoveries, half of which came in the offensive zone. Guion continued an excellent campaign in which she’s seven-for-nine on tackle attempts and added in an Olimpico stunner for the fun of it. If the full backs overextended, defensive help was their; center back Vicky Bruce was especially strong, furthering a season where she’s got seven interceptions to date.

That safety net at the back allowed Carolina to grow more aggressive across the board. Jill Aguilera crept upward from the wing, often meeting the end of direct passes from deep. The Ascent even heightened their press to involve a second forward.

The altered 4-1-3-2 is seen here, and it came as a response to United’s ability to find passing angles down the middle against Audrey Harding as a lone No. 9. Going man-to-man against the Fort Lauderdale center backs served to support that “wide trap” defense, funneling play towards the sidelines where Merrick could wreak havoc.

That’s smart game management, and it’s par for the course for the Super League’s best team to date.

2.) Dallas Trinity

Result: 1-1 draw versus DC

Dallas has been the most technical team in the league so far, and their possessive system paid off handsomely on Saturday. Trinity only came away with a point in their competitive Cotton Bowl debut, but they looked good doing it.

That’s been par for the course in 2024. Dallas averages the shortest pass length (5.7 vertical yards per completion) and the lowest share of long passes (12%) in the league. That patient, possessive control came in the face of a heated DC press this weekend.

Sam Meza underpinned the entire system. #15, a former college star at North Carolina, was unbelievably slick in the midfield. Her deft turns, steady ball carriage, and eye for breakout passes let the Dallas 4-1-4-1 click.

You see a reel of Meza going to work above. This was a match where she won a whopping 16 duels, completed more than two-thirds of her passes in the attacking half, won five tackles, and went six-for-10 on the dribble. That’s an all-league level of quality, and Meza made it look easy.

Pair that masterful work with Chioma Ubogagu and Enzi Broussard’s one-on-one abilities on the wings, and you’ve got something dangerous. There’s a reason Dallas is putting up 26% more shots per game than any other team in the league right now. Expect Trinity’s results to catch up quickly.

3.) Spokane Zephyr

Result: 1-1 draw vs. Brooklyn

If Spokane’s first game of the year was a showcase for McKenzie Weinert’s linking play and the threat Emina Ekic provides on the wing, their second match was proof of their adaptability. Zephyr ended the game with just 0.49 xG, and they often felt frustrated by Brooklyn’s press. That Jo Johnson found workarounds is a hugely promising sign this early into the year.

Frankly, Spokane felt disconnected in the early going. Brooklyn’s 4-1-4-1 press was hugely restrictive, shutting off passing lanes between the lines for a Zephyr team that lives for controlled but vertical distribution in build.

The answer to turn the tables felt counterintuitive: keep your ball-side full back lower in order to create passing triangles.

Good offenses know how to bend defenses out of shape. Sometimes, that means going full bore and pushing players ahead. For Spokane, that meant dropping left back Katie Murray low to draw a winger out. From there, center back Sarah Clark could easily hit a midfielder in space between the lines. Those patterns underpinned Spokane’s offensive improvements from about the 20th minute until they took a lead.

Advancing down the left into Taryn Ries was easy money. She kept her head up on the ball, and she ably found Marley Canales advancing into zone 14 or went riskier via skip passes to Ekic. You could feel the burden leave Spokane’s shoulders and watch as Brooklyn had to take their foot of the pressing pedal.

I’m probably too effusive about a performance where Spokane generated just 0.5 xG, but I really believe in the talent here. Coming against a complete unknown like Brooklyn was never going to be easy, but Zephyr still generated stretches of impressive soccer.

4.) Tampa Bay Sun

Result: 3-2 win at Lexington

Leveraging minimal knowledge and maximal vibes, I thought that Tampa Bay had assembled the Super League’s best roster in the preseason. Experience at the highest club levels and in the international game was commonplace, and it set the Sun up for instant success. Or not, after two opening matches defined by disconnection and saved by Ashley Orkus in net.

That made an assured win in Lexington all the sweeter this Sunday. Tampa Bay looked a team transformed, solid in the midfield and easily able to break through their host’s defense. The glow-up was in large part due to Jordyn Listro and Wasila Soale’s dynamite connection in the pivot.

The duo combined for more than 90 passes, and their chemistry paid off handsomely on the defensive half. Listro, who occasionally operated as a lone No. 6, tried five defensive actions and set the tempo with an 85% passing accuracy. Soale, who made seven ball recoveries (five of which came in the middle third), was more of an energetic retriever, but she was never out of position rotating low against Lexington’s inverted Cori Sullivan on the wing.

Because Tampa Bay finally had a sound base to build on, they could establish a sense of attacking flow to boot. Erika Tymrak, the extremely narrow left winger, was the primary beneficiary. Lexington tried to clamp down on the pivot, but they ultimately just ceded space to Tymrak as she cut onto her right foot between the lines. The former US international created two chances, but it was her ability to draw the defense narrow that stirred the drink for Tampa Bay, opening wide space for Talia Staude on the overlap.

There’s still tweaking to be done; Tymrak and fellow winger Sydny Nasello switched wings around the 30th minute to refresh the look. Even so, this felt like a match where the Sun laid important groundwork for the rest of 2024.

5.) DC Power

Result: 1-1 draw at Dallas

Madison Wolfbauer was a goal-every-other-game forward in college, and she had the requisite skill to lead the NC Courage to a title in The Soccer Tournament this summer while leading the competition in goals. You’d have figured Wolfbauer to be solid depth behind Jorian Baucom when she signed last Wednesday. Instead, she started as a central defender three short days later and quietly helped to define the entire Power system.

Reprising a phase-based formation we’ve seen a fair bit of so far, DC would push right back Susanna Friedrichs into the central midfield when they possessed. Out of possession, Friedreichs would drop into a back four next to Wolfbaueur. The twosome combined to try 118 passes, more than 29% of their team’s total.

I liked the ideas, but DC was far less able to work outside-in towards dual No. 10s, as they did so well effectively against Tampa Bay in Week 2. What I loved was the shape of their press.

At left, you see left winger Katrina Guillou pushing high out of what began as a 4-4-2. Guillou, who leads the team with 13 tackle attempts and 10 tackle wins despite playing as an attacker, made it her prerogative to do for much of the game. Her target? Teenaged defender Jordyn Hardeman, who started out of necessity and was a ripe target in the press.

DC didn’t catch a lucky break in the press, but smart bits of player-centric machination like that are never a bad idea. As Frederic Brillant feels things out, you like to see the Power continue to mix it up. This roster, exemplified by Wolfbaeur and Guillou, is versatile. Brillant is using that to his advantage.

6.) Lexington SC

Result: 3-2 loss vs. Tampa Bay

At this point, I’ve recapped more than 1,200 USL games of various stripes, and I’ve never seen a team as finicky with their player deployments as Lexington. You’ll see teams change their wingers from side to side a decent bit, but Michael Dickey’s machinations come early and often. I don’t mean this to be critical, either - his first-half decision to get Kimberly Mendez into the midfield nearly powered a comeback for Lexington.

Before that point, Lexington ran a boilerplate 4-2-3-1 with Nayeong Shin and Shea Moyer holding down the fort in the midfield. Shin tended to sit deeper, and I thought she was absolutely terrific in a positional sense. Lexington bled space down the middle, but it would’ve been much worse without the versatile South Korean - who made three defensive regains and put just one pass wrong - as a stopgap. Still, she wasn’t the best partner for the more energetic Moyer, who didn’t find the ball in good areas and completed just three passes into the final third in the first 41 minutes.

Enter Mendez in place of Shin. I’d probably call the new formation a 4-5-1, but the difference was in demeanor rather than structure. The patient ball-stopping of the South Korean international gave way to an all-energy midfield with Moyer, Mendez, and Madi Parsons flowing freely.

The change was marked. Mendez added a degree of verticality as a passer, and Parsons turned into the bulldozer we saw a week ago. In the final 49 minutes, she made four recoveries in the attacking half and attempted four audacious passes into the box. She felt restricted before the change and shone after it. Much the same could be said of Lexington as a whole.

No, Lexington couldn’t impress the nearly 4,000 fans enjoying their new venue with a comeback win, but they fought hard and continued to forge their identity. Dickey will need to settle down at some point in a game management sense, but the raucous, unapologetic style he’s building is a blast to watch already.

7.) Brooklyn FC

Result: 1-1 draw at Spokane

In the nicest way possible, Brooklyn looked like a team that hadn’t played a match and whose head coach hadn’t yet arrived because of visa issues. There were plenty of brilliant flashes, and it’s a major credit to Brooklyn that they scratched their way to a draw at Spokane, but chemistry was wanting in possession.

Brooklyn is the most direct team we’ve seen so far in the Super League. As it stands, they’re the only club to go long on more than 20% of their passes. Unfortunately, the verticality didn’t pay off in their first-ever game. Sydney Martinez went one-for-12 on long passes from goal, and Brooklyn felt wasteful on the ensuing knockdowns. They made nearly a dozen ball recoveries in the Zephyr half, yet they held just 37% of possession. The structure wasn’t in place to dominate territorially.

What worked? For one, Samantha Rosette - a New York native and the club’s captain - looked like she could run the show from the right back spot. Rosette tended to step higher and narrower than the more traditionally placed Leah Scarpelli on the left. You’d see her right-foot through balls to MacKenzie George on the wing or cut inside to find Hope Breslin between the lines on her left, then follow up with smart secondary pass-and-go runs.

George, the right winger, was the nexus for all of Brooklyn’s best moves. She attempted seven dribbles and seven additional passes into the box, giving her side a badly-needed ability to find a final ball. She should’ve had an assists on a winger-to-winger serve in the 57th minute that resulted in a point-blank shot.

And hey, Brooklyn ended up with a a draw! Dropping defensive midfielder Sam Kroeger into a possessive back three and upping the ante paid dividends on the comeback trail. I’ve seen Spokane fans grouse about the refereeing, but don’t let that take anything away from Brooklyn: they did what was needed to come away with a solid road point.

8.) Fort Lauderdale United

Result: 2-1 loss at Carolina

The thing about Fort Lauderdale is that they can’t generate offense. I highlighted Felicia Knox’s excellent midfield play a few weeks back, and that’s continued to hold true. Laveni Vaka and Celia Gaynor were implacable as a central defensive pair against the Ascent, and they came under plenty of fire thanks to a press that took the ball away just once in the final third.

That lacking press is emblematic of a team that lacks explosion. United is putting up 0.3 xG per 90 minutes at even scorelines. All of their attacking success this season has come while chasing the game against an opponent looking to sit in.

Fort Lauderdale’s heatmap says it all. When you get the darkest red shade in your own box, it usually means that something is amiss in build-out.

Some of the credit owes to Carolina, who shifted their shape to shutdown nascent Knox-to-Rajaee-to-McCann momentum. Still, that McCann completed just two progressive passes into the final third as the ostensible No. 10 is emblematic of the lacking flow.

I did enjoy watching Sh’nia Gordon go to work on the right wing. When she gets going, she gives Fort Lauderdale a sense of verticality that opens up opportunities for others. She and Ishata Hamid (who scored and is putting up 90th percentile xG per shot so far) have the mobility to make a difference if the rest of the offense can find their groove.