USL Super League: Week 17 Takeaways
On dominant Brooklyn and more from the weekend in the USL Super League
17 weeks down, one to go. We’ve got four more games before the USL Super League goes into hibernation for the winter, but it feels like the season just started. Ahead of that pause, we got a fascinating weekend to set the table for 2024’s grand finale.
How’d Brooklyn extend their winning streak, what let Fort Lauderdale survive against Spokane, and how’d Dallas get a Sunday victory? Let’s dig in.
Lexington (0) - Brooklyn (3)
While the USL Championship matchup between Lexington and Brooklyn is delayed until 2026, the two clubs met in the Super League on Saturday night. As the standings might predict, Brooklyn looked the stronger side, maintaining the dominance that‘s established them as the undeniable powerhouse of the USL.
Michael Dickey didn’t stray from the usual tactical formula for Lexington’s part, sticking to a 4-2-3-1. What did stand out was the absence of star attacker Amanda Allen. Just named to the USL Team of the Month, the Orlando Pride loanee has been a dynamic attacking sparkplug, especially when inverted onto the left wing.
Lexington felt her absence on the counter; inefficiency on the fast break left Brooklyn’s one shaky aspect unpunished. In the opening minutes against a traveling Brooklyn team that hadn’t played in weeks, numerous quick moves were on the cards. Aggressive backpressure and the height of the Lexington wingers let it happen, but the end product never came.
The Claire Winter-Shea Moyer pivot was key, and it barely gave Jessica Garziano or Mackenzie Pluck a second to breath as they dropped in from Brooklyn’s No. 8 spots. Meanwhile, wingers Hannah Richardson and MaryKate McGuire stayed rather high as well. They weren’t necessarily as focused on ball pressure, instead funneling passes into well-laid traps with their positioning.
As mentioned, Brooklyn was occasionally sloppy in the face of that press - Lexington forced four final third turnovers in the first half alone - but they quickly found workarounds and recovered their composure. Sasha Pickard at right back was particularly sharp. Between 46 passes, 13 touches in the final third, and six takeaways, Pickard stood out on the stat sheet, but the numbers undersell her terrific positioning.
As mapped out above, the structure of the Lexington defense and their m hesitance to push the full backs upfield as trackers - uncharacteristic for Dickey and co. - made it easy for the guests to skip passes between the lines to wingers like Mackenzie George. Once Brooklyn connected on that first pass, the Pickards of the world could join the fun.
Of course, there was variation. A notable sequence in the eighth minute saw Pickard make a daring underlap up the right channel as Pluck rotated low like a proxy right back. When Pickard was targeted over the top, George was ready to contest the second ball. Interchange and verticality gave Lexington fits.
Brooklyn’s ruthless ability to pick their spots in that manner set up Mackenzie George’s opening goal, and it proved to be the main point of difference between these clubs. Whereas Brooklyn broke lines, cut inside, and maximized their options, Lexington was halting and was mostly restricted to the wide areas.
The yield for the hosts? Seven cross attempts and seven incompletions. Frustrated because of that disconnection, Lexington settled for a dump-and-chase attack that played squarely into the visiting hands.
Little changed out of halftime. Subbing Emma Johnson onto the right wing was a like-for-like move that didn’t add much of anything. In fact, removing McGuire - a player whose chemistry with Madi Parsons has been undeniable throughout 2024 - was a real mistake that kneecapped the offense even further. Those rare moments of countering joy dissipated, and Brooklyn grew ever sharper.
It’s easy to focus on Luana Grabias’ scoring and Brooklyn’s defensive identity, but the opening moments of the second half were a testament to both Grabias’ and Brooklyn’s versatility rather than any sort of one-note limitations.
There was a break in the 50th minute where the Brazilian forward dropped between the lines and almost immediately had three runners barreling ahead of here. Six minutes later, Emily Yaple tucked in to link play and thread in George for a look with Grabias drifting to bend the defense. As Brooklyn grew more fluid, Lexington’s 4-2-3-1 simply couldn’t hold.
The press helped that cause. Brooklyn forced 19 attacking-half takeaways in the first half and 17 in the second, shifting into more of a “Christmas tree” 4-3-2-1 during the final 45 minutes. Jessica Silva’s more agile shape gave her side added solidity to protect a lead, but it didn’t stem Brooklyn’s aggressiveness one bit.
Indeed, hat setup forced a turnover to set up Brooklyn’s second goal, facilitating a move defined by stellar rotation once again. Grabias spaced to the right, Garziano made the run over the top to replace, and the guests put the match away - another testament to their offensive flow.
Lexington ultimately put up just one second half shot, unable to overcome the visiting defense. You get the sense that Allen wouldn’t have helped Lexington very much at all. As has so often been the case, Brooklyn dominated this game territorially, and Lexington proved almost wholly unable to escape their own half. Dominance in that manner is the calling card of Jessica Silva’s 4-1-4-1 press - no matter the form it takes - and the reason Brooklyn FC is so imposing.
Fort Lauderdale (2) - Spokane (1)
After 17 days off, how would Spokane look against a newly flexible Fort Lauderdale side? Tyrone Mears wisely adapted his press to great effect against Dallas a week back, and he retained that same 4-2-3-1 look in a game that started fast and never really slowed down.
From the jump, Zephyr pressed hard in their 4-1-4-1 and sought to disrupt the rhythms that’ve made United an increasingly inspired attacking team. We’ll get into the specifics of the press, but they helped to create a very swift tempo early on.
When Spokane got it right, they kept a clean structure and won the ball back in good spots. When they didn’t, the midfield felt unmoored and the full backs could get isolated against Jasmine Hamid and Sh’nia Gordon. While the opening Fort Lauderdale goal didn’t quite fit either mold, it was symbolic of the slight rust Spokane showed.
You’re shown the lead-up to the go-ahead goal here. In the first frame, McCain drops below the level of the rest of United’s attacking line to receive off a throw, kicking off the sequence.
As she receives, McCain - who went 22 for 25 on pass attempts in the final third - carves out a pocket underneath the two high No. 8s for Spokane. She’s also wide of Taylor Aylmer, who’s recovering central but will have her attention divided.
Fort Lauderdale will work wide after McCain’s initiating touch, isolating Julianne Vallerand at the right back spot by pushing Sabrina McNeill up on the overlap to create a two-on-one. Aylmer will have to rotate in support - Zephyr still haven’t got their No. 8s low - and suddenly McCain is free to get the ball back and score.
That moment was uncharacteristic in a match where Spokane’s 4-1-4-1 press otherwise stood tall. Sophie Braun and Marley Canales formed the high central pair, and they tended to mark Fort Lauderdale’s pivot quite effectively. By creating that logjam up the middle, Spokane pushed United push wide, where wingers Emina Ekic and McKenzie Weinert arced their closing runs to limit access to the sidelines.
Fort Lauderdale then had two options: punt it long, or keep the ball on the ground and pass sideways in the box until you break the Spokane shape. The latter route, doctrinaire short passing, was undeniably Mears’ preference. Though Zephyr ended up with just two final third recoveries, they forced 12 incompletions around Fort Lauderdale’s 18-yard box, eight of which came from field players and four of which came from Makenna Gottschalk. That’s a ton of giveaways so close to goal.
Spokane did well to maintain an aggressive second wave when United did go long. Aylmer stayed aware to dips and dives from Tatiana Fung, the opposing No. 10, and full backs like Vallerand weren’t afraid to step up and contest lofted passes.
Turning the defensive success into real attacking joy was the problem. Ekic and left back Haley Thomas were terrific in tandem, with Ekic going five for five on dribbles and regularly working into the box. Emma Jaskaniec was solid enough when she could hold play up, but that was rare. On the right, Weinert and Vallerand felt tangibly disconnected; the former only tried nine passes in 66 minutes, and the latter posted a 45.8% passing accuracy in the attacking half.
Too often, Zephyr - who ended up with 52% of possession - stalled out in the attacking third. Above, in an exception to that malaise, they’ve got the necessary tempo to quickly beat Fort Lauderdale’s 4-2-3-1.
To start, Braun fills low in place of Aylmer to set up the basic attacking 2-3-2-3. Meanwhile, Ekic drops in from the left wing to draw the United right back up while also taking out the pivot and thereby limiting a possible low-filling rotation. Haley Thomas sees what’s happening from the channel, makes her own run up the left, and can receive from defender Sydney Cummings to enter the final third.
It’s just a bit too slow from there. Thomas looks toward Jaskaniec in the middle, Weinert at the far post, and Canales at the edge of the area, but nothing’s really going. Her cross ultimately amounts to nothing.
Spokane got a few Ekic-driven looks - a 59th minute cutback to Braun was especially nice - but struggled to break down Fort Lauderdale’s tight-packed banks of four. Players like Sabrina McNeill (a full back) and Taylor Smith (a defensive mid) never hesitated to throw their bodies on the line to make a stop. Deepening out made it that much harder for Zephyr to establish rhythm and find space.
Offensive-minded changes left Zephyr less solid at the back, introducing danger relative to the increasingly direct United attack. Fort Lauderdale was happy to absorb pressure and go long to counter. Meanwhile, Spokane literally didn’t put a shot on target until the 90th minute. Zephyr had the ball, but not the opportunities.
The guests also lacked that ability to clear their lines when it mattered most. Shortly into the 84th minute on the clock, Spokane allowed Fort Lauderdale to enter the final third. There the hosts would remain for a full, unbroken minute of gameplay. By my count, Spokane attempted just one tackle during that span, conceding recoveries to Darya Rajaee and Addie McCain until the inevitable goal came.
That was a neat encapsulation of the gulf on the night. Fort Lauderdale was probably the lesser side, but they came with energy in a way Zephyr didn’t match at either end. Spokane would get a goal back in added time, but it wasn’t enough to make up for those lethal, fleeting lapses.
Dallas (2) - Tampa Bay (0)
21 days after a statement win against then-hot Carolina, the Tampa Bay Sun traveled to Dallas this Sunday looking to keep their momentum going. Blame the long rest, the travel, or Boots magic, but they didn’t have the goods in a game where Dallas showed real growth.
Tampa Bay, armed with Ashley Orkus in goal, came out more aggressive in the tackle and more committed to the long ball from the opening whistle. Denise Schilte-Brown didn’t re-invent the wheel, employing the same 4-3-3ish attacking look that allowed for ample interchange between formational lines.
That flow - think Carlee Giammona and Sydny Nasello swapping between midfielder and forward, for instance - allowed the Sun to target the space behind the Trinity wing backs. At the same time, backfilling rotations served as the stabilizing “yin” to the attacking “yang” and maintained Tampa Bay’s second ball structure.
Longer distribution from the back set up a number of knockdown opportunities, and the relationship between Jade Moore and Jordyn Listro deeper in the central midfield was the key to taking advantage. That duo has developed a very nice rapport, with one always sticking low as the other - usually Listro - is allowed to push higher.
That relationship is a continuing signifier of improvement for a team that lacked structure at points in the opening weeks. You could feel the difference on Sunday at the Cotton Bowl - at least in the opening minutes.
By contrast, adjustment into a deeper 4-1-4-1 in mid block wasn’t always clean. If either Moore or Listro got caught high, Dallas could work between the lines. Trinity often lacked the space and tempo to actually do so, but the danger was ever present. That the Sun tried just four challenges in the middle third made that eventuality of centrally-derived Trinity joy all the likelier.
On the Dallas side, Pauline MacDonald started Rachel Pace on the left once again amidst Chioma Ubogagu’s absence, and the swap actually suited the game quite nicely. I’ve talked a lot about Pace’s tendency to tuck inside from the wing back spot, and that predilection proved useful whenever Tampa Bay wasn’t properly structured.
You see so above: the 4-1-4-1 shifts too slowly, Pace can find a touch near the sideline, and that eye for central dribbles takes her inside to test the defense. Pace ended up taking nearly as many touches inside the vertical width of the box (12) as she did outside of it (17).
When Trinity advanced with that speed and intention, often led by Pace or an expressive Amber Brooks (four tackles as a break-facilitating spark), good things happened. There was another look in the 29th minute where wide defender Waniya Hudson took the ball away from a Sun attacker, allowing Sam Meza to get a touch between the lines and charge toward the box.
As much as I liked their shape in theory, Tampa Bay’s best moments also came on the break, with pressure turning into odd-man rushes. A 24th minute move that began with a stellar takeaway by winger Cecilie Floe Nielsen against Hudson, for instance, was routed from left to right into a wide-open Nasello. Dallas’ wing back couldn’t recover to the Sun attacker, and a mishandle by Nasello was all that prevented a goal.
Opportunism in that manner was Tampa Bay’s best bet, but it required strong defensive rotations. Schilte-Brown’s side wanted to push numbers up, especially from the full back spots and in the form of Listro, but couldn’t back it up after turnovers.
That inconsistency reigned across phases. If you take that prior clip of Pace carving through that mid-block press, you’ll note the lack of structure between the lines. The onus was on the Sun to avoid such moments in recovery and maintain central parity.
They do so brilliantly above. With Listro (one of three center mids marked in yellow) having ripped toward the sideline to put in a challenge, Tampa Bay needs someone to backfill. Nielsen (in blue like the rest of the forward group) does just that. By the time Meza can turn up the middle, she’s met by the rotational equivalent of a three-player central midfield.
That said, you see the roots of the problem that would cost Tampa Bay the game. I don’t want to say the challenges and positioning are entirely reckless, but there’s a lot of risk-taking going on. It comes at the expense of the 4-1-4-1 and/or 4-3-3 structure. Trinity would start to take advantage in the second half.
Indeed, a failure to close down and stop a progressive pass set up Dallas’ go-ahead move. Off a sideline restart, Trinity had time to pick out forward Cyera Hintzen streaking up left side in space behind an unprepared Sun full back. Hintzen would earn a set piece, one she’d knock home to give her team an edge.
Dallas would double up in short order, with Meza forcing a turnover in the defensive third and immediately leading a break upfield. Chasing the game, Tampa Bay had even less structure in their half - see above where they’ve got two-fourths of their defensive foursome out of the play - and thus allowed Dallas to carve through like a knife in hot butter.
With Meza stirring the drink, Hintzen flexing her transitional pace, and Allie Thornton capping it all off with the right-footed finish, the goal was something novel from Dallas. This team has been impressive in the context of settled possessive sequences, but they haven’t always shone on the break. The added variety we saw on Sunday is a big deal - the sort of thing that makes the #2 team in the USL that much more dangerous.
On the flip side, it’s a step back for the Sun. I’ve been impressed with the glow-up in Tampa Bay, and their time off surely made an impact, but there were hints of longstanding issues popping up anew. Tampa Bay can’t afford to slip up with Fort Lauderdale hot on their tails; this team has title aspirations but isn’t consistent enough to make them a reality.