USL Super League: Week 18 breakdowns, first half attendance

Attendance data and a full weekend of action as the USL Super League campaign goes on vacation

18 weeks on, and it’s safe to take a deep breath. The USL Super League is halfway through its debut campaign, and the winter hiatus has arrived after a breakneck finish to the fall slate.

Before we analyze the on-field action from the final weekend of 2024, it’s as good a time as any to reflect on early attendance numbers. We know that the Super League’s sporting product has been impressive, but are the fans turning out?

It depends on the market. Carolina has set the tone thus far, starting with their 10,000-plus sell-out in the league’s inaugural match back in August. The Ascent have regularly posted numbers in the 4,000ish range thereafter, a mark that Tampa Bay and Dallas have also cleared quite often.

Results elsewhere have been mixed. Lexington, just having opened their soccer-specific stadium, has underwhelmed expectations and placed second-to-last with a sub-2,000 average. Brooklyn gets a mulligan since they were forced to start their existence in remote Manhattan, but they’ve also struggled.

The total result is an average attendance of 2,724. For comparison, that’s nearly 400 fans greater than the average in USL League One. Carolina, who shares a venue with the Charlotte Independence in that league, is more than quadrupling their brother club. Spokane Zephyr has only attained about three-quarters of the Spokane Velocity’s League One average, but wintry match timings probably explain much of the gap.

We’ll see how support changes and evolves in 2025. For now, there are matches to get to. What stood out across a four-game Saturday slate? Let’s dig in.

Dallas (0) - Brooklyn (1)

If Dallas could’ve beaten Brooklyn by two goals at the Cotton Bowl, they’d have entered the break in a deadlock for the top spot in the Super League. Looking at the numbers alone, Dallas was in position to get the job done.

No team has controlled a match against Brooklyn quite like Trinity did on Saturday, and it’s a testament to Brooklyn’s grit and buy-in that they walked away with three points. The best teams find a way to get results - even against a stifling press and while suffering a minus-16 short margin - and Brooklyn thus enters the break with a cozy six-point cushion in tow.

Pauline MacDonald didn’t alter her midfield or forward groups to try and get the job done for Dallas. The big shift came in defense, where MacDonald started teenaged Jordyn Hardeman in the middle of a back three in lieu of Waniya Hudson. With Hardeman flanked by Jenna Winebrenner and Hannah Davison, Dallas trusted their defensive group to hold firm and felt comfortable pressing high.

Formationally, Dallas stuck to their typical 3-5-2 template but proved tremendously aggressive against Brooklyn’s build. Brooklyn has been a fairly direct team, and Trinity’s tight marking didn’t give the guests any ability to pick out passes over the press. The goal was to deny the center mids (or skipped balls beyond them) within the New Yorkers’ 4-1-4-1, and Trinity did well to achieve that end.

Brooklyn builds with Meza tracking into the box from the midfield line (in red). Further back, Brooks and Julia Dorsey (bottom) close to receivers.

Sam Meza (one of the more advanced midfielders in Dallas’ shape) spearheaded the aggression in the midfield, marking Sam Kroeger at the Brooklyn No. 6 spot. In doing so, Meza - whose future for the spring is in question as her loan from the Seattle Reign comes to an end - could deny bounce passes that would’ve helped to change angles and set the tempo for Brooklyn.

Behind Meza, both Amber Brooks and Gracie Brian stuck tight to the opposing No. 8s. Both midfielders walked a tightrope in the process, but they were highly successful at leveraging their pressing shadows and staying aware of tucked-in wingers in behind.

The press bore fruit in an attacking sense rather often. A 13th minute chance where Meza dispossessed Kroeger, Dallas worked to find a cross, and Rachel Pace nearly came good in open space at the far post was exemplary.

Indeed, Dallas’ tempo on the break was their best asset. Brooklyn has been famously difficult to break down, but Trinity always had an extra pair of feet handy after recoveries to quickly receive, turn upfield, and create danger. You could feel Dallas targeting the spaces behind the Brooklyn full backs (especially via Cyera Hintzen) or trying to isolate Kroeger whenever they pushed ahead.

It’s Brooks doing the job here, receiving behind the front chunk of the opposing 4-1-4-1 to break lines. As the defensive midfielder turns upfield, she’s joined by forwards Hintzen and Allie Thornton plus a wide Pace to stretch Brooklyn out. Though the first pass goes awry amidst the overloading break, Brooks recovers anew and keeps her side moving.

A few outlet passes to Emily Yaple notwithstanding, the visitors were notably flustered in the face of the press and lacked for similar attacking breakthroughs. Dallas ended up with a 1.35-to-0.33 xG edge in the end, and the positivity in the press and in possession alike powered their performance.

Brooklyn took just three touches in the box in the second half. They tried just one shot, period, in the back 45 minutes. Still, one shot was all they needed in a 1-0 win. Neeku Purcell stood on her head to the tune of four saves in net, justifying her starting nod over Sydney Martinez. Purcell was solid against crosses as well, including a notable diving punch against substitute Chioma Ubogagu’s service mere seconds into the second half.

Meanwhile, Brooklyn was willing to sit low, keep shape, and clog the box as the game carried on. By the time all was said and done, the guests had totaled 31 clearances and four blocks. Kroeger often looked like an extra center back amidst the defensive block.

If the map of those interventions above looks like an indiscernible rat’s nest…that’s the point! Brooklyn was extremely active limiting Dallas’ space to shoot. A return of 0.07 xG per shot from Trinity says a lot, even if the chances were abundant on paper.

Throw in the Kroeger-to-Isabel Cox set piece winner, and you’ve got yourself the formula for a Brooklyn victory. This was a game where that Davison-Hardeman-Winebrenner back line restricted the ability for Grabias to get out on the counter, something she did successfully as a sub at Rocco Commisso Stadium in September. MacKenzie George, who’s performed at an MVP level, didn’t feel involved. None of that mattered thanks to one well-worked dead ball.

Was it especially pretty? No, as we’ve covered. That ultimately doesn’t matter in the table as we enter eight weeks of well-earned vacation for the undisputed top dog in the USL Super League.

Lexington (3) - DC (0)

Back on November 23rd, DC Power earned a big win at Fort Lauderdale and finally seemed to be on the upswing. Fast forward three weeks, and DC hadn’t yet played another match after firing manager Frederic Brillant. That made Saturday’s matinee matchup against Lexington all the more intriguing heading into the winter break.

In their own right, Lexington entered the weekend winless in five and feeling the pressure at the bottom of the table. This was a match with high stakes on both sides, and Lexington’s Michael Dickey made four lineup changes to get the job done against interim Power coach Phil Nana. Ultimately, it was Dickey’s quick thinking that let Lexington earn a statement win.

The expansive attacking approach adopted by Nana, however, shone brightest from the jump. DC felt more engaged from front to back this time out, engaging wing backs Susanna Friederichs and Myra Konte from level to level. Further ahead, DC was better able to get a forward or two - think Nicole Douglas or Anna Bagley - dropping low to connect play between the lines.

Brillant’s 3-2-5 lacked that “climbing the ladder” logic more often than not. Whereas Nana used a 3-4-3 across phases, Brillant wanted his side to rotate into a 4-4-2 without the ball. Pressing 4-4-2s are in vogue these days, but DC could struggle to pull off the shift and felt more solid because of the simplified organization.

Lexington pressed high in a 4-1-2-3, but that setup was a mixed bag early on. The hosts hoped to match DC’s three center backs player-to-player, applying pressure and rushing their guests into long balls. If the timing was off, Power found it jarringly easy to work around the front line and expose ample space on the wings.

That’s the problem above. Lexington pushes their weak-side winger high to deny a cutback toward the center, but the closing angle on the right leaves too much space around the edge. DC can hit their wing back, force a close down from a Lexington defender, and draw a foul.

When DC got those touches toward the sideline, a few possibilities opened up. The wide player could dribble forward and create if Lexington didn’t close to the ball. If the Lexington response was too aggressive, it allowed DC to switch play over the defense. A 31st minute sequence where Konte (the left-sider) worked side to side into Friedrichs (on the right) for a shot was the blueprint against a Lexington team on the back-foot.

As the game went on, though, Lexington started to deny the space and time necessary for such moves to bear fruit. Consider that clip above once more. Yeah, there’s a foul, but the lose-down from left back Courtney Jones that’s shown above is actually a rather timely reaction. DC gets nothing.

Julia Mackin (circled, top) and Shea Moyer (circled, bottom) drop in like a third center back.

When they possessed the ball, Lexington tended to keep a third player low alongside their central defenders in the face of DC’s true 3-4-3 press. The personnel involved could vary in practice - think Julia Mackin staying low at left back or Claire Winter dipping between the center backs - albeit to minimal effect.

Despite the schematic logic of that choice, Lexington wasn’t exactly sharp in possession. Dropping center mids low minimized their central presence, and the best chances Dickey’s side came up with were extremely transitional in nature.

Twice in the first half, breaks off of defensive set pieces proved fruitful and allowed winger Hannah Richardson to get in behind. Richardson entered the weekend as a top-quarter crosser amidst all USL attacking mids, but she’d struggled to find her shooting boots for the most part; a frustrating exit at halftime last weekend against Brooklyn was par for the course.

Against DC, however, her long stride and transitional pace were key. Off a well-denied corner, Richardson was able to break through shortly before halftime and give her side an edge.

That goal changed the game. Suddenly, the Power needed to push for an equalizer and started to overextend. Meanwhile, Lexington had found their defensive footing. Between aggressive full back play and the rock-solid performance of Nayeon Shin in the middle, the dynamic in the second half played int Dickey’s hands. Substitute Grace Wisnewski came good with a finish - on top of her stellar coverage of Katie Duong in the middle - in the wake of a recovered set piece to go up 2-0, and the floodgates were open.

Yet another counter - one led by Madi Parsons’ hold-up play to draw a center back, -continued by Moyer’s smart upfield charge, and punctuated by Richardson - sealed the deal mere minutes later. That ability to get defensive stops and turn them into chances has been inconsistent for Lexington, but it defined their 2024 closer.

For Phil Nana and DC, this felt like a bridge match between eras. Though the ideas were strong early on, Power lacked energy and didn’t know how to counterpunch when Lexington figured out their patterns. Whoever comes into the managerial role for February has a big job ahead.

Tampa Bay (3) - Spokane (2)

Spokane looks very good in possession. Spokane lacks that final little bit of execution to get over the line. Opposition takes advantage. Rinse, repeat.

That’s been the Zephyr formula for far too much of 2024, and they nearly broke through against the Tampa Bay Sun on the back of two set piece goals on Saturday. This time, Spokane couldn’t hang in the run of play; the Sun outgunned their guests 1.60 to 0.97 in live-ball scenarios and earned a thrilling 3-2 win.

The Washingtonians now enter the winter break winless since October 27th, the date of their last home match. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay is riding high - and they’ll take heart in their ability to overcome a slow start and lean into striker Natasha Flint’s breakout form.

Early, Zephyr did a terrific job of bending Tampa Bay’s 4-4-2 out of shape and working the ball into the central areas. This was a whole-team effort, in contrast to some recent performances where Spokane’s attack felt overly heliocentric relative to Emina Ekic.

When the Sun pushed a winger high against the outer reaches of their guest’s 2-3-2-3ish build shape, Spokane found it easy to work between the lines, force a covering rotation, and exploit the newfound space. The example above is unique because it’s so central; Taylor Aylmer receives the ball down the middle and hits two players ahead of her. Zephyr can’t quite take advantage, but it’s a great example of their blueprint.

More often, Spokane used somewhat deeper-seated full backs to bend the Sun midfield. If a winger stepped, that allowed a No. 10ish type like Katie Murray to find the ball in a central one-on-one. Alternatively, Ekic was still a weapon, especially when she could dribble onto her right foot to achieve that same line-bending end.

Tampa Bay wasn’t poor, of course. They looked particularly good in the press against Zephyr’s ground-based build. If the Sun could goad Spokane toward one side of the field, Tampa Bay would tuck their weak-side winger narrow and thereby limit a central escape route. Ball-side winger pushes up, weak-side winger slides in, and suddenly the trap is on.

Those sorts of traps weren’t common enough, and Spokane looked stronger from the get-go. Because Spokane is so utterly snakebitten, they couldn’t convert the early joy into a first-strike lead. Tampa Bay took take advantage of an early set piece to claim that edge, and they did so in splendid fashion.

You see that goal loosely mapped out above. Flint’s zig-zagged run (#1) that feints to the far side before a hard cut to the near post is the most influential move, and it’s complemented by a Nielsen loop (#2) around the back end. Meanwhile, eventual scorer Giammona follows Nielsen’s path to head home.

Spokane would get their just desserts thereafter, scoring twice on set pieces to briefly gain a lead. Haley Thomas started the comeback in the 22nd minute off a corner, finding a surprising amount of space at the far post amidst absent-minded Sun marking. That was a theme.

The go-ahead tally, another set piece goal, was another instance of a defensive breakdown. Like, the serve from Emina Ekic, but why are we leaving Julianne Vallerand and Sydney Cummings completely unmarked?!

Still, don’t let the easy finish fool you. Spokane was fairly impressive for the first 60 minutes or so. Their ability to piston midfielders up and down amidst their 4-2-3-1ish press kept Tampa Bay on their toes, and the full backs - Vallerand in particular - were quite good in their defensive third.

I argued during the preseason on that Tampa Bay’s roster might be the most talented in the USL, and that quality eventually shone through against travel-ravaged Spokane. Going more direct and bypassing the Zephyr midfield did the trick for the Sun.

Natalia Staude, moved to the left side of the defense after mostly starting at right back, would prove key to the upswing. On the equalizer, Staude - who won’t be back for the spring at the end of her NWSL loan - was given too much time by a conservative Zephyr side to pick out a pass.

Looking over the top, she’d find Cecilie Floe Nielsen to draw the right side of the back line, thereby opening a flick on into Natasha Flint to take the lead.

Flint would double up on the break mere moments later. Spokane’s full back-center back seam is a problem again, but Aylmer is also exposed. Ostensibly the protective shield in front of the back line, Aylmer has stepped up on the ball to begin this play. When both Giammona and Sydny Nasello drop to dispossess the Zephyr No. 6, the trouble begins.

With two attackers low, defensive midfielder Jade Moore decides to step up, dribble, and fill the space vacated by her teammates after the Sun re-gain. Moore puts the Zephyr back four on the back foot, finds Flint in the seam, and sets up the winner from there.

I don’t know what else to say for Spokane. The ideas are good more often than not, and this team always comes up with half-chances. Even so, fleeting moments of vulnerability always come back to bite. Tampa Bay, a Jekyll-and-Hyde mirror to Zephyr in some ways, found their moments when it mattered.

What’s the difference? The Sun have a sharper edge in front of goal. Their double pivot of Jordyn Listro and Jade Moore is stabler than the “lone holding mid” shape Spokane offers up. On Saturday, those distinctions made all the difference on the scoreboard.

Fort Lauderdale (2) - Carolina (0)

During our Super League round-up on The USL Show¹ last week, we discussed the competitive tiers within the league. You can listen for the full context - and listen again this Tuesday when we deep dive the weekend’s action! - but I made the argument that Carolina is in sub-playoff form, below teams like Tampa Bay and Fort Lauderdale. Their resounding loss at Fort Lauderdale on Saturday only bolsters that take.

Kiara Pralle was the new face for United, earning her first start at striker after a 20-minute bench cameo a few weeks back. Putting Pralle at the No. 9 spot had a key knock-on effect, allowing Super League Golden Boot leader Addie McCain to drop into the No. 10 spot and link play more actively.

That ability to drop in, I would argue, is McCain’s real strong suit. Yeah, she’s scoring goals, but the facilitation and ability to spray passes towards the wings is definitional for United. In the face of that threat, Carolina came out with an aggressive pressing scheme that meant to tighten the screws down the middle.

Carolina mostly operated in 4-2-4 or even 2-4-4 mode, matching the United back four and limiting lanes upfield as much as possible. Carolina wanted to use their front four to deny centering passes through the press.

A line deeper, pivot partners Giovanna DeMarco and Taylor Porter were encouraged to push up from the center circle, closing hard to Felicia Knox and Taylor Smith on the United side. Porter’s aggression stood out in particular; very often, she’s charged with sitting deep as the primary holding mid. That conservatism was nowhere to be seen in southern Florida.

You get that closing charge from Porter in the clip above, but it doesn’t stop a quick first-time pass from Knox to Smith as the play develops in the midfield. With her partner having pushing ahead, DeMarco is isolated, and that means Smith can take a touch on the turn and instantly find McCain between the lines.

The boxy midfield shape Fort Lauderdale so values is on show above, with McCain and Pralle between the lines ahead of Knox and Smith. That same setup would allow for their second, game-sealing goal.

Smith receives, bounces to substitute midfielder Anele Komani, and draws Carolina in. Full back Sabrina McNeill (circled) is wide open to the left.

In that case later in the match, it was yet another quick “entry pass, dump-off” one-two that set the table, allowing Fort Lauderdale to enter the attacking half and push at goal. Carolina simply allowed too much space between the lines and suffered for it from the opening whistle onward.

Of course, it took about 80 minutes for such a pretty sequence to pay off. Early on, especially, Carolina found moments to deny that midfield alignment and wreak havoc through their high press.

Mia Corbin was the tip of the spear from the striker spot in the 4-2-4, and she did really well to unsettle the typically stable Laveni Vaka. In the 14th minute, Corbin dispossessed Vaka and went solo to earn a shot; mere minutes earlier, Corbin had forced a bobbled backpass that goalkeeper Cosette Morche could barely clear under duress.

Carolina bends up the wing but doesn’t get a timely rotation from full back; Sh’nia Gordon is open.

That said, Carolina’s aggression could reveal vulnerabilities on the wing, and they lacked the organization in mid-block that so defined their first few months of the season. There’s a reason Sh’nia Gordon and Jasmine Hamid combined for 31 touches in the final third. Once the first line of pressure was beaten, the Ascent struggled to modulate and shape up.

That weakness came to bear in the second half, with Gordon leaking out over the top to set up Fort Lauderdale’s go-ahead goal. The sequence began, of course, with Pralle dropping in to hold play up, allowing for that long ball into Gordon to develop. After a stunning block off the line by center back Vicky Bruce from Carolina, Pralle was able to follow up for her game-winner.

Gordon tucks in, allowing full back Adrienne Jordan (circled) to receive versus a pinned left back.

Fort Lauderdale kept pushing those advantages, threatening centrally until Carolina was forced into a decision point. When the overcommitment came, United could work inside-out into Gordon, Hamid, or an overlapper like Adrienne Jordan from right back.

Carolina had some juice after allowing a goal, and Audrey Harding’s entrance in a left-sided attacking role almost led to a comeback. Harding’s ability to receive under pressure, turn upfield, and dribble forth was easily the Ascent’s best route to attacking third entrance.

Harding is also a player that’s barely seen time in the last three months. After starting Carolina’s first few games, the former UNC Wilmington star fell off the map. As good as the breakout dribbles were for Harding, she looked rusty as a passer and wasted a few opportunities - chances that were relatively rare in the first place.

It was an inglorious end to what had been a sterling Super League start for Carolina. Riding a four-game winless run into the break, Philip Poole will have questions to answer.

Meanwhile, Fort Lauderdale is cooking. I don’t know if they’re undeniably a member of the “Brooklyn and Dallas” tier of legit title contenders, but no team feels as offensively coherent. Tyrone Mears’ side plays very tactical soccer, and it’s why they’ve solidified a playoff position ahead of the winter break.

1. Do you italicize a podcast title? That makes us seem far too official.