USL Championship – Western Conference Preview
The Western Conference of the USL Championship division has a whole new look for 2019. The conference adds three new expansion franchises, but loses three existing teams. Two of those squads, Swope Park Rangers and St. Louis FC, step across the divisional divide to the Eastern Conference, while the Vancouver Whitecaps 2 packed up their skis, unlikely to be heard from again. The conference re-alignment, and added squads, make for a completely balanced schedule, with a home and away game for each opponent.
Firebird Soccer contributors Aaron Blau, Ed Waller, Matt Robards, and Dominic Kearns team up to provide you this in-depth preview of the 2019 USL Championship Western Conference.
RGV FC Toros
2018 Record: 8-14-12 38 pts 13th place
The southernmost team in the league also spent the majority of the 2018 season at the bottom of the standings. The defensive-minded team returns twelve players, including its top three goalscorers (Enriquez, Quintanilla, Small). Unfortunately, that isn’t saying much, as the trio combined for fewer goals (16) than Chris Cortez had on his own.
The Toros will look to Jamaican Maalique Foster for added firepower. Known as the “Jamaican Messi,” the diminutive 22 year old winger was acquired on loan from Costa Rican Alajuelense. Foster has played with Rising FC midfielder Kevon Lambert as part of the Jamaican National Team.
Loanee (Arabe Unido) Carlos Small made an impact on the team late in the 2018 season, scoring 6 goals in just over 900 minutes of play. The Panamanian International will be a key to the teams success.
RGV continues to serve as a development-focused team, with two RGV and two Dynamo Academy players.
Matches: Home: 5/10 (Copper State Friday) Away 7/13
Predictions: Rising goes 1-0-1 against the squad. RGV will continue to live in the lower third of the conference standings, but will show a small improvement, finishing in 13th place.
San Antonio FC
2018 Record: 14-8-12 50pts 9th place
It was Rising FC Marketing VP Sam Doerr which lead the popular Billy Forbes to Phoenix, and a crowded midfield and middling results which has lead him back. Forbes looks to rebound from being a cog in Rich Schantz’ offense scheme to being the driver of a squad that Black Red 90 blogger Aaron Marvel has called
“a bit of a disappointment.”
San Antonio’s squad has seen a lot of turnover this year, but stalwart players Matt Cardone (GK) and Rafa Castillo (M) remain to provide senior leadership. Leading goal scorer Ever Guzman also returns in an attempt to improve on 11 goals scored. The returning player with the most impact may be Jamaican journeyman Lance Laing, who joined the team in late August. Laing proceeded to play in the team’s final nine games, and was the team’s leader in assists (6). If he can do that in only 9 games, what will a full season look like?
Joining Billy Forbes, who was San Antonio’s 2017 leader in assists and goals, the team brings on former Portland Timber player Jack Barnby. The midfielder spent time at Timbers 2 in 2018, scoring six goals and garnering 3 assists. The back line gets adds a big name player with MLS experience in Amer Didic. The Canadian figured into 27 matches and was 5th in minutes played. At only 24 years old, the talented defenseman will be a key figure in front of Cardone. Another player to watch is 15 year old Academy product Leo Torres. Torres is the youngest player to ever sign a USL contract, and has spent time with the US U-15s. Could the home-grown player be the next Efrain Alvarez?
Matches: Away 3/9 (Season Opener) Home 9/7
Prediction: Rising can’t get over the the crowd energy in the home opener, which sees Billy Forbes back on the scoring table. Rising has six long months to stew, unleashing a 5-0 beatdown in September. The improved squad finishes sixth in conference.
Austin Bold
2019 Expansion Franchise
“Did you hear? There’s a new soccer franchise in Austin, Texas! Yea, everyone absolutely hates the owner! Oh, that’s the OTHER team. Hmmm … maybe we’ll get on board with this one!”
That’s exactly what the owners of the Austin Bold are hoping to hear a few thousand times this season. Soccer in Austin has been a mixed bag. The Aztex lasted only 2 seasons before moving to Orlando during the USL 1.0 phase. The new franchise will be able to show the public a brand new stadium at the Circuit of the Americas, which is a multi-use facility housing a race track, amphitheater, kart track, and RV Park. So, in other words, Disneyland for speed freaks.
Brazilian head coach Marcelo Serrano reached to the far ends of the earth to build a roster including players from Columbia, Scotland, Nigeria, France, Jamaica, Russia, and of course Brazil. The gaffer knows talent, serving as an assistant coach for the Brazil U17 and US U17s at different points in his career. This will be his rookie season as the head coach of a club team.
One of Austin’s first signings indicates the start of a beautiful rivalry with San Antonio FC. Austin snagged former SA goalkeeper and target of supporter scorn Diego Restrepo. USL Veterans Kris Tyrpak and London Woodberry both arrive in Austin by way of newly MLSized Nashville SC. Tyrpak had a successful season with San Antonio in 2017, finding the net six times in 26 appearances. Woodberry has MLS experience, and participated in the inaugural season for Nashville SC. The defender also played for Arizona United in 2014 before spending 3 seasons with the New England Revolution.
The big question mark for Austin relates to how well the team can work together. Players are from all over – Swiss Challenge League, Chinese Super League, Erdivisie, Brasilerio Serie A, as well as the former NASL/now NPSL. One player was out of competitive soccer and coaching at the collegiate level. Add all of this in with a rookie coach, we are not expecting much from the squad. Unfortunately, a poor showing could spell a quick death to the USL franchise, which will soon have to compete with the Dark Lord of Major League Soccer, Anthony Precourt.
Matches: Away 4/17 (Wednesday game) Home 7/19 (Copper State Friday)
Prediction: 2-0-0. The away match ends with racing fans wandering onto the pitch looking for Rickey Bobby. The home match … $1 beer night is … well … $1 beer night. And you know what happens on $1 beer night. And if you don’t … well … buy a ticket. They escape a last-place finish only due to Tulsa.
El Paso Locomotive
2019 Expansion Franchise
The Locomotive heads into its inaugural 2019 season with moderate expectations. 33-year old English coach Mark Lowry will coach this roster with an intriguing mix of USL veterans and foreigners. The team will play in Southwest University Park, a stadium that seats 7,500 and has room for an additional 2,000 on a grassy berm. The stadium is also home to the AAA-Padres affiliate, El Paso Chihuahuas of the Pacific Coast League.
USL mainstays like James Kiffe, Omar Salgado, and Bryam Rebellon are heading to the Sun City eager to impress, along Liga MX loanees Edson Partida and Kevin Ramirez. Lowry has also brought two Brits, a Scot, and an Irishman across the pond to join the crazy train. But former Crew keeper Logan Ketterer looks like the standout player on this squad, especially after recording a 120-minute preseason clean sheet in San Antonio.
Players to Watch: D James Kiffe, MF Ritchie Ryan, GK Logan Ketterer
2019 Matches: 4/13 Away, 8/10 Home
Prediction: El Paso might stymie us for a frustrating 0-0 or 1-1 early season draw, but the return fixture should be a straightforward win. El Paso will ride Logan Ketterer’s fine form to a St. Louis-esque 52 points, for 9th place in the West.
Las Vegas Lights
2018 Record: 8-7-19 31 pts 16th place
Las Vegas looks to bounce back from a difficult first USL season with a very new look. Eric Wynalda gets his first crack at coaching a high-profile professional team, and the preseason results have been promising. The Lights famously knocked off Toronto FC 5-1 in February, and followed it up with a 2-2 draw against Colorado Rapids.
The roster features nine players from Southern California, and several others from Las Vegas and Mexico. This should be no surprise to those familiar with Wynalda’s background and coaching philosophy. Wynalda was born and raised in SoCal, and has coaching stints with Cal FC and LA Wolves. He has also criticized the U.S. Soccer Federation for being too reliant on players from wealthy East Coast academies. So Wynalda envisions Las Vegas Lights as a stylish, Latin-infused squad. Based on early returns, he might be onto something.
Players to Watch: D Bryan de la Fuente, MF Lucas Scaglia, GK Thomas Olsen
2019 Matches: 5/18 Home, 9/11 Away
Prediction: In some ways, Las Vegas Lights is reminiscent of Phoenix Rising entering the 2017 season. The ownership is trusting a big-name coach with a new vision, relying on younger players than before, and looking to reach the playoffs for the first time ever. This feels like a season where things will start to click. I’m expecting at least 7 combined goals in our two matches, with each team defending its home pitch. The Llamas will make a leap, and finish with 57 points for 7th in West.
Orange County SC
2018 Record: 20-6-8 66 pts 1st place
Orange County finished 2018 as the USL Regular season champs, but they fell to our Firebirds 2-1 in the conference title game. Dynamic midfielder Thomas Enevoldsen and standout keeper Andre Rawls left for greener pastures, but many contributors to last season’s high-flying side return. Braeden Cloutier returns as manager in Irvine for the newly independent USL side.
The team will lean on Michael Seaton to lead the team in scoring, but he will be surrounded by guys like Jerry van Ewijk, Gio Ramos-Godoy, and Koji Hashimoto.
The biggest question mark for Orange County is whether 17 year old GK Aaron Cervantes can fill Rawls’ massive shoes in net. No others goalies are signed to the roster, so it seems like Cervantes will face a trial by fire.
Players to Watch: GK Aaron Cervantes, MF Charlie Adams, F Michael Seaton
2019 Matches: 5/4 Away, 6/15 Home
Prediction: It’s hard to win on the road in USL. Orange County will be hungry to avenge its WCF loss on May 4, and one would guess they will win that match. Phoenix should win the emotional return fixture in triple digit temperatures. Look for OC to drop slightly from 2018, but still finish with a strong 61 points for 3rd in West.
LA Galaxy II (“Los Dos”)
2018 Record: 10-7-17 37 pts 14th place
After early success in USL, Los Dos has become a basement-dweller in recent seasons. Explosive homegrown MF Efraim Alvarez has joined the senior LA Galaxy squad for 2019, leaving Los Dos without its best player from 2018. New arrival Augustine Williams should help on the attacking side, but Los Dos has done nothing on paper to improve its leaky defense.
It doesn’t help that Los Dos plays home matches in a 2,000 seat capacity, glorified high school field They might play in some fun matches this season, but this team will surely be near the bottom when it’s all said and done. Don’t be surprised to see Los Dos drop to USL League One following this dismal season.
Players to Watch: D Diedie Traore, MF Geoffrey Acheampong, F Augustine Williams
2019 Matches: 8/3 Away, 9/14 Home
Prediction: This is an ideal away day for Phoenix in the dead of summer, and a fun late-season home match. Los Dos lacks the defensive capacity to handle the Firebird attack. Chalk up two wins for the good guys! Los Dos will stumble to 32 points for 16th in West.
Fresno Football Club
2018 Record: 9-12-13 39 pts 12th place
Fresno FC was a hyped expansion team in 2018 and showed glimpses of its potential, most notably in a 4-0 win over Phoenix Rising. Despite having a +6 Goal Differential (GD) in 2018, the Foxes finished in 12th place with just 39 points.
No other USL team underperformed its GD as much as Fresno last season, and the Foxes were notorious for blowing late leads. Solomon Asante scored a late equalizer against Fresno in April 2018, and lowly Tulsa snagged two stoppage-time draws from the jaws of defeat.
Look for this year’s Fresno squad to make a leap. Despite a slow start to the offseason, Fresno has made several intriguing signings to bolster a side that returns standouts Jemal Johnson, Issac Hayden-Ellis, and Juan Pablo Caffa. Manager Adam Smith returns for a side seeking its first playoff appearance. They’ll be in it until Matchday 34.
Players to Watch: F Jemal Johnson, MF Jackson, MF Emir Alihodžić
2019 Matches: 4/6 Home, 9/21 Away
Prediction: Going into the preseason, I thought Fresno FC would snag the final Western Conference playoff spot. Colorado Springs’ recent performances have made me reconsider, but the Foxes will surely improve on last season’s point total. Many teams will ignore Fresno at their own peril, but Phoenix knows better after last season’s frustrating matchups.
Look for Phoenix to pull out two grueling one-goal wins that will leave the Foxes at 46 points, for an agonizing 12th in the West.
Oklahoma City Energy FC
2018 Record: 12-7-15 43 pts 10th place
The Energy are coming off a disappointing 2018 season where they started 1-0-8 for just 3 points. OKC then picked up 40 points from its final 25 matches to reach a respectable 10th place finish. Steve Cooke will look to build on that finish in 2019.
The Energy are a prime bounce-back candidate in 2019. New signing DeShorn Brown has been firing in goals all preseason, including in wins over Phoenix Rising and El Paso. Fellow Jamaican Owayne Gordon featured in OKC’s 2-0 preseason friendly with Phoenix, and adds another dangerous option up top.
In the back, GK Cody Laurendi returns after a gruesome injury kept him sidelined for most of 2018. Christian Ibeagha joins OKC from Sacramento, and he will fortify a defense that includes Kyle Hyland and former MLS stalwart Atiba Harris.
Players to Watch: F DeShorn Brown, MF Marco Bustos, GK Cody Laurendi
2019 Matches: 6/22 Away, 10/18 Home (Season Finale/ $1 Beers)
Prediction: If OKC plays like it is capable, the match on June 22 will be a massive challenge. It comes four days after a match in Reno’s altitude and culminates a demanding OC-@RNO-@OKC stretch between June 15-22.
Look for Phoenix to eke out a draw in OKC and then finish the season with a close match. Depending on what’s at stake for each side, OKC may be more motivated and steal a late-season win. Or we can demolish them.
It’s hard to predict this match because we might be resting some starters. But OKC matches up well against us, and will finish with 55 points for a 8th place finish.
Tulsa Roughnecks
2018 Record: 3-12-19 21 pts 17th (Last) place
The 2018 season was not kind to Tulsa. The Roughnecks finished with a league-low THREE wins, fired coach David Vaudreuil midway through the season, and conceded 77 goals.
Last year’s interim coach Michael Nsien returns as the permanent gaffer to lead a roster devoid of quality USL talent. Former Switchback F Akwafei Ajeakwa will carry the scoring burden for Tulsa, and is one of few players with consistent USL starting experience. Longtime Firebird fans can look forward to seeing an Uzo on the pitch, as Uchenna’s brother Tobenna plays up top for the Roughnecks.
GK Sean Lewis saw time for for Penn FC in 2018, and he will likely start over Andrew MacRae. Both keepers should benefit from the tutelage of Tulsa’s new goalkeepers’ coach Donovan Ricketts. The former Jamaican international and MLS legend will need to work wonders, because his keepers will be tested often in 2019.
Players to Watch: GK Sean Lewis, F Afwafei Ajeakwa, F Tobenna Uzo
2019 Matches: 6/7 Home ($1 Beers), 7/27 Away
Prediction: Both matches have blowout potential, especially the $1 Beer Night in June. If Phoenix drops any points against Tulsa, there will be serious issues. The Roughnecks have nowhere to go but up. They will rise to 28 points and a last-place finish.
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
2018 Record: 11-6-17 39 points 11th place
The last couple of seasons have not gone according to plan for the Switchbacks. Last season, they finished eleventh in the Western Conference on 39 points, which is five points less than the previous season. This offseason came a complete retooling of the squad with six players returning to the team in 2019.
Colorado was able to keep joint top goal scorers in defender Jordan Burt and midfielder Shane Malcolm. Colorado needed to address their issue at striker and have done that with the addition of Mike Seth, who had a small stint with Phoenix in 2017. They have also acquired 18 year old Matt Hundley on loan. The other big addition has come at the back with Andre Rawls coming in on loan from the Colorado Rapids.
Overall, we won’t expect a lot from Colorado this year. Their drop in form should continue and I would expect them to finish the season with around 35 points.
2019 Matches: March 30th (Home) August 31st. (Away)
Prediction: 14th place
Real Monarchs SLC
2018 Season 19-3-12 60 points 4th place
Real goes into 2019 with the loss of leading goalscorer Chandler Hoffman, but have still managed to keep 8 players from last season. They have picked up some young attackers in Lionel Abate Etoundi and Douglas Martinez who will need to hit the ground running this season. Real has also added a couple of interesting players to at defensive midfielder. Jack Blake returns to Salt Lake having been signed by the club after a loan spell last season and Ricardo Avila has been taken on loan from Panama. Overall, Real Monarchs as a lot of players returning from the defense and midfield. If one of their new forwards and fill the hole left by Hoffman, then they should be locked for a playoff spot.
Real Monarchs started 2018 off strong winning eleven of their first 15 games while drawing one and losing three, but tailed off towards the end of the year. By the time the playoffs rolled around they finished fourth and were knocked out of the playoffs by Reno 1868 FC by a 92nd minute goal.
2019 Matches: Away May 25 Home October 12
Prediction: The Little Kings finish the season in a play-in round spot (7th-10th place)
New Mexico United
2019 Expansion Franchise
New Mexico United will be around nine months old when the 2019 USL Championship season kicks off. As one of the newest teams in the division, their entire squad is full of key additions. But there are two that will be the most important.
The first is Devon Sandoval. He is the clubs first ever signing and will be the face of the franchise. He has never been the main attacker in his professional career, so this season will be huge for him. He will need score at least 15 goals if New Mexico United plan to make it into the play-offs.
The second player that is key to his team is goalkeeper Cody Mizell. Mizell averages about 1.2 goals per game in the USL and will need to do better if the team is going to succeed. I would imagine that this team will give up a lot of goals at the start of the season as the backline gels. Mizell is going to have to keep them in games.
2019 Matches: Away – March 16 (Red Fury Train Trip) Home – September 28
Prediction: The new team in New Mexico finishes 4th place in the West.
Tacoma Defiance
2018 Results: 3-12-19 25 points 2nd place
Change is coming this year to the Seattle Sounders reserves. Their fifth year of USL play brings a new name. The name helps associate closer with the City in which they play. It will be interesting to see if this name change brings better results for the squad on the pitch. After finishing in 16th in the Western Conference last season with a -35 goal differential, they will be looking to improve on those stats to go along with their name change and a fresh start for Defiance.
Tacoma will be a young squad, with many of their signings coming out of the Sounders Academy, so they will have a group of players that have come up through the Sounders system and understand all the workings of the Club. A player to keep an eye on is Dense Ulysse. Ulysse was all USL 2nd team last year, as well as making the 20 under 20 team. He was a strong defender in 2018 and should be on pace to match that this year as well. Also joining the Defiance this year on loan from MFK Vyskov of the Czech third division are two players Modou Ndow a 6’4 defender and Ben Humbi a 5’10 Midfielder. Both are 18 years old and are originally from Africa. An interesting signing for the MLS side of the club is former NYCFC defender Saad Abdul-Salaam Will he be sent to Tacoma during the season? Rising fans will remember Saad from his time with Rising last season.
Departing this year is former Sounders 1st round draft pick David Estrada, who heads to Western Conference foe New Mexico United. Last year in 33 appearances Estrada had 11 goals. Also departing is Ray Saari who is playing for Sacramento Republic in 2019.
Prediction: Being as young of a squad as Tacoma will be, I would think that they will have some growing pains and struggle again in USL play. They may pick up a few points from the 2018 campaign but I believe they will be in the bottom 6-7 teams in the conference.
2019 Matches: Home- April Away – August 27
Sacramento Republic
2018 Results: 19-8-7 65 points 2nd place
Year in and year out one of the better sides in the Western Conference. The team hasfigured out how to be successful in the USL and that is what keeps them in the running for MLS expansion. They are still working on their bid and look to expand on the successes they have had in USL. Simon Elliott returns to lead the way as manager as well.
Sacramento lost a number of players from last years team, but wasted no time bringing new faces in to replace those that have departed. One player joining the Republic this year is a familiar face, Tyler Blackwood. Blackwood heads back to Sacramento after playing with Swope Park Rangers last year. The English striker had 6 goals in 34 appearances with Sacramento in 2017 after playing with Arizona United in 2016. Tyler will be a welcome face in Sacramento and should add to their attack.
Another new face is Dekel Keinan who comes to Sacramento from FC Cincinnati, he also has experience playing in the English Premier league and English Championship as well as the Israeli league. Returning in goal will be Josh Cohen who played every minute in 2018 and was named to 2nd team all USL with a 0.944 Goals against average.
Sacramento was smart to bring Cameron Iwasa back for another year, he had an outstanding year in 2018 being voted to all USL second team and leading the Republic with 17 goals and 6 assists a single season scoring record for Sacramento.. He also became the clubs all time leading scorer in his 2nd stint with the club.
Adam Moffat decided to hang up his boots and retire and the conclusion of the 2018 season, and the Republic will miss his experience on the pitch. Also leaving this year is defender Justin Schmidt who is playing for New Mexico United .
Prediction: We expect they will be a top 4 team at the end of the season, and will give teams challenges.
2019 Matches: Away – April 27 Home – August 23 (Copper State Friday)
Portland Timbers 2
2018 Results: 17-4-13 55 points 6th place
Portland surprised a lot of USL fans last season with their best finish in their short four year history. Finishing 6th and making the playoffs for the first time, they earned a spot in the quarter-finals where they lost to the Western Conference Champions Phoenix Rising. Portland will look to build on the success of last year, and on the success of MLS parent team Portland Timbers.
Timbers 2 will bring in goal keeper Jake Leeker this year from USL side Real Monarchs where in his first pro season in 2018 he had 6 clean sheets in 17 starts. Also looking to make an impact this year will be Timbers Academy youngster Carlos Anguiano, who is 19 but has experience playing with the T2 last season.
Timbers 2 are losing 3 players from their USL side to the MLS. Lamar Batista went to LAFC where he plays as a outside back and they had two players signed to MLS contracts with the Timbers senior team. Batista was recently announced as joining Phoenix Rising FC on loan.
Timbers 2 will fight to return to the playoffs again this season. As with all MLS reserve sides it depends on what the parent club does to your roster during the year. They could be back in the playoffs, but could easily fall back in the pack and miss out on post season play.
Prediction: The team finishes near the playoff line, with a chance to make a decent playoff run.
2019 Matches: Away – June 29 Home – October 5
Reno 1868
2018 Results: 16-11-7 59 points 5th place
Is there any USL team that garnered the success that Reno 1868 have had in their freshman and sophomore campaigns? Two seasons and two playoff appearances. An impressive result for such a young organization. Fresh off a semifinal appearance where they battled Orange County and came out on the losing end, Reno will be looking to get back into the semifinal round this year with hopes of advancing to the conference final. For a club that is so young they have been impressive to watch over the past two seasons.
It doesn’t look like Reno is sitting back and Talking about their success, after loosing midfielder Kevin Partida to MLS side San Jose and midfielder Jerry van Ewijk to Orange County they have gone out and brought some talented players into the squad for the 2019 season. Coming in on loan from Chivas de Guadalajara is defender Benjamin Galindo Cruz, forward Danny Musovski is joint Reno full time from San Jose in MLS. Coming back for another season is Sam Gleadle who happens to be from Arizona. If Reno can get Tempe Arizona Native Matt Bersano back on loan from San Jose they will have the opportunity to be in every game. Bersano was standing on his head in the Conference Semifinal, he has proven to be one of the best keepers in USL Championship.
Prediction: There is no indication that Reno plans to sit back and be happy with their successes so far, look for them to challenge teams again this season and be in the thick of the race in the Western Conference. They should be looking at a top 5 finish if they can all stay healthy.
2019 Matches: Away – June 18 Home – August 16
2019 Pre-Season Predictions
Standing Team
1 Phoenix Rising FC
2 Sacramento Republic
3 Orange County Soccer Club
4 New Mexico United
5 Reno 1868
6 San Antonio FC
7 Las Vegas Lights
8 Oklahoma City Energy
9 El Paso
10 Real Monarchs
11 Timbers 2
12 Fresno FC
13 Rio Grande Valley
14 Colorado Springs
15 Tacoma Defiance
16 Los Dos
17 Austin Bold
18 Tulsa Roughnecks
