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USL Analysis – Veterans Take Center Stage

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 04/07/17, 3:29PM EDT

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SAFC’s Castillo, Switchbacks’ Vercollone continue to play influential role


Photo courtesy Darren Abate / San Antonio FC

One of the key truths to the USL as an aspirational league is that a good portion of its players are some of the most exciting young talents in the United States and Canada. Numerous players who have featured this year and last year have also competed for their respective U23, U20 and U17 National Teams, in addition to the top young overseas talent that is already appearing for their country’s senior national team.

But among all of those, there remains a place for the experienced veteran. Friday night will see two of the USL’s older warhorses potentially go head-to-head, as San Antonio FC and Rafael Castillo host Colorado Springs FC and Luke Vercollone (9 p.m. ET | Match Center). The central midfielders share traits, too, which have allowed them to stay at the top of their games well into their 30s.

The 33-year-old Castillo has been an integral part of SAFC since the club joined the league. The former Colombian international’s ability to connect with teammates has seen him complete 87.5 percent of his passes so far this season, including going 14-of-16 in Saturday’s victory against the LA Galaxy II.

The 35-year-old Vercollone performed similarly in his first action of the season on Saturday. Coming on as a second-half substitute, Vercollone went 13-of-15 passing in his 31 minutes of action against OKC Energy FC while also creating one scoring chance.

Rafael Castillo, San Antonio
Activity vs. LA Galaxy II, 4/1/17

Luke Vercollone, Colorado Springs
Activity vs. OKC Energy FC, 4/1/17

The other trait both players have is the timing of when to arrive in the penalty area to allow an opportunity to present itself. On Saturday, Castillo’s first goal of the season arrived when he sprang forward unmarked to the top of the penalty area, giving Billy Forbes a simple passing lane for a first-time finish. For Vercollone, his ability to time his run into the penalty area has helped him record 20 goals over the past two regular seasons since becoming the first signing in Switchbacks history.

The younger talent around them is certainly bright, but their experience has allowed Castillo and Vercollone to remain ahead of the game.

TOROS TURNAROUND: It’s been a frustrating start to the 2017 season for Rio Grande Valley FC. After the celebration of opening H-E-B Park, and a strong core of a side that finished second in the Western Conference last year returning, the side has stumbled out of the blocks going 0-2-0 while failing to find the net so far in two 1-0 defeats.

Looking at the Toros’ numbers, though, there should be grounds for optimism that this is a blip, rather than a trend. The Toros have out-possessed, out-passed and out-shot their opponents in each of their first two contests, only for the final product to have let them down.

Team Rio Grande Valley FC Opponents
Possession 59% 41%
Passes 881 620
Total Shots 23 17
Shots on Target 12 4


If the Toros stick to the plan, maybe cut down on their long passes a little – they’ve only completed 44.7 percent of those – and find a little more precision in the final third, success should be just around the corner.

OLE!: The Harrisburg City Islanders ended the New York Red Bulls II’s 12-game regular-season undefeated streak on Wednesday night with a 1-0 win that wasn’t particularly pretty, but was effective enough to earn a big early season win.

What it also marked was a second consecutive game that a team going on the road against the Red Bulls II had decided to sit deep in a 4-3-3, and invite the hosts to try and break them down. Below are the heat maps for the back four and midfield trios deployed by the Richmond Kickers on Saturday, and Harrisburg on Wednesday. While the Red Bulls II certainly put both sides on their heels to an extent, the two teams definitely seemed intent on limiting space in behind as well.

Richmond Kickers
Defensive Seven vs. New York, 4/1/17

Harrisburg City Islanders
Defensive Seven vs. New York, 4/5/17

We’ll have to see if this two-game trend continues, but it’s clear the Red Bulls II may have to be a lot sharper in the final third to pick apart opponents this season, and their high pressure winning possession in opponents’ halves – and thus manufacturing advantageous defensive spacing – could become even more crucial to their success.

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