FRESNO, Calif. – Fresno FC has arrived, winning two matches in a week to send a message of intent to the rest of the USL. Those two wins have seen the Foxes jump into the USLSoccer.com Power Rankings, entering this week at 15th. So what happened this week to bring that change?

While Fresno FC has had a high passing accuracy in all four games, there has been a move in the style of passing, with a smaller percentage of passes coming from long balls. That has allowed for a more patient build-up in opening up space, drawing out opposing defenders to create more goal-scoring opportunities that the Foxes haven't yet fully capitalized on.

Through four matches Fresno FC has recorded a 77.4 percent pass-success rate across all types of passes, but that rate drops to 56.4 percent on long passes. It's still a positive rate, but much lower than the overall success rate.

In Fresno's win against OKC Energy FC, the Foxes recorded 440 passes overall, with 80 of those long passes, making 82 percent of their passes short passes. The win against S2 saw the same percentage of short passes at a ratio of 467 of 571 total passes. 

Fresno FC has picked up its passing accuracy in the opponents’ half, in part due to shorter passes, after only managing a 48.9 percent accuracy in the opponents’ half in the opening loss against Las Vegas Lights FC. Since that match Fresno has not lost a game and has ramped up its accuracy in the opponent’s half, lifting the team accuracy rate across the four matches to 66.3 percent.

These numbers shouldn't necessarily come as a surprise. Foxes Head Coach Adam Smith arrived from a Sacramento Republic FC side that also prized possession, and brought along the likes of Danny Barrera and Agustin Cazarez to help drive those ideas in the club's midfield. Sacramento finished the 2017 season fourth in the USL in passes attempted, and as the Foxes have grown into their inaugural season those ideals are clearly transferring over to Smith's new club, which has averaged 460 passes per game, close to the rate of 471 passes per game Sacramento achieved a season ago. 

Those ideas of precise long and short passing can be seen in this chance the Foxes carved out early in their game against Seattle last Wednesday. While Noah Verhoeven's finish didn’t end up producing a goal it is a good example of the shift from Fresno FC. Christian Chaney, another former Republic FC player, offers a central target for a longer pass to start the move, but then combines with Cazarez to draw the defense into the middle. That in turn has opened up space for a perfect through ball for Verhoeven to get through on goal for the shot which came agonizingly close to opening the scoring.

While long passing can be effective when in initiating an attack, it can be a more scatter-shot approach to creating chances, as it doesn’t create the movement in the opposition defense that short passes do, as demonstrated by this chance. The short passing that incorporated the Foxes' central strike pulled in the defense, moving them away from Verhoeven. A long pass could have been played behind the Seattle defense, but it would have made the decision process for the defense much simpler making the odds that Verhoeven would get such a good look on goal unlikely.

Back on the road this week against a Saint Louis FC side that is also coming off a win poses a different proposition for Fresno FC. Saint Louis made 24 interceptions against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC meaning that Fresno will have to be even more clinical with its passing to unlock the Saint Louis defense and continue its winning streak.

BY THE NUMBERS

100 – Louisville City FC's Oscar Jimenez didn't just score the game-winner in Saturday's big Eastern Conference matchup against the Tampa Bay Rowdies, he also notched the 100th goal of the 2018 USL regular season in the process. The goal was Jimenez's fifth all-time in the USL.

43 – Games featuring the New York Red Bulls II this season have featured a combined 43 shots on goal, an average of 14.3 per game, a likely reason why Red Bulls II goalkeeper Evan Louro leads the USL with 14 saves through three games in 2018.

5 – The last River Cities Cup match saw Louisville City FC claim a mammoth 5-0 win against FC Cincinnati at Slugger Field last August. FC Cincinnati will be looking for revenge on Saturday when it hosts Louisville for its home opener at Nippert Stadium.

4 – The number of goals scored by Orange County SC forward Thomas Enevoldsen in two matches this week, the highest return for an individual player in a week so far this season. It included a hat trick against Tulsa Roughnecks FC and pulled Enevoldsen into a three-player tie for first in the USL Golden Boot race.

3 – Three teams (FC Cincinnati, Louisville City FC, and Real Monarchs SLC) come into this week with a perfect record, having won both their games so far this season. That number will drop to at most two next week as FC Cincinnati hosts Louisville City FC in the first River Cities Cup match of 2018.

2.2 – The goals-per-game average in matches between Phoenix Rising FC and Real Monarchs SLC, which has only seen the teams draw once in the 10 previous meetings between the clubs ahead of Saturday’s game at the Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex.

1 – Las Vegas Lights FC notched the notable achievement of scoring a 2-1 victory this past weekend while officially only recording one shot on target for the game. Swope Park Rangers defender Colton Storm's own goal that proved the game-winner at Cashman Field doesn't count in Lights FC's shots total for the season.