Sounders FC 2 (9-13-2, 29 points) returns to league play after a two-week break with a home match against Western Conference opponent Tulsa Roughnecks FC (10-10-3, 33 points) on Wednesday, August 30 (7:30 p.m. PT, live-stream on SoundersFC.com). The Rave Green enter the match in fine form, having collected six points from two recent Cascadia matches against T2 and WFC2, and can drastically increase their chances of securing a postseason berth with a win over the Roughnecks, who currently hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.
While Wednesday’s match is the first meeting of the 2017 season between these two sides, S2 is intimately familiar with the system employed by the Chicago Fire affiliate. Tulsa routinely lines up in a standard 4-2-3-1 formation, but much like Orange County SC, the Roughneck’s wide attacking midfielders tend to pinch inside, often swapping wings to confuse their markers.
Presumable starters Joey Calistri, who is on loan from the Fire, and Joaquin Rivas, a former Kitsap Pumas standout, will line up on the flanks for Tulsa. Combining for 11 goals and 40 chances created, the two wingers have been the driving force of the Roughnecks’ attack. Striker Ian Svantesson, who leads the team in goals with 10 from 22 appearances, recently returned from injury and will provide a focal point up top.
An interesting wrinkle in Tulsa’s 4-2-3-1 system is the role of the No. 10, or central attacking midfielder. Since first-choice Juan Pablo Caffa, who leads the team with 40 chances created, suffered a leg injury on August 11, three different players -- Jacori Hayes, Collin Fernandez and Christian Thierjung -- have been tasked with being the creative, central playmaker. While Fernandez and Thierjung essentially operated as a second forward, Hayes has been much more mobile, either dropping in as a deep-lying playmaker or drifting out wide to occupy the spaces vacated by the inverted wingers. S2 will have tailor a defensive gameplan to whoever is handed the starting job on Wednesday.
Here are three storylines to watch.
First Team Reinforcements
S2 should enjoy plenty of reinforcements from the first team as they take on a Tulsa side that has two Chicago Fire players, Joey Calistri and Collin Fernandez, and one FC Dallas player, Jacori Hayes, on season-long loans. Sounders attacking midfielder Zach Mathers, who leads the team in goals (9) and chances created (31), has been the driving force behind S2’s attack this season. Joining Mathers in the attack is Homegrown midfielder Henry Wingo, who scored his first professional goal in S2’s last match with a piledriver from outside the box. And with the first team enjoying some time off during the international break, the likes of Seyi Adekoya and Tony Alfaro may get some USL minutes as well.
Stay Compact Defensively
The Tulsa attack is predicated on the two inverted wingers, Calistri and Rivas, cutting inside and playing through the No. 9. This strategy can work extremely well, however, you need to send the outside backs forward on the overlap in order to provide an element of width, which is something the Roughnecks rarely do. In order to nullify Tulsa’s attacking impetus, S2 must remain compact in defense, clogging up the middle and forcing the play out wide. If the Rave Green’s double-pivot of Ray Saari and Francisco Narbon can cut-off passing lanes and keep the play in front of them, it will limit the Roughnecks to speculative shots from distance. And if Tulsa responds by sending their fullbacks forward to provide width, the likes of Wingo, Mathers and Felix Chenkam can exploit the space they vacate on the counter attack.
Attack The Wide Channels
S2’s possession-based system is all about building attacks from the back, progressing through midfield, working the ball to the wings and providing service inside the box. Given that Tulsa has surrendered 24 chances created from its last three matches off of passes from the wide channels, S2’s wingers and outside backs should have a field day in the attack. Look for Mathers to slip in the likes of Wingo and Parra down the flanks, and for guys like Chenkam and Saari to get on the end of crosses.
