Tacoma Defiance currently sit in 16th in the USL Championship Western Conference table, with six points from seven games. Rising are in 15th, with seven points from six games.
This is the first time that these sides have met since S2 became Tacoma Defiance. Last year, Rising beat Seattle 1-0 in both matches.
Tacoma has performed dismally this season away from home – losing all three matches by four or more goals.
Despite this, they’ve somehow managed to average more possession away from home than their opponents.
In their last two away games, Tacoma has proven especially susceptible to shots from inside and around the six yard box.
Last Time Out
Tacoma fell to a dismal 5-0 defeat in Vegas last Saturday.
Trey Muse was in goal – his fifth appearance of the season. Muse almost doubled his goals conceded tally as it increased to 11, but still maintains a season save ratio of 56%. At 19 years old, Muse is a current American U-20 international, and is on loan from the first team.
Henry Wingo started at right back for Defiance. He’s another first team loanee, and has appeared three times for Tacoma with one goal. Wingo is a Seattle native, and joined the Sounders in 2017 after graduating from the University of Washington.
On the opposite flank is Matt Nance. Four games into his professional career, Nance is second-best on the team with six interceptions. He signed this season after playing four years in college for the Xavier Musketeers, and has previously featured for PDL side Cincinnati Dutch Lions.
Jonathan Campbell started at centre-back, and has featured in four games so far for Defiance. Traded to Seattle from the Chicago Fire in the offseason, Campbell has been beaten 50% of the time in the air this year. He also tends to look to his left when passing out from the back, so Rising would do well to shut down that option.
Aleks Berkolds, a former San Diego State Aztec and Sounders U-23 player, is a no-nonsense centre half who leads the team with 22 clearances – that’s averaging five-and-a-half clearances per game played. He’s yet to pick up a card, and has won more fouls (6) than he’s conceded (5).
Starting in central midfield was Joel Rydstrand. The Uppsala-born 23-year-old started with IK Sirius in Sweden, before he moved to the U.S. to attend college at Creighton. Rydstrand has featured in five Defiance games, starting four.
Jesse Daley was alongside him last time out, but won’t feature against Rising after his sending off against Vegas. Daley moved to Washington in summer 2018, after playing for a variety of lower division sides in his native Australia.
Daley’s compatriot Antonee Burke-Gilroy played in attacking midfield. Burke-Gilroy has started four games, but has only played the whole match once. On Saturday, he was subbed off at half-time. Burke-Gilroy has only managed to take one shot so far, and tends to look out towards the right wing on attack.
His half-time replacement was 18-year-old midfielder Marlon Vargas. Vargas has featured in every game this season, starting in three. This is his second season with the USL side, having been with the Sounders youth setup since 2016.
Out on the wing is Shandon Hopeau, who has featured in each Defiance game this season. Five out of his 12 shots so far have been on target, but he’s yet to score. This is his fourth year with the team, joining on a homegrown contract after Seattle gained the rights to Hawaii. As a youth player, he was invited to an invitation-only Real Madrid elite training camp in Spain.
Azriel Gonzalez can be found on the opposite wing. He’s featured in six of the seven games, starting three. Impressively, Gonzalez is only 17, and this is his third season with the club. He made waves on his debut in 2016 after giving a new meaning to injury time as he was sent off for a two-footed challenge.
Sam Rogers replaced Gonazlaez for his first appearance of the season. Rogers has been in the USL’s 20 under 20 for the past two seasons, and has played at U-20 level for the US.
Alec Diaz started the game up top – his fifth match of the season. Oddly for a lone striker, he’s somehow managed to make it this far with only a single shot taken. He scored, though, so that gives him a 100% strike rate. The 17-year-old Puerto Rican joined the Sounders academy in 2015, and signed his first professional contract ahead of this season.
Diaz was replaced by Justin Dhillon in the 71st minute. Dhillon is a new signing for Tacoma, having scored nine goals in two seasons for Los Dos. He hasn’t scored in his first four games for his new club.
Rest of the roster
Saad Abdul-Salaam could make a return to Arizona tonight. The 27-year-old defender has made three appearances for Tacoma this season, on loan from Seattle’s first team. Abdul-Salaam started 13 games for Rising last year on loan from New York City FC.
Modou Ndow has featured in five Defiance games so far. On loan from Czech side MFK Vyškov, the 19-year-old centre-back from Gambia has proven to be a competent passer of the ball (87.1% accuracy). However, Ndow doesn’t seem to take the ball very often, winning just three tackles and nine aerial duels.
Denso Ulysse has returned for a third season with Seattle’s second side, but hasn’t featured frequently. Despite making last year’s all-USL second team and 20 under 20, the Haitian defender has only started three of Tacoma’s seven games in 2019.
Left back Nick Hinds was an unused substitute against Vegas, but has made three appearances so far this season. A former American U-20 international, Hinds re-joined Seattle in 2018 after spending time with the Akron Zips.
Josh Atencio has been a key part of the midfield in the games he has played, with 87% passing accuracy and 72.6 passes per game. However, he’s only played 180 minutes – roughly two games. The 17-year-old is in his second season in USL.
From the Ashes Prediction: Anything less than a convincing win is going to draw a lot of criticism. Rising 3-0.