Tacoma Defiance (4 wins, 5 draws, 14 losses) is currently dead last in the USL Western Conference table, with 17 points from 23 games. That’s 39 points behind 1st place Rising (17 wins, 5 draws, 2 losses), although Defiance has one game in hand.
Despite the team’s poor form overall, they are not too bad at home. In fact, they’ve lost only one game more than they’ve won in front of their own fans.
Home and away, Defiance has conceded the most goals of any Western Conference team (55). Rising, of course, has scored the most (64).
At Cheney Stadium, the team defends progressively worse throughout the half. They are most likely to give away a goal in the final 15 minutes of each half.
At the other end of the field, Tacoma is struggling. The 20 goals scored by Seattle’s second team at home and on the road is less than a third of Phoenix’s season-haul.
At Cheney Stadium, Defiance is more dangerous in the second half than the first. Their most productive goalscoring spell is at the start of the second half.
THE LAST MEETING
Tacoma travelled to Phoenix back in April, when the pressure was on coach Rick Schantz following a shock defeat in Austin.
Tacoma lined up in their usual 4-2-3-1 formation – one that they continue to favor for the majority of their games.
In the end, Phoenix played Tacoma off the park in a convincing 4-0 victory. That match started promisingly with Junior Flemmings recording a brace before half-time. Jason Johnson, who was starting up top in place of Adam Jahn, also scored before the break. The final goal came from Solomon Asante in the 53rd minute.
Rising completely dominated possession, with 68.8% to Tacoma’s 31.2%. Phoenix also held the upper hand in passing accuracy – 85.1% to Defiance’s 63.4%.
One area that Rising struggled against Tacoma, though, was crossing. Only 16% of balls actually met their target in the box – lower than Rising’s 24% average.
SINCE THE LAST TIME
Tacoma is glued to the bottom of the Western Conference for good reason. Since facing Rising, eight of their 15 matches have been losses, along with five draws. The one thing that’ll give them hope? They’ve won two of their last four at home, beating Las Vegas Lights 4-1 and Orange County 2-1.
Despite their woeful showing possession-wise against Phoenix in April, Tacoma is actually on the up in terms of ball retention. In four of their last five matches, the Pacific northwesterners have held the upper hand against their opponents. They won’t be overly disappointed by that sole exception, as it came in their victory over OC.
There’s very little consistency in the Defiance lineup. Averaging five changes per game to the starting XI since their last game with Rising, they made even more changes in their two midweek games during that spell, at seven and eight respectively.
Given their status as Sounders’ second team, there’s naturally a lot of movement between the two sides. Two of Tacoma’s players signed first team contracts after their meeting with Rising (Ocampo-Chavez and Dhillon), but both have also played USL football since.
Forward Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez has made ten appearances for Tacoma this season, with seven of those coming after he had formally signed for the first team. He’s been with the Sounders’ USL side since 2017, but the youngster had only made four appearances prior to this year. Ocampo-Chavez is 17, and has played internationally for the U.S. at U-17 level. He also made a splash representing Sounders in this year’s Generation Adidas Cup, scoring six goals over five games. He started in Tacoma’s last two matches.
Fellow striker Justin Dhillon was picked up in late June. A standout run of six goals in seven games earned him his first call from MLS. He was previously with Los Dos, where he scored nine goals over two years. Dhillon made history this year with a goal just nine seconds into Defiance’s clash against Reno 1868, the fastest ever in USL Championship. Since being called up to the first team, he’s started two USL matches for Tacoma, including last weekend.
Everardo Rubio has been the only addition to the squad from outside of Seattle since their April defeat at Rising. The defender joined Tacoma at the end of May from Mexican third-tier side MurciƩlagos. So far, the 22-year-old has started three matches for Tacoma, winning an impressive 72.7% of challenges in the air.
Josh Atencio has been the biggest mainstay in the Defiance squad. He missed their game against Rising, but has started 14 of the 15 games since. A solid passer of the ball (81.5%), he also wins his fair share of tackles (57.4%) and duels (58.7%). Don’t expect too much of the midfielder on the attack, though – he’s only registered a single shot on target this year. Atencio’s been a part of the Sounders Academy since 2016.
Jamaican-born Nick Hinds has also been a regular for Tacoma recently, starting 12 games and coming off the bench in two more. The full-back is hardly a newcomer to the team. He made the first of 52 USL appearances for Sounders 2 in August 2015. Hinds has performed solidly this year, winning 68.6% of tackles, plus 52.5% of balls in the air. He’s picked up five yellow cards in 2019, and will face a suspension if he picks up a card tonight. Hinds has previously represented the U.S. at U-20 level.
Trey Muse has been Tacoma’s primary keeper, although he is prone to spend spells on the sidelines. In fact, he hasn’t played in either of Defiance’s last two matches. The 20-year-old has a save success rate of 58.8% in his 15 appearances this season, conceding 35. Muse has been a part of the Seattle setup since 2015, and previously played for Sounders 2 in 2017. Ahead of this season, he was unveiled as a Homegrown Signing by Seattle and subsequently loaned to Tacoma.
Bryan Meredith has also made five appearances in the Tacoma goal since they faced Rising, including both midweek home games. Meredith has been a backup keeper for most of his career, and his second spell in Seattle has been no exception, resulting in him making several second team appearances. This season, Meredith has a 65.5% save success rate, conceding an average of two goals per game. The 30-year-old’s former clubs include San Jose Earthquakes, New York Cosmos and Swedish club IK Brage.
MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Alejandro Mariscal is tonight’s referee. He comes in with championship pedigree – having officiated the finals of NASL, USL and the PDL – and is a frequent appointment to MLS games as a fourth official or video assistant referee. However, he’s only ever managed three top-flight games in the middle, with his last being in 2016.
This is Mariscal’s second Rising game of the year. His other was the 3-3 draw against New Mexico United, where he handed out nine yellow cards and gave two penalties. He also refereed the club’s only Open Cup Fourth Round match to date, when the then-Arizona United lost 2-1 to LA Galaxy in Peoria.
From the Ashes Prediction: Tacoma has some kids with a bright footballing future ahead of them. They’ll put up a fight, but they will not realize their potential tonight. Rising will keep the run going.