Reno is currently in 2nd place in the Western Conference table. The team has 44 points from 24 games. (13 wins, 5 draws, 6 defeats). That’s six less than Rising, despite having played two games more.
Reno is third in the Championship – behind New York and Phoenix – for goals scored (51).
The two sides last met in Nevada back in June, with Rising taking the spoils by a convincing 3-0 scoreline with goals from Jahn, Asante, and Calistri. Reno had enjoyed the better of the first half, outshooting Rising by 18 shots to 4, despite trailing 1-0 at the interval; but Rising took control in the second half.
That trend hasn’t panned out throughout the rest of the season. In fact, away from home, Reno is more likely to score in the final half hour of play than at any other time.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the field, Reno appear to be slow starters. They’re conceded eight of their 19 away goals during the first 15 minutes of gameplay.
Home and away, Reno has lost three more games than Rising this season. However, like Rising, 1868 is yet to suffer back-to-back defeats – a key point given their home defeat last weekend.
SINCE THE LAST TIME
Reno has been on good form since these sides last met at Greater Nevada Field. The team has won seven of their nine matches.
The team is known for its midfield diamond, with two forwards up top. That’s how they faced Rising, and they’ve kept to that formation ever since, except for their last match. Against San Antonio, they went with a 4-2-3-1, moving another midfielder deeper and dropping a striker back into midfield. It didn’t really work, and Reno fell to a surprising 4-1 home defeat.
There are only two players whose spot in the starting lineup has been without question each week – Duke Lacroix at left-back, and Corey Hertzog up front. Sam Gleadle has also appeared in every match, but started some on the bench.
A heavily rotated team Reno has used no less than 25 different players in the starting lineup since facing Rising.
It’s certainly been musical chairs for the goalkeeper’s jersey. In their last nine games, JT Marcinkowski has started six times compared to Matt Bersano‘s three. Both of them are on loan from San Jose, and both boast incredibly similar records. Marcinkowski has a save success rate of 69.4%, with three clean sheets, while Bersano sits at 70% with two clean sheets.
Hertzog may be the ever-present forward, but the goals are shared around. He has bagged only four of the team’s 21 goals since they faced Rising, and is one of 11 Reno faces to make it on the scoresheet in that timeframe.
Brian Brown did not face Phoenix last time the two sides met as he was on Gold Cup duty with Jamaica, and is guaranteed not to feature tonight as he left for Partizani Tirana (Albania) a month ago. Brown had scored eight goals from 11 games when the move was made, underlining the magnitude of the loss for Reno
FIVE OF THE BEST
Overall, Corey Hertzog leads the pack in terms of goals scored. He’s got 11 so far this season from 24 appearances. That’s not far off of his season-high of 14 league goals, set when he made the all-league second team in 2017. All of his goals, and the majority throughout his career, come off his right foot and from inside the penalty area.
Duke Lacroix has been a key defensive player from the left-back position, and leads the team with 25 successful tackles. He also boasts a respectable 80.1% pass completion rate, brings pace up the flank, and isn’t afraid of putting in crosses. Lacroix was on the scoresheet against Colorado Springs on July 27, his third goal of the season.
You can expect Sam Gleadle to feature in midfield at some point, even if only off the bench. His numbers aren’t the best – 77.7% pass completion, 3 assists – but his five goals this season suggest Rising can’t afford to ignore him. The Englishman has a connection to the Valley, attending Campo Verde High School in Gilbert. He’s a little cautious with the ball at his feet, and is slightly more likely to pass it backwards than forwards.
Raul Mendiola joined from Las Vegas in the offseason as one of Reno’s biggest acquisitions. He’s not disappointed so far, recording the highest number of assists in a season to date (7). He’s also contributed four goals. The 25-year-old, originally from Cuidad Juarez, also previously featured for LA Galaxy.
Seth Casiple has less assists than Mendiola (5), but he’s created more than twice the number of chances (68). That number is actually the highest in the West, four more than Solomon Asante. Casiple is a San Diego native who joined Timbers 2 on his graduation from Berkley. He moved to Greater Nevada Field for the 2017 season.
MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Seasoned USL referee Mark Allatin gets the whistle for tonight’s match. Allatin, based out of Los Angeles, has refereed Rising twice already this season. The first was Rising’s 2-0 victory over El Paso in April, and the second was the 4-0 demolition of Las Vegas in Phoenix. It hasn’t been all sunshine with Allatin, though, as he awarded an 83rd minute penalty to San Antonio back in 2017 that saw Rising lose 1-0 (check out 2:13 in the video below).
From the Ashes Prediction: Is this the night both runs come to an end? Heart says no, head says that a draw is very plausible.