Know Your Opponent: Spokane Velocity FC

Sacramento will be aiming to go one step further in the USL Cup than last season and bring home some silverware. But to do so, they'll need to get past the first hurdle Spokane poses.

A brief overview of the Prinx Tires USL Cup for those new to this competition. There will be two phases, a group stage and a knockout stage. There are seven groups, with the seven group winners moving on to the next stage and the best of the rest earning the wild card berth. Sacramento's group also consists of Spokane Velocity, Athletic Club Boise, Oakland Roots, Monterey Bay, and Las Vegas Lights. In this competition, there will be no draws. If the sides are level after 90 minutes, a penalty shootout will decide the winner.

Spokane is probably one of the teams from USL League One you wouldn't want in your group. They have fallen short of earning a trophy in the past two seasons, having reached the USL League One Playoffs championship before losing. These two sides met last season at the end of the group stage, where Sacramento won 1-0. Now, they will meet to open up the competition.

Spokane Velocity FC

Manager: Leigh Veidman

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Regular Season W-L-D: 4-1-1

Last 5 Games: LLDWW

USL Cup Results: N/A

Players to Watch: Carlos Merancio, Shavon John-Brown

Top Goalscorers: Shavon John-Brown, Jack Denton - 2 goals each

Top Assists: Lucky Opara, Neco Brett, Shavon John-Brown, Simon Fitch, Jack Denton - 1 assist each

Top Yellow Cards: Joe Gallardo - 2 yellow cards

Top Red Cards: None

The first thing I want to highlight about Spokane is their formation. I have it listed as a 4-2-3-1, but in reality, it can and will change within a match. Of the 6 league matches, Fotmob has Spokane in 4 different formations. And within these formations is a real mix of players. Only 3 players have started all six USL League One matches for Spokane. Those players would be their goalkeeper Carlos Merancio, centerback Camron Miller, and midfielder Nil Vinyals. They have featured 6 different starting lineups across all 6 league matches. This is partly due to Coach Leigh Veidman working all his new signings into the rotation. But that's not to say there aren't common principles held for each Spokane performance.

This team will change tactics based on the opponent, so how they approach this match will be interesting to see. But look for this squad to try to pull apart the Republic defense and try to overload the wide channels. Players like Joe Gallardo out on the wide channel will try to draw all the attention his way, while the main targets like Shavon John-Brown will try to drift the other way and find a path back to the ball off of a cross. John-Brown is currently riding a hot streak as he's scored in Spokane's last two matches. Spokane is comfortable in all phases of play, whether they're in possession or not. Look for them to send three to four players down one flank while in possession and brute force an overload through. This team wants to jump out to an early lead. Of their 11 goals scored in the regular season, 7 of them have come in the first half. Their 11 goals are tied for second in USL League One. But this is based on 66 shots taken, which is in the middle of the league rankings. So when they can get a decent shot of, they can be lethal. This team has scored in all but one of their matches across all competitions. And they've scored multiple goals in four of those eight games. 

On defense, I want to talk about Spokane's monopoly on quality keepers. Sean Lewis is the reigning back-to-back Golden Glove winner for USL League One. He was supposed to play for South Georgia Tormenta this season before they shuttered. And Spokane picked him up. Lewis led the league last season with 12 clean sheets as he helped lead One Knoxville to win the league title. And this performance earned him USL First Team Honors at the end of last season. But it has been the player who was named to the USL Second Team who has been getting the starts this season. Apart from the Open Cup matches, Carlos Merancio has been Spokane's starting keeper this season. Merancio was third in the league with 10 clean sheets and second in the league in saves, posting 79 saves. But despite all this goalkeeping talent, Spokane has only kept one clean sheet this season across all competitions. And that clean sheet came on opening night against Union Omaha. In their first four league matches, Spokane's opponents averaged 25.2 touches in the Spokane box. In the last two league games, Spokane's opponents averaged 14.5 touches per game. There have been some recent adjustments in Spokane, as a mid-block press has forced opponents to try to play around it. Look for Spokane to adopt a similar tactic to Sacramento's in the game against Minnesota United, staying steady out of possession with a passive but congested front line of attack.

Republic's Way to Victory: Despite playing in a variety of formations, the team sticks to a back-four shape. And the Republic needs to press each of Spokane's defenders to really find a way through. I feel that players like Jack Gurr and Michel Benitez, who will add extra threat down the wide channels, will open up avenues for the Republic. As Spokane defenders will need to respect the ability of Gurr and Benitez, that may draw them out of position for a run behind. The Republic defense will face a similar task, as they will be asked to keep track of the many Spokane runners running down the flanks. Stay compact and be aware of all the players trying to get into position.