This past weekend the USL Championship season got going and with it came some of the usual bumps, some new, exciting aspects and some fantastic football. We’ll take a look at a few of the things that stuck out from Kickoff Weekend and what it might mean for the rest of the year, both on and off the field.

Broadcast Details

This weekend’s broadcasts began on the USL’s familiar home on ESPN+. It had its usual issues and perhaps some of them were just getting to grips with the technical aspects of a new season. There were more than a few jokes as audio issues caused New Mexico United’s matchup with Pittsburgh Riverhounds to have the audio feed from Memphis’ game against Las Vegas piped in for a short time at the start of the match. This was gotten under control relatively quickly but some of the typical graphics issues like old kits or misplaced names resurfaced. This was ironed out largely as the day went on and ESPN+’s broadcasts were solid through the night, bringing us all the USL action we could have asked for.

All that being said, the League’s debut on CBS Sports went about as flawlessly as the League could have hoped. The Golazo app could be a bit more easy to access for folks (my tip is use the Paramount+ or CBS Sports App, whichever is easier for you) but it was worth finding. North Carolina FC returned to the USL Championship against Charleston Battery and despite the match not providing huge fireworks, the broadcast was a lovely watch. No graphical issues, audio was pristine and the picture was noticeably sharper than we’ve grown accustomed to. If this is the way ahead in the future with CBS, the League has a great partner that will give the games the platform for people to focus on the match rather than anything around it.

USL League 1 Stars Make the Jump

There were plenty of opportunities over the summer for players from the 3rd tier of USL to make the jump up to the Championship. In most cases, these are players expected to be impact subs or players who serve more as depth on the back end of rosters. But two stars from League 1 in particular made an impact in matches on Saturday night.

The first won’t shock anyone. Trevor Amann, who led USL1 with 27 goals last year for Northern Colorado Hailstorm, got his Sacramento Republic career off to a storming start. Two goals on debut is impressive for any player but the transition from USL1 to USLC has not always been straightforward for strikers. There are a number of examples of players who lit USL1 alight only to fall short at higher levels. Amann seems destined to avoid that distinction quite easily. He played in the style that NoCo fans came to expect, he is a pure #9 in every sense. He registers the least touches of any player on the field and yet logs two goals. Four touches in Orange County’s penalty area were enough to convert those chances. Cristian Parano, Rodrigo Lopez and Nick Ross did that work for Amann, with Parano and Ross delivering the passes which put Amann in position to score. Sacramento are the most complete team in the League and Amann getting off the mark like this answers any questions as to how potent he can be as the sharp end of Sacramento’s attack. He is going to give teams fits this year.

Trevor Amann absolutely delivered in Week 1. *Image courtesy of Sacramento Republic*

Another player who was not on the radar as much who showed up in Week 1 was Mukwelle Akale from New Mexico United. Having spent part of the last 2 seasons at Tormenta in USL1, Akale was looking like he might take time to break through at NMU. He acquitted himself extremely well as a pressure valve for NMU against a tough Pittsburgh press, finding space to relieve pressure and link up with Jacobo Reyes and Greg Hurst. His performance won’t pop off the page like Amann’s but Akale is going to be a quietly important piece of this NMU team and Eric Quill has a talented player who will contribute to the attack beyond just the goals on the scoresheet.

This bodes well for the USL’s own ideas that it is creating an ecosystem for players and coaches to thrive in. If we see players move from USL1 to USLC and onward from there, then there is further evidence to support the expansion of that system to hopefully connect more with USL2 and other pre-professional pathways. But I digress…

Don’t Be So Dramatic

It isn’t a great weekend of soccer without some late goals and two in particular were the dramatic endings the neutrals will have loved.

SAFC warming up before its match. *Image courtesy of San Antonio FC*

The first was in the match between San Antonio and Loudoun United. The hosts had opened the scoring in South Texas through Lucas Silva before being pegged back by a Zach Ryan goal that featured a bit of a SA lapse but some lovely one-touch passing by Loudoun. The game changed after Christiano Francois was sent off for a seeming headbutt and San Antonio took advantage with Jorge Hernandez grabbing his second assist of the game, this time for Juan Agudelo. SAFC seemed set to claim all three points until the 94th minute. With less than a minute left in added time at the end of the game, and playing with 10 men, Florian Valot lashed home a low volley after a headed clearance fell right onto his toe. Some may remember a certain Protagonist writer pointing out that Valot’s signing could be sneaky good. Well it certainly has paid off handsomely as he snags a point in the toughest of circumstances for Loudoun.

The second was about the wildest late goal you’re likely to see in the League. Sacramento Republic held a 2-1 lead over Orange County with those Trevor Amann goals I was talking about earlier sandwiching a Seth Casiple goal for OCSC. In the fifth minute of five added on, Colin Shutler, OCSC’s goalkeeper, strode forward for a corner in a last throw of the dice. Wouldn’t you just know it, the cross from the corner found Shutler’s head and he powered in the most unlikely equalizer. The last action of the game and the keeper scores to save a point? How can you not be romantic about lower league soccer?

The Lights are On and Somebody is Home

I unfortunately am not here to report on a stunning victory for Las Vegas Lights in Memphis but what I will say is this. They exist and they did in fact play a game with a rules-compliant roster. I just want to emphasize what a feat that is given they started this project just 30 calendar days before they kicked off. Lights may not be much to write home about this season but the foundation has been laid and they will not be the completely soft touch that they were last year. If Bautista gives this whole ownership gig a couple years I think the rewards will start to show. But of all the teams that played in the Championship this weekend, I am glad that we actually saw Lights out there.

Proof of life! *Image courtesy of Las Vegas Lights*

The other shock we got this weekend was from Miami FC against Colorado Springs. No this did not drastically change how I feel about either team but it did show how Miami will try to navigate this season. Antonio Nocerino clearly has no delusions about the size of the task they face and he has the team set up to try to deal with it. They played extremely compact, keeping Switchbacks outside of the area or on the flanks as much as possible and, at least in this instance, it worked. I will say that the Switchbacks' approach felt somewhat naive and more patient teams will exploit what Miami does at some point in the future. Or who knows, maybe Nocerino is just a Catenaccio mastermind and they’ll never concede. Ah the early season…

So What Did Week 1 Teach Us

This is going to sound like a cop-out, because it is, but nothing really. One match of soccer is really just that. One match. This season is long, brutal and will have more twists and turns than your next Boeing flight. A quarter of the League didn’t even play! We did though learn that CBS matches look great, we hopefully learned how to navigate to the app and we reconfirmed that Sacramento Republic are going to be an issue for the whole League. Aside from that, we have a full slate of games next Saturday (and one midweek for poor El Paso) that will teach us more. El Paso - Louisville, Rhode Island - New Mexico, Tampa Bay - San Antonio and Switchbacks - Detroit City will make for good, informative viewing. Can EP take advantage of their fixture congestion or will the retooled Lou City blow them away? Can Rhode Island ride the wave of support for their debut match or will NMU carry the momentum from a great result against Pittsburgh? Will Tampa Bay be as good as we all think or will SAFC storm Al Lang? And are the Switchbacks bad for losing to Miami or was it a rough day out? And can Detroit find a way to score a goal or two this season?

The season will answer all these questions and more in due time. I hope you’ll keep joining me so we can learn together.

- Phil Baki