Why I'm Sitting Down To Watch Each USL League One Team In 2020
This is a little similar to my USL Championship article that I put out a little while ago on mlsaces.com, but I wanted to get something out there for USL League One. I wanted to put together at least one thing for each League One team that I personally will be looking out for in 2020. So even if I’m a huge fan of a team, hate the team, their successful on the field, or just flat out bad, your team gets at least a little bit of love here:
Greenville Triumph SC: Its A Family Thing
The Greenville Triumph are easily one of the best two teams in League One for the 2020 season. You could talk about Jaye, Fricke, Polak, Morrell, and more! But what I am watching Greenville for is the family connection of Omar and Abdi Mohamed. Obviously Omar will be familiar to Greenville fans as he returns to the team after a very good 2019 campaign. 26 games, 1 goal, 2 assists, and a lot of fun to watch! He now gets squaded up with his cousin Abdi. Abdi is primarily a left-back who played all of last season with Memphis 901 in the USL Championship. Making 22 appearances for the USL Championship side, the 23 year old will make Greenville an even stronger defense this season. Also, both are now capped Somalian National Team members which is really cool to see!
Richmond Kickers: A Focus On Defense
Finishing 9th in USL League One for the 2019 season and finishing with a -9 goal differential… Richmond needed a focus on their backline. The team also lost a lot of defenders heading into this new season. So they replaced their backline by bringing in guys like Kyle Venter, Devante Dubose, Ian Antley, David Diosa, and Zack Perez. Adding them to one of their bright spots last season in Wahab Ackwei… Richmond might have a pretty good defense in 2020. I’m big on Ackwei as he finished as a USL League One, All League, 2nd team defender. A good season could have him even getting up to another USL Championship contract or even a MLS contract. Whether he has Ivan Magalhaes, Conor Shanosky, or Kyle Venter next to him… Richmond definitely is strong in the middle. Then adding in Diosa at left-back, the Colombian for sure brings experience between his time at the NY Cosmos, OKC Energy, and Real Monarchs. Lastly, I would assume that we see another Antley dominating the right-back position in 2020 with Ian Antley. I am excited to watch them play and be a strong side to face in 2020.
South Georgia Tormenta FC: Three Impactful Signings
Tormenta finished just outside the playoffs in 2019 and needed some upgrades heading into 2020, and they signed some big names for League One. My favorite of their three signings is midfielder Devyn Jambga. The 25 year old midfielder is a big piece heading into 2020 as he was able to put up five goals for FC Tucson in 2019. His versatility in the midfield and ability to get involved in the attack makes him an immediate starting impact for Tormenta. And talking about adding to the attack… Tormenta was able to sign a go to goal scorer in USL League One, Pato Botello Faz. Pato is only 23 which also blows my mind, as the young Mexican striker has a LONG career in front of him. For Lansing Ignite last season, Pato was able to put away 7 goals in 22 games. Those 7 goals immediately would have made him the biggest offensive threat in 2019, now in 2020 he’ll look to score even more. The final signing that I want to touch on is Abuchi Obinwa. Obinwa has been away from professional soccer for a little bit, but now returns to the U.S. in League One. The former Columbus Crew defensive midfielder heads to Tormenta as arguably their “biggest name” player. Obinwa comes to the squad still young at 23 years old and with 7 games of USL Championship experience. Im expecting big things from Obinwa and Tormenta in 2020.
Forward Madison FC: Full Mingo Year Two
How can one of the most popular clubs in U.S. soccer follow up an amazing year one? Well easy, first drop a sick kit. A kit that will make this blogger buy it in the first 10 minutes it was announced. Next, improving the roster and making the playoffs again. In my opinion, they’ve definitely improved the roster! The squad still has stud defenders in Connor Tobin, Christian Diaz, and Brandon Eaton. Also adding in defensive midfielders from last year’s team in Eric Leonard and Louis Bennett, one of the better defenses from 2019 will look strong again in 2020. But now Forward Madison has decided to get a solid mix on their roster of young unproven talent, player in their prime, and veterans in order to bring Madison to the next level in 2020. Between Jamael Cox, Don Smart, Jiro, JC Banks, the big man Wojciech Wojcik, and the rest of that fun attack… I think Madison will be looking to finish higher than 4th from last season.
Union Omaha: Xavier Gomez Show
To me Union Omaha are one of the biggest mysteries. Maybe I haven’t been paying enough attention to what’s going on in Nebraska but it looks like Omaha are looking to develop some top talent. That could mean some struggles in season play, but we will see! Union Omaha did start fielding youth teams and players so early in their creation and that in an amazing sign to me. But my favorite signing for their inaugural season roster and personally I think best player on the team is attacking midfielder, Xavier Gomez. Gomez is only 25 years old and last season for Lansing was able to finish with 3 goals and 5 assists. I think that if Omaha can get some productivity and positive offensive movement from Juan Mare or Elvir Ibisevic, the Gomez could have another fun season in distributing.
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC: Have They Gotten That Little Bit Better?
I’m going to be honest… Chattanooga kinda bores me as a club, but with a new manager and making some signings in order to try and improve that -2 goal differential, Chattanooga does seem like they are primed for a playoff run in 2020. I was slightly disappointed with Conor Doyle in 2019. Doyle has played for Derby County and within MLS. He’s been able to score goals within lower league soccer in the U.S. as well. For someone who is only 28 years old to go out and only bag two goals in 2019 was a let down for me. I want to see Conor bounce back and put away at least 7 this year.
North Texas SC: What Loanee Army Does NTX Get?
The reigning champs are still stacked as the squad still has Golden Boot leader Ronaldo Damus on the roster, bringing in center-back Lamar Batista, and also bringing in striker Alex Bruce. But my real question for North Texas is who are they able to bring in on loan from FC Dallas? With the MLS bubble, how does that impact the loan army from Dallas to North Texas? With or without the youngsters that are coming from FC Dallas, North Texas SC were able to bring in the younger (and rumored better) brother of reigning USL League One MVP Arturo Rodriguez, David Rodriguez. The 18 year old attacking midfielder will look to one up his brothers 2019 campaign and prove that he is the next big thing for the FC Dallas system.
Fort Lauderdale CF: No Break No Party
Look I won’t hammer home the point that I am really disappointed we won’t see a full season of Brek Shea in League One… but I am. But I am not too confident in the construction of this team, and lack of a full time head coach. I like that Fort Lauderdale was able to bring in some leadership with long time MLS midfielder Servando Carrasco, former Crew midfielder Eduardo Sosa, and former Atlanta United 2 keeper Dylan Castanheira. I also love that the team brought in a TON of Cuban talent for the club being in Miami… uh I mean Fort Lauderdale. But this team is young. I would compare them more to Toronto FC II of last season, but we will see!
FC Tucson: This One Is Tough
I’ll be honest here, coming up for something to watch FC Tucson for is tough. But there are two player that I really like and want to see play soccer in general in 2019. First, former South Georgia Tormenta midfielder Charlie Dennis. Charlie seemed to play everywhere for Tormenta last season but in the end was able to score three goals and five assists. Tucson will need the versatility of the young Brit whether it comes from the wing, more central midfield, or even the attacking midfield. I also really like the loan deal for Amal Knight from San Diego Loyal. The Jamaican international should be the immediate starter for the club.
Orlando City B: The Youth Project Continues
Orlando City B was clearly just an academy team for Orlando City last year, and it doesn’t look like things have changed much. BUT! Orlando City is now being run and headed by Oscar Pareja. When Pareja was with FC Dallas, he didn’t have a League One team to play around with. Now Parjea and staff have a League One team to play around with too! I don’t have a specific player to look out for in 2020, but I’m more excited to see the larger picture and how OCB can now interact with the first team.
New England Revolution II: How Will They Operate?
The NE Revs II are in a spot where I am not sure how they will operate. To me they look like they are in between North Texas SC and a team like Orlando City B, but without a doubt the team is still a feeder for the NE Revs. If you are going to watch anyone on this team that we could potentially see take the jump from League One to MLS (or even the Championship) is forward Orlando Sinclair. I love the 22 year old Costa Rican. He was able to score 3 goals for a Loudoun United team in USL Championship that (let’s be honest) sucked. Now, taking that experience, along with his time training at one of CONCACAF’s most dominant clubs Saprissa, I think that Sinclair might have a run for the Golden Boot in 2020.
Toronto FC II: …
Gone but not forgotten
