I’ve watched quite a bit of Reno 1868 lately, probably due to a combination of the fact every game is available on ESPN+ and the fact that the team is incomparably more successful than its senior affiliate (having just finished its 16th consecutive game without a defeat).
Truly, they’re a pleasure to watch, and I’d recommend it. The last three have been particularly epic: a comprehensive 3-0 dismantling of a very good Real Monarchs side, a 2-1 shorthanded comeback win in Seattle against S2, and a 4-1 fireworks display at the expense of LA Galaxy II that wasn’t even as close as the scoreline suggested.
Fundamentally, though, I’m a San Jose Earthquakes fan, so I watch these games through the lens of what implications they have for the senior club. As such, below are some thoughts based on what I’ve seen this year:
- It’s hard to overstate how differently Reno plays than the Earthquakes. They always set up in a 4-4-2 diamond; the midfield boasts a true number 6 and true number 10, flanked by two “shuttlers” that have responsibility for one side of the field but play more like central midfielders. As a team, they press high, move and interchange fluidly, and dominate the ball with quick short passes that are nonetheless fairly vertical overall. They play the ball out of the back, with the center backs splitting all the way out to opposite sidelines when in possession. With the wide-split CBs, the goalkeeper has a fairly robust distribution responsibility. The fullbacks bomb all the way to the opposing end line, but perhaps even more unusually, have quite a bit of license to come infield if they see fit. The overall product is ideal, perhaps aided by a narrow home pitch, leading to dominant performances and a lot of scoring. The high-press, attacking stance does occasionally lead to high-quality chances going the opposite direction, but they are too infrequent to threaten the final scoreline most weeks.
- All this dominance despite the fact Reno doesn’t have access to the same individual talent that some of their opponents do, due to a poor senior affiliate. For example, Los Dos last night started two genuine MLS-starting level players (Joao Pedro, Sheanon Williams) in addition to two more players with significant MLS playing time (Ariel Lassiter, Julian Buscher) and several elite prospects with USMNT youth team experience (Jon Requejo, Hugo Arellano, Ethan Zubak, Justin vom Steeg). In contrast, Reno has exactly two players who fit any of those descriptions: J.T. Marcinkowski, a goalkeeper, and Antoine Hoppenot, who washed out of the Philadelphia Union.
- That gets us to the coach, Ian Russell: he’s been brilliant. His system is a joy to watch, it’s highly effective, and he’s been able to implement it despite constantly changing parts due to the need of the senior club to get certain guys minutes or call up other guys to fill gaps. The players not only seem to express themselves to the fullest within the system, they also work incredibly hard and appear motivated. Oh yeah, and the performances were just as strong last year: they set a USL record for goals scored in a season, and made the playoffs in a division that it’s much harder to do than in the first tier. As discussed in the previous bullet, he’s done it all without uber-elite prospects or MLS-starters on rehab duty. Russell cuts the figure of a future MLS-level coach, and with a history in San Jose (6 years as a player, 9 as an assistant), I’ll ditch any subtext: I want Jesse Fioranelli to name Russell the senior team manager by Opening Day 2019. Not only is he better than Mikael Stahre as-is, I think there’s a genuine risk they lose him to another club at some point.
- On to some player evaluations: I like the games of Thomas Janjigian (CB), Antoine Hoppenot (ST), Brent Richards (FB), Jerry van Ewijk (AM), and Seth Casiple (CM), but I don’t think they have upside beyond “good USL players.”
- Lindo Mfeka, Chris Wehan, and Eric Calvillo are all intelligent, technical midfielders with genuine MLS upside, but the same problem: I have no idea what position any of them would play in San Jose. They’re all attacking-oriented, without the defensive nous that you’d want from a pivot midfielder, but as attacking midfielders they’d have to displace the most highly-regarded (and highly-paid) foreign imports that Fioranelli can find. Wehan probably has the best all-around game of the group and therefore fits best in MLS, but I’ll also give a small shout to Calvillo, who always seems to take clean touches and rarely dwells on the ball, traits that allow him to project better to higher leagues (plus he’s only 20). Mfeka has a delightful suddenness and incisiveness in tight spaces, but conditioning has historically been an issue for him, and he’s even less suited to deeper areas of the pitch than the others in this group.
- As for the fullbacks, the major issue in evaluating them is what I mentioned above: their role is entirely different than what San Jose asks of its wide defenders. In fact, the possession-dominance and attacking stance mean there is very little defending they’re doing at all, making it hard to know whether either of the best prospects, Duke Lacroix (LB) and Paul Marie (RB), are developing in that aspect. Both of them, however, possess exciting offensive potential, of different flavors: Marie is super comfortable on the ball and in combination with teammates, whereas Lacroix possesses genuinely dangerous pace and dribbling to go along with a natural left foot. Both are converted wingers. Without a doubt, both have the potential to be MLS starters, but both are projects, and need defensive seasoning that USL might not give them.
- On the other hand, Joel Qwiberg (LB), in his limited appearances, has a shocking lack of offensive skills. He almost never gets forward even at the USL level, even in this system, and it’s obvious that his teammates don’t trust him on the ball. Defensively, he’s looked ok, but as I said, it’s hard to know exactly how that translates to the MLS level. He’s a humongous miss for this Quakes scouting department, and based on the way he’s been utilized, it appears they realize this.
- I actually really liked Zach Carroll (CB) going back to his days at Michigan State, and was disappointed when the Quakes didn’t spend a second round pick on him in 2016 (they went with Patrick Hodan instead, who never even made the roster). His assets are all strong: he’s a big lad (6’3″ and sturdy), he’s a smart defender who rarely gets caught out and knows when to step to intercept, he’s a leader and team captain, and he actually displays above-average ball-playing abilities. The weakness, though, is limited overall athleticism: I’ve never seen him display any leaping ability, and his lack of pace might get exposed at a higher level. I’d love to see this kid make it in MLS, but that limitation might prevent it.
- Of the striking corps, I mentioned a few above that I think are nice players but not necessarily MLS-level, but there are of course two that are owned by the Quakes: Mohamed Thiaw and Danny Musovski. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen anything from Musovski yet that indicates he has MLS upside, but his sheer goalscoring productivity in college, as well as 5 goals in 765 minutes this year, indicate he might be a solid USL player. Thiaw, on the other hand, has a lot of tools to get excited about: he’s a serious athlete, he has some refinement in combination play, and he works his ass off. Oh yeah, and he’s 6’2″. He hasn’t displayed clinical finishing yet, but he has all the other tools to be an MLS number 9 with development, and he may turn out to be a scorer in time. I could actually be talked into Brian Brown as a future MLS striker, just because he seems to have a nose for goal (8 goals in 927 minutes), and I like the runs he makes/how committed he is.
- I like Luis Felipe (CDM). He is the most genuine #6 you’ll see: he snuffs out counter-attacks, he holds the point, and he recycles possession calmly, bringing composure as a release valve. He has good size, but isn’t much of an athlete, and as a pure defensive midfielder, never shows much vertical or attacking potential. As such, he doesn’t fit in this current Quakes team. However, if San Jose changed to a single-pivot system with a midfielder that had exclusive defensive responsibilities, he would be an ideal MLS backup in that role. He’s also fairly young, and counts as domestic, so there is upside and roster value there.
- Last, and unambiguously not least, is one J.T. Marcinkowski (GK). Boy is he a prospect to get excited about. He’s a silky smooth athlete, with remarkably solid technique and composure for such a young keeper. He’s a consistent, reliable shot-stopper, with enough reflexes to come through with the spectacular. The thing that jumps off the tape most clearly, however, is extraordinary comfort with the ball at his feet, with the ability both to distribute short and to ping balls long, sideline-to-sideline. I haven’t seen him put in as many scenarios that test his command of area, such as coming off his line or claiming crosses, but that tends to be an area of focus in a young keeper’s development. To be determined, I suppose. The only real limitation is his size: Georgetown and Reno both list him at 6’1″, but I’d be surprised if he was more than 6’0″, unless he’s grown since he was in the Academy when I last saw him in person at field level. I personally don’t think that’s the end of the world, but last year’s Quakes goalkeepers coach, Tim Hanley, was a rather infamous size queen, and Hanley moving on after the 2017 season made it much more realistic for Marcinkowski to claim a first team role. So many shorter keepers have been successful that I don’t know why we even have to defend them as a class anymore, but Nick Rimando, David Ospina, Jasper Cillessen, Michel Vorm, Keylor Navas, and Jordan Pickford all come to mind. I have no doubt that Marcinkowski will be MLS starting quality one day, and perhaps even more than that.
