Quakes Academy goalkeeper Eric De La Cerda celebrates winning the Silver State Cup with Reno 1868 FC over their in-state rivals Las Vegas Lights FC, September 30th. Photo credit: David Calvert/Reno 1868 FC
When and How to Watch: Beginning Saturday, October 10, 2020 on ESPN+. The USL Championship Final is on November 1, 2020, on ESPN.
So it’s USL Championship playoff time. Reno 1868 FC is not just in the playoffs for the fourth year of their four-year history, they achieved the best overall record in the league–the USL equivalent of the Supporter’s Shield. It’s difficult to say how this Reno 1868 team stacks up to their predecessors due to a very imbalanced schedule. Regardless, once again head coach Ian Russell’s side is a major force to be reckoned with in the playoffs. In classic Reno 1868 style, they finished the regular season with a 10-game unbeaten streak. They tied the most goals in the league with Phoenix Rising, including defeating Rising in their only meeting this season (Rising had a higher “Goals For” in the table by virtue of their unearned forfeit against the San Diego Loyal).
And–thanks to Covid-19–this year Reno 1868 did it without any help from San Jose Earthquakes players, even while playing the same attacking and defending styles that San Jose head coach Matías Almeyda’s first team plays. Russell wants his players to be able to fit right in with the Earthquakes when given a shot. More on this later.
Those are some big elephants
However, there are not just one, but several elephants in the room right now. Chief among them is the Reno 1868 FC relationship with the Earthquakes which expires after this season. Discussions do not appear to have started yet about the affiliation going forward, and after a season where the relationship has been virtually non-existent, the value to both sides must not seem as important as it previously was.
Next is the matter of Ian Russell’s contract, which belongs to the Earthquakes, not Reno. Russell’s contract is expiring after the season, and the siren song of an MLS head coaching spot is sure to be calling his name. The San Jose first team has suddenly improved and is making a playoff run, diminishing recent calls for Almeyda to step aside.
Another elephant is the rumored MLS U-23 league in 2021: it may not start until 2022, even if it is a real thing. If an MLS U-23 league is to exist, it will reshape not only USL Championship as MLS second teams move out, but it will affect MLS affiliate relationships such as the Earthquakes and Reno 1868. This puts the perspective of a continued relationship between the clubs in a different light. MLS players coming in through the SuperDraft may not even qualify for the rumored age restriction. This would leave these players without a clear development path that USL at its various levels has often provided. If the league doesn’t start until 2022 or ends up not happening at all, losing the affiliate relationship could slow the development of many younger Quakes players.
Former Earthquakes assistant coach and current Reno 1868 FC head coach Ian Russell walks off of Greater Nevada Field in Reno, NV, with his mentor, former Earthquakes head coach and current Las Vegas Lights FC coach Frank Yallop. Their teams met twice this season with Reno winning both contests. Photo credit: David Calvert/Reno 1868 FC
The last elephant is Reno 1868 itself, which has won only one playoff game in four appearances, despite two home matches and higher seeding. The sole win came in a 2018 road game against the Real Monarchs. If there is a monkey on the back of Ian Russell, it’s his USL playoff resumé. A finals run, if not a trophy, should all but seal his move back to MLS whether within or outside of the Quakes organization. Russell has been coaching in some form within the club since 2008. He will be focused on getting the most out of Reno 1868 given their home field advantage. The team can now welcome a few fans in the stands, thanks to changes to managing the pandemic in Nevada. Russell mentioned his team comes into the playoffs healthier than in previous post-seasons, “The advantage of a shorter season is we didn’t catch as many injuries. The grind of the season didn’t hurt us.”
A playoff opponent that cannot be taken for granted
Reno 1868 FC opens the 2020 playoffs tomorrow (Saturday, October 10, at 6pm PT) with a very manageable game against the LA Galaxy II. In the pandemic-shortened and group play-format season, Reno 1868 FC and LA Galaxy II haven’t faced each other. Reno holds a 6-0-0 series edge, which makes them an all-the-more dangerous opponent to Russell, “We need to play well. We need to really play well to be able to beat [LA Galaxy II]. They play good football; they have some pace. They’ve got a good goal scorer up front, Augustine Williams. We need to be aware of him.” LA Galaxy II finished behind Phoenix Rising with an 8-6-2 record in Group B and eighth in the league with 29 goals. They ended up with a -2 goal differential compared to Reno 1868’s +22. However, four of those Galaxy II wins came on the road. Given the Reno track record in home playoff games, they should not be overlooked. Russell continued, “We’re happy to have the best overall record in the league and to get home-field advantage, but it doesn’t mean anything unless you can win your home games. The playoffs are a different animal. We’ve had some success in the playoffs, but we’ve also had some letdowns, including getting knocked out by Sac Republic in 2019 at home. It’s been an accomplishment to get the home-field advantage this season, though.”
At the start of the 2020 season, Ian Russell joined coaching legends Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta, Serie A), Marcelo Bielsa (Leeds United, English Premier League), and Matías Almeyda in executing a man-marking style defensive system. Rather than phase it in, Russell went fully in from the beginning, opting to take his lumps early to get his players used to a new way of playing. Back in February, he told Black and Azul, “[Matías Almeyda] definitely wants us to play his way…so when a player comes to Reno [or goes to the Quakes] it’s a really easy transition [for them].” Russell also made adaptations to his attacking style which traditionally has been a 4-4-2 diamond, influenced by the ones run by Jason Kreis at Real Salt Lake between 2007 and 2013. To match more with Almeyda’s style, Russell is now attacking through his wingers. Instead of Vako and Cristian Espinoza, his combo is Christiano François and Tucker Bone. Bone plays like a mix of Vako and Shea Salinas with a run-right-at-you style and will shoot from literally anywhere. François resembles the part of Vako that dances around with the ball a bit and looks to shoot, but he also leads the team with seven assists (third best in USL’s shortened season). Check out the gorgeous first goal below from François earlier this season.
Aiding them both up top is potent scorer Foster Langsdorf. Langsdorf is no stranger to the Bay Area, winning three NCAA men’s D1 national championships with Stanford. He was injured in the early part of the season but finished the season with nine goals in his last 10 games–all single-goal games. Langsdorf has been described as a bit of a poacher who loses defenders in the box. Sound familiar?
If Reno gets out of the first round, they will face perhaps their toughest test on the road to the finals next: either Phoenix Rising or Sacramento Republic. Phoenix Rising will have had the experience already of seeing the man-marking earlier in the season, and Sacramento Republic have seen it four times now, including preseason. The last game between the two rivals, a 1-1 draw at Greater Nevada Field, was a nasty, yellow-card tinted affair. In the postgame press conference Russell said it was “pretty ugly” and “felt like a playoff game”. There are advantages and disadvantages of a short season playing the same teams multiple times according to Russell, “We played some teams four different times. That can get cumbersome to be honest, but because we have played some teams [like Sac Republic] so many times, we were really able to pick up on their tendencies.”
What the Quakes (and Quakes fans) should be looking for
Given the current San Jose roster shortage at the forward position, due to Hoesen’s season-ending surgery, Earthquakes GM Jesse Fioranelli and Matías Almeyda should be keeping their eye on Langsdorf. MLS interest has already picked up with his current run of form. If Reno’s season ends before the USL Championship Final on November 1st, the Quakes could scoop him up before the MLS Secondary Transfer Window closes on October 29th. With a non-international spot on the roster available for an American player right now, Langsdorf makes the most sense to fill that spot for the rest of the MLS season and hopefully the playoffs. Given the similarity in their playing styles, Almeyda could give Chris Wondolowski a rest while, in a way, keeping him on the pitch. With teams having to keep an eye on Wondo or Langsdorf’s movement up top, it should create pockets of space underneath for a second forward like Andy Rios.
Another player to watch is Sam Gleadle. Gleadle is actually much more of a natural right back, but, like Nick Lima when Marcos López went down with an injury, Gleadle has filled in at left back for Russell this season. He has performed extremely well in a new position. Gleadle may be the most MLS-ready player on the Reno 1868 squad, and he would fit well into Almeyda’s system with his 1-v-1 defending abilities. If Nick Lima leaves for Europe or another MLS opportunity, Almeyda would do well to put Gleadle immediately into his spot. In the meantime, he could provide some much-needed depth. USL-hawk Jeff Rueter of The Athletic called Gleadle “the best two-way left back in the USL, and at 24 years old could have a promising future ahead of him at a higher level” in his USL Championship playoff preview. High praise indeed.
Along with the players above, management and fans should monitor central midfielder Corey Hertzog, center back Tony Alfaro (MLS and Liga MX experience), and, when he plays (which may not be often in the playoffs), Quakes Academy goalkeeper Eric De La Cerda. De La Cerda has been in an alternate keeper role for Ian Russell since the team got hit with injuries. Without JT Marcinkowski or Matt Bersano available this season, De La Cerda has been a revelation for Ian Russell. As a sub-six-foot keeper, De La Cerda plays with a tangible chip on his shoulder, perhaps feeling he has been passed over by taller keepers. We’ll be keeping our eye on him in the offseason to see if he decides to stay in USL or go to college where certainly a D1 or D2 NCAA program could use his experience.
Quakes fans will remember defensive midfielder Kevin Partida. Now back at Reno 1868, he been playing in his actual natural position. Brent Richards is a frequent on-field captain who seems to get goals at the right times. Central midfielder Sergio Rivas is a former Quakes SuperDraft pick who has had a quality season at Reno. Thomas Janjigian, originally from Pleasanton, has been in Reno all four seasons and provides veteran leadership on defense.
Conclusion
There is a lot on the line for Reno 1868 FC and Ian Russell this postseason. These 2020 USL Championship playoffs feel like an inflection point for the club and for its coach. The team will also begin battling for relevance with fans in the Bay Area as the Oakland Roots join the USL Championship next season. A deep run to the finals should re-open the eyes of the Earthquakes front office that there is still value in this relationship, particularly if the top players perform well. An early exit could create further questions about where this all goes from here, including Russell’s ability to make the move to the MLS head coaching echelon be it with the Earthquakes or elsewhere. Elephants can be stubborn things.
