Sacramento vs FC Tulsa: Tactical Analysis - A Promising Start to Something New
03/07: Sacramento’s line up, the good, the bad, and what stood out
The Lineup:
Welcome to the first Tactical Analysis of the 2026 season! The USL-Championship is underway and it is off to a roaring start. Sacramento Republic had eight player debuts, three two goals, a brand new tactical system, and a rambunctious sell out crowd at Heart Health Park, so we have a lot to discuss. If you’re new here, this is the place where we like to discuss the numbers, formations, and tactics of what makes Republic “tick”. Let’s dive right in!
Let’s start with first looking at the starting XI, where we see six player debuts! While Vitiello in goal and Republic’s backline are as consistent as ever, not a single player from last season started in the midfield or attack. In fact, the only returning player to even sub in was Blake Willey, who made a 2 minute cameo at the end of the game. Collins has implemented a full and complete overhaul.
And it’s not just the players themselves who have changed, it’s the entire system. Readers from last season will recall that Republic ran a 5-2-3 system, defined by 5 defensive players and a light midfield. We first suspected things would change this season as Collins brought in midfielder after midfielder, while the attacking options stayed rather slim. We actually called the new tactic correctly on The Quail Call:
And we nailed it! Gone is playing 5 at the back: Collins has shifted to a more compact back 4. And the midfield is now loaded with talent, with 4 midfielders (and occasionally 5) instead of the just 2 we saw last year. Up top, Republic utilizes a 2 striker partnership that relies on the midfield pressing up during the attack. That leaves Republic at a 4-4-2, which switches into a 4-2-3-1. Look how Republic stack up when they don’t have the ball:
That’s Memo Rodriguez the far left of your screen playing as a striker, with Ajago just to his right. Meanwhile, the 4 in the midfield is really clear here - Malango on the left and Arturo on the right are positioned slightly higher up field, while Kaye and Crisostomo drop into more of a defensive midfielder position, as part of a “double pivot”. And then you have the back 4 just off screen, other than Spaulding and Kleemann who are stepping up to take on the ball. But look how this formation changes when Republic gain possession:
The back 4 is still there, but Kaye and Crisostomo are now on their own line, while Memo actually drops into the midfield; he’s basically playing as a “false 9” when Republic have the ball. Meanwhile, both Malango and Arturo crash forward on the wings, while Ajago is already way up field (and off screen). Let’s take a look at the defensive-half of this structure specifically:
Here, Vitiello plays the goal kick short, both outside backs split wide, and both Kaye and Crisostomo drop back to receive the ball. This is, essentially, the entire role of a double pivot - they play as outward defensive “sweepers” when not in possession, and as transitional pieces to get the ball from the backline to the offense while in possession. Keep an eye on this all season - Collins' tactic heavily relies around these 2 players controlling the game on both sides of the ball. Now let’s focus in on the attacking side:
Here, Memo has already completed his drop into the midfield and is now pressing forward again while both midfielders are going with him. Ajago, meanwhile, is able to charge at goal. But look at the space he’s creating by doing so. He’s pulling both center backs in, leaving just one man responsible for both Memo and Malango on the left side. Ajago will certainly score a few goals this season, but I suspect that his main role will be to pull defenders out of position before laying the ball off to one of the 3 runners behind him.
This system can be much more explosive than the defensively-safe 5-2-3 from last year and it is much stronger through the midfield. The compromise is that Republic gives up a lot of space on the wings, especially when they get countered, and you lose a center back. But Collins used almost this exact system in Tampa Bay when they lead the league in goals for and goals against - so my hopes are high.
The Good:
The Defense, Danny Vitiello, and USL Records
Any clean sheet is cause for celebration, but this night was a special one. Danny Vitiello logged his 59th USL-C clean sheet, in just 150 career matches, to become the USL Championship’s all-time leader in regular season shutouts. To add to a momentous night, the win marked Republic’s 200th club win across all competitions - that’s an average of ~17 wins a year for the last 12 years, including a shortened 2020 season. From what I can find, the only other USL club who has hit the 200 win mark faster is Louisville - and they play in a significantly easier Eastern Conference.
A goal from… a center back??
One of Republic’s quiet but persistent issues last season was a complete lack of attacking production from the backline. Despite playing with 5 defenders, Republic center backs combined for just one goal on 25 shots in USL Championship play in 2025, had just 3 assists, and the club failed to score a single goal from a corner kick all year.
Through one match, Republic matched their 2025 total when center back Freddy Kleemann got his head onto the end of a fantastic cross by Spaulding that was built off a set piece in the 68th minute. Center backs aren’t expected to carry an offense, nor should they be, but dangerous aerial threats force defenses to commit extra markers. If Republic’s center backs can be a looming threat on set-pieces, that opens up the front line to further take advantage. Kleemann mentioned after the match the becoming that threat was an area of focus for him:
“I know, through my whole career, finding a way to score has probably been one of the places I’ve been lacking, so this year, I really focused on trying to get better. Then my boy Ryan lofted it up there and I was like ‘no one is beating me to this ball’, so it was perfect.”
The New Guys
We mentioned earlier those 8 debuts - but a few players in particular stood out. First off, Mayele Malango wrecked absolute havoc down the left side of the pitch and really should have had himself an assist (more on that later). But look at this turn to beat the defender on his back
He’s unlucky to not win this foot race (and even more unlucky not to get the foul call), but these sorts of moves are going to start to be a staple of the left side of the pitch.
Meanwhile, in the center of the pitch, Mark-Anthony Kaye took on the role of quarterback as he directed traffic. Watch him in the middle of the pitch here as he directs the Republic defense out of a high Tulsa press:
This happened regularly throughout the night - and it will be interesting to watch him grow into this role throughout the season.
Another quite standout that didn’t make the score sheet is Crisostomo. If you watch the clip above, you’ll notice he actually drops into the backline between the center backs, which he did off and on when Tulsa pressed. On top of providing defensive stability, he also was the highest rated Republic passer of the night, having 53 accurate passes on 56 attempts (94.6%). Those 56 passes also accounted for 28%(!) of all Republic passes.
And of course, we can’t miss talking about Kyle Edwards’ game-sealing goal - a perfectly weighted shot to the bottom right corner in the 83rd minute. Edwards becomes the 7th Republic player to score on their opening night debut, and Arturo becomes the 8th Republic player to notch an assist in their debut. Edwards has long had the “super-sub” moniker, especially after he set the USL record last season for goals scored from the bench in a single season with 8. Neill Collins had this to say about his super-sub striker:
“His finishing is just exceptional. To get him on the ball and around the box, he’s very, very good. Kyle’s come here to try and play as many minutes as he can, but we all know that we’re going to need guys to start, set a platform, guys to come off the bench. Those roles will change from thing to thing, but what a great, a great start for him.”
The Bad:
A Still Missing CBA
If USL fans and casuals weren’t aware before, the player protest for the first minute of each game of the Championship this week certainly brought the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations to the forefront of conversation. All players on both sides of the pitch stood in silence for a full minute after the kick off whistle, as fans chanted and whistled in support. The CBA negotiations are complex and multi-faceted, so I won’t get into them here, but I highly recommend you read our very own Ryan Hodek’s article on what is going on:
An Isolated Right Side of the Pitch
For Republic tactics, the only thing that seemed to be lacking was the right side of the pitch. It appears that Jack Gurr was potentially a late scratch of some sort. Quail City Soccer’s Alex Tasker snapped this photo during team warmups:
While Gurr is dressed, trademark thigh-high shorts included, he didn’t warm up with the rest of the team and was seen next to Katy Norton, Republic’s Director of Sports Performance. He remained on the bench, but was later seen in sneakers and didn’t warm up with the rest of the subs later in the game. Due to Republic keeping injuries rather quite, we’re not sure if this was a late scratch from an injury picked up on the day of, or if he was 50/50 to be playing coming into the match.
Either way, Gurr being in the 18 at all means it probably isn’t that serious of a knock, and Spaulding started at right back. Spaulding’s positioning was… interesting. Looking at his heat map, he essentially sat pinned in the back right corner of the field the entire game:
The few times he did get up field were for set-pieces - one of which resulted in him perfectly crossing the ball into the box for Kleemann’s goal, an beauty of an assist. That said, I would have liked to have seen Spaulding push up more often. Because Spaulding stayed pinned back most of the game, Arturo operated on a bit of an island and regularly had to drop further back than he seemed to have preferred to try and get a pass. Arturo did get an assist on the night, but beside that play he struggled to get on the ball; outside of Vitiello in goal and Ajago at striker, no starter touched the ball less.
Now, this could purely be a result of Spaulding being a late addition to the starting line up, and Collins opting for more defensive stability over a right side attack with such a late adjustment. On the other hand, this could be the start of a trend, where Republic specifically attacks one side of the field. Look at Republic’s average positioning, by player number:
It’s weighted really heavily to the left. And you can see Spaulding (#3) sitting almost in line with the center backs compared to Benitez (#22), the left back. You can also see how far and to the left Arturo (#10) has to drop to get the ball. We’ll find out next week in Lexington as to whether this was a one-off or a long term plan.
USL Officiating
No one wants to bang on about officiating, least of all me. It’s part of the game and teams need to play to the referee. Complaining about the referee when you lose is even worse though, so I suppose after a win is as good of a time as any to make a comment on it: the officiating of this game was dreadful. Calls were, at best, inconsistent across the board. Republic received one yellow after Ajago became frustrated with the inconsistent officiating, and Republic took two more yellow cards to Kaye and Kleemann for fouls… yet no cards were given to Tulsa. And look at this call in the 64th minute that stopped Republic from putting the first goal on the board. Arturo (#10) even calls for a penalty before he realizes he has an open shot on goal - it’s not even a thought that the foul is against the Quails. Malango completely turns the Tulsa player around before the Tulsa player pushes into him, yet Malango is called for the foul:
These are calls that can and do change games. USL doesn’t yet have VAR - but if the league is serious about its USL-Premier ambitions, it needs to get the officials some help.
What Stood Out:
What a wild opening week, all around USL. Lexington lost 2-1 to Louisville in a battle of the top 2 ranked off-season teams. Two USL teams played their first games; Sporting Jax had a home sellout loss to Hartford, and Brooklyn somewhat surprisingly beat Indy XI. The Roots grabbed a late winner in Monterey and, of course, the first battle of the top of the West went to Sacramento.
Collins' new look is encouraging; after several seasons of Republic being a defense-first team, that looks like it’s shifting a bit and this new-look midfield and offense look poised to break out. Coming up next is a fascinating match up with Lexington, who completely re-tooled this season with several league-record signings. Playing on the road, this will be a difficult test for Republic and we should get to see how Collins plans on adapting his tactic throughout the season. The most difficult thing for Republic from here is going to be chemistry - with so many new guys on the pitch, it’s going to take time for everyone to gel together. But rest assured, Collins seems optimistic:
“...I’ve just seen in front of my eyes the togetherness come off the field and I think that’s starting to transpire on the field. But I’ll tell you, as a player, nothing builds chemistry like winning. It’s amazing the bonds that you get when you start winning games together. So tonight’s a good step.
