Union Omaha hosts Spokane Velocity FC in the USL League One Final on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Golazo Network, bringing together the 2024 Players’ Shield winner and the upstart first-year club that has already secured a pair of significant road upsets in the 2024 USL League One Playoffs presented by Terminix.

Ahead of the contest, we asked Backheeled.com writer and resident USL Tactics expert John Morrissey to break down how each club has advanced to this point tactically, and what will be key to watch when they square off this weekend.

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Only one expansion team in USL League One history has ever reached a title game: Union Omaha in 2020. Of course, that match was canceled because of a global pandemic, meaning Spokane Velocity FC can defeat Omaha and become the first League One expansion side to win it all in its first year when the teams square off this weekend.

The stakes are high on both sides. A win for Omaha would make Los Búhos the first and only two-time League One title winner and cement their wire-to-wire dominance after taking home the Players’ Shield. Meanwhile, the Velocity would become the lowest-seeded team to ever take home the hardware in League One; a resounding win would show they’re more than just a fluke team on a Cinderella run.

So, how do these teams play in a tactical sense, and what will that mean for their matchup? Let’s dig in.

How Union Omaha’s Versatility Shines Through

Union Omaha is special because they can beat you in so many ways. Omaha averaged 52 percent of possession in the regular season, and Head Coach Dominic Casciato’s side can pick defenses apart with subtle, patient passing plays. At the same time, Los Búhos have the tools to generate lethal counterattacks that are much quicker to develop. Their press is a source of instant offense and regularly sets up chances close to goal.

Casciato sets his team up in a 5-2-3 or 3-4-3 on paper, but flexibility is the name of the game. Pedro Dolabella, who led Omaha with 10 goals in the regular season, is the beating heart of the system. Though he starts as a central midfielder, the Brazilian steps high like an attacker to deny passes down the middle in the press, tilting his team’s formation into more of a 5-1-3-1. On the attack, Dolabella is the king of the late-arriving run into the box. He’s the rare player that can set the table in build-up with progressive passes or runs that distract defensive midfielders and still advance into the 18-yard box to convert scoring opportunities.

When Omaha builds from the back, they almost move into more of a “back four” look by asking defender Blake Malone to push high up the right side. The goal is to create overloads in the channels, and you’ll often see Malone combine with a drifting Max Schneider out of the pivot to give this team a leg up. Schneider’s unselfish one-two passing in the midfield forces opposing defenses to bend and helps set the tempo.

At the same time, a more direct build-out is what worked against Greenville last weekend. Omaha would hit Lagos Kunga – maybe the premier dribbler in the USL – in space on the right sideline and allow him to go to work one-on-one. Kunga led the league with 44 completed dribbles in the regular season and ranked third in the league with 3.3 successful dribbles per 90 minutes in 2024. He’s a source of inspiration and chaos that few opponents can handle.

What’s so impressive is the defensive balance Union Omaha achieves amidst all that offensive interchange. Casciato’s unit was one of four League One sides to allow 25 goals or fewer this year, and its deep 5-4-1 is extremely hard to pick apart. Veteran goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu, the starter in net since day one at Werner Park, provides leadership and shot-stopping in equal measure to underpin the entire setup.

Why Tempo is Key for Spokane Velocity

One of only two teams in League One to average more than 400 passes per game, Spokane Velocity are all about quick passing that allows them to overload defenses. Head Coach Leigh Veidman tried a few shapes throughout the club’s expansion season, but that fundamental principle remained all year long and has taken Spokane to the title game.

The Velocity run a 4-4-2 these days, one that depends on Jack Denton and Andre Lewis to run the show from the pivot. Both players are allowed to rove as Spokane works from the back to the front in possession. The goal is to constantly create triangle-shaped overloads that ask questions of the defense, and the Denton-Lewis pair has done so consistently across back-to-back upset wins over No. 2 seed Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC and No. 3 seed Forward Madison FC.

Spokane prefers to control the ball and tends to hold it for longer periods of time when they regain, but they won’t sell out in the press to make it happen. Veidman trusts his low-block 4-4-2 to get the job done; he landed on that formation in response to a 4-0 loss against Omaha back in October that changed the course of the Velocity season.

When Veidman-ball is working, the Velocity press shifts side to side as a group and forces opposing offenses toward the sidelines. Derek Waldeck and Javier Martin Gil, the left and right backs, respectively, are trusted to corral any danger that comes down the wings thereafter. That pair successfully held League One Player of the Year finalist Bruno Rendon of the Hailstorm without a shot on goal in the Quarterfinals, and they forced Madison’s wing backs to go 1 of 10 on cross attempts to earn a berth in the Final.

That willingness to sit deep tends to draw opponents up and opens space for counterattacks, and Spokane has the tools in place to do damage on the break. Anuar Pelaez, a late-season addition with the hold-up skills of a classic No. 9, is very good about receiving behind the counterpress and getting teammates involved. Options abound, from the speedy Masango Akale on the wing to the cerebral, incisive Luis Gil down the middle.

Evaluating the Matchup

When these clubs last met, Spokane’s back five was overly aggressive and struggled to communicate in the face of Omaha’s hydra-like attack. That won’t be the case on Sunday. The Velocity have simplified their system in some ways, and it’s allowed them to cut out the sloppy mistakes.

Controlling the half-spaces and denying penetration will be key for Spokane. When Omaha can find players like Kunga, Dolabella, or Bermuda international Zeiko Lewis between the lines, they force defenses to rotate and lose their shape; touches in those pockets force defenders to step up and lead to disorganization. Spokane must rely on the Denton/Lewis duo to cover space from side to side, closing down hard whenever Los Búhos begin to penetrate.

Omaha, meanwhile, needs to stay focused as it transitions from the press into the low block. Pushing Dolabella high into the 5-1-3-1 has obvious benefits – his club leads League One in final third regains in 2024 with 103 across the regular season and playoffs – but it can also leave Schneider isolated as a lonely holding midfielder. If the Velocity can get Luis Gil involved with the Omaha defense scrambling to find their shape, good things will happen.

Spokane goalkeeper Brooks Thompson, meanwhile, could decide the match if penalty kicks are on the cards. The 22-year-old stopped a spot kick to give North Carolina FC a 5-4 shootout win in last season’s title game, and he repeated the trick for the Velocity in their 5-4 penalty victory against Madison last Saturday. Thompson enters the game with three clean sheets in his last three starts, and he has trophy-winning bona fides that could make all the difference.

No matter what, expect a tight game. 75 percent of previous League One finals have been decided by one goal or gone to penalty kicks, and both of these teams are too well-coached to go down without a fight. Whether it’s Union Omaha or Spokane Velocity that lifts the trophy come Sunday afternoon, it’ll be a just reward for the side that better executes its tactical system to earn the win.