Wednesday, September 26 TAMPA – Fans of the Atlanta Silverbacks have seen more streaks than a window washer this season.
The gorillas kicked off the season going undefeated through four, then coupled a six game winless streak with a four game unbeaten streak before ending the year with another positive five game run.
The result of their rollercoaster ride is a team that managed to hang around in the upper stratum of a dog-eat-dog USL First Division long enough to qualify for playoffs. And after two rounds of the postseason, in which Atlanta continued to do just enough to survive, a win and three draws, they find themselves in their first-ever USL-1 Championship.
They face a three time champion of the USL First Division in the Seattle Sounders, a team with the experience and aptitude to put an end to Atlanta’s latest streak.
“Despite being the underdog we believe we have very solid opportunity to go up there and beat Seattle,” said Atlanta Silverback Head Coach Jason Smith. “We are not really worried about playing the Sounders. We are looking to go in there and do our own thing.”
“We looked as good as we have all season at home on Friday and again in Portland on Sunday,” continued Smith. “Our players really believe in the parity of this league and regardless of our up-and-down season they feel confident.”
The Silverbacks confidence has been ignited all season by the most potent regular season offense in the USL First Division, a fact that seemed to disappear in their series with Rochester.
“Playing defensive soccer is just part of playoffs,” said Smith. “You want to go forward but not at the cost of going down a goal early. Our offense did not stand out because we did not need it to. We got an early goal against Rochester in our first game and decided to hold back a little.”
“In the second leg Rochester needed goals,” said Smith. “So again, we came out defensively hoping to err on the side of caution. We planned on attacking in the second half but for the second time in two games we got the first goal. That put us up 3-1 on aggregate and we sat back and played defense.”
Their scoring initiative continued against Portland in the semifinals. Warren Ukah netted a goal in the 43rd minute off an assist from Machel Millwood. But this time the Silverbacks got very little time to retreat. The Timbers evened the score four minutes into the second half in RE/MAX Stadium in Atlanta and the match ended 1-1, a moral victory for the Timbers and an edge heading home to Oregon.
Then, for the first time this postseason, Atlanta did not score the first goal of the game. In fact, no one did. Both teams settled for a 0-0 draw. And Ryan McIntosh, who was plenty warm following his eight save performance, made his ninth save to clinch a berth in the USL-1 Final.
Atlanta’s defensive trail by fire and the post season coming of age for McIntosh was the first Silverback shutout since mid August. It impels the side with a confident defensive unit to accompany their stellar offense heading into the biggest match in club history.
The problem for opposing defenses all season has been deciding who to mark. No one on the roster has scored a prolific amount of goals. Daniel Antoniuk and David Hayes are tied for the team lead with seven. Warren Ukah netted five. Tony McManus and Machel Millwood both have four and a slew of Silverbacks have two.
“Spreading the ball around is somewhat orchestrated,” said Smith. “We like to change the point of attack frequently. We use the flanks to spread a team out in the middle and then go at the holes we create. But we also have dynamite players up front and through the middle that can create chances on their own. We give those players, such as [Machel] Millwood, all the freedom in the world.”
Despite Smith’s reassurance, the Silverbacks offensive system and personnel will have to take it to a new level on Saturday. In two meetings with the Sounders this season, there have only been three goals. They all belonged to the Sounders.
“It was a very even match the first time we played them,” said Smith of a 0-0 draw in Atlanta. “They are a good team with good players. We matched up very well against them.”
“I am not using our second match of the season (a 3-0 lost at Qwest) as much of a gauge,” continued Smith. “A lot of our guys were out with injuries, others were getting their first minutes. We will be very close to full strength on Saturday.”
Everyone loves an underdog and the Atlanta Silverbacks are exactly that on paper. But this is a team who team survived the regular season because of their offense. They acquired a solid defense in the post season. And now they are radiating confidence. They even have a hot goalkeeper in McIntosh.
The Silverbacks newest streak may be their best one yet as it deviates from their season long path of spark and sputter.
Steady at last, Atlanta goes for their fourth consecutive draw on Saturday at Starfire Sports Complex in Seattle.
