In the first four games of the season—a stretch of only one win that included long scoring droughts—Marist men’s soccer played in a formation with four defenders, three midfielders and three attackers. A 4-3-3, 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1, depending on how you looked at it in different moments.
Even after defeating Saint Mary’s in its fourth game, head coach Matt Viggiano decided to make a change for his team’s game against San Francisco just a few days later. Viggiano sent his side out with the same XI it had used in the previous win, but in a different shape.
In previous games, the back four had consisted of two central defenders—senior Ethan Ortiz and sophomore Miles Douglas—with a fullback on either side in sophomore defender Will Salivonchik and junior defender Evan Marques. Against San Francisco, only Ortiz, Douglas and Marques served as primary defenders. A three-back formation is common for teams with speed all around and technical defenders, which fits the description of this Marist side.
Ortiz sits on the right side of this trio with Marques opposite him and Douglas in the center. Salivonchik then pushes up to be a right wing-back—someone who plays along the wing and acts as both a defender and an attacker depending on the situation—while sophomore winger Adriano Iannello plays left wing-back. Iannello is among the Red Foxes’ best playmakers and has tallied two goals and an assist since missing the first two games with a groin injury.
In between the two wing-backs is a group of midfielders whose shape changes based on whether or not they’re in possession. With or without the ball, junior Gijs Verheul and graduate student midfielder Gijs Velings act as a pivot in midfield, playing even with the wing-backs behind a trio ahead of them.
Ahead of them sit junior midfielders Caio Cavaletti and Chris Verheul, both of them creative. When not in possession, the two act as attacking midfielders, pressing behind graduate student striker Mani Diop but ahead of the group of four Red Foxes behind them. With the ball, Verheul moves up to act as a second striker, playing alongside Diop while Cavaletti becomes a creative midfielder. In addition to that change, both wing-backs push further up in attack, looking to create numerical advantages that they can exploit to generate good chances. In this game against San Francisco, they did just that. Below is a look at how.
The first clip showcases how Marist shaped up when San Francisco held possession. Four minutes into this game, Marist focuses on holding its shape. A goal kick from freshman keeper Gavin Mitlitski is turned over to the Dons, who begin to build out of the back. Right around 4:10 game time, Marist drops into shape. Diop is furthest up but still not pursuing the ball, while Chris Verheul and Cavaletti are behind him. Behind both of them sits the line of four—two wing-backs and two central mids—ahead of the back three.
SF then plays a long pass across the field, switching the area of play. This forces Marist to retreat slightly, but when the ball runs out of play, they take their attacking shape and begin an attack up the field. Wing-back Salivonchik puts in a dangerous cross as Marist has a 2-on-2 in the box, but Iannello is unable to convert.
Iannello does convert a chance just 10 minutes later, though, and it comes as a result of Marist’s attacking formation. The Red Foxes win the ball with 12:22 on the clock after pressure in midfield, and Iannello gets the ball out wide. Gijs Verheul, who won the ball originally, sprays the ball out to the opposite side before it gets recycled back around to Marques.
Marques then drives up the field with the ball and plays a give-and-go with Iannello. Marques plays a pass into Chris Verheul in the box, who tries to cross but has his attempt blocked. The ball then goes right out to Iannello, who stayed around the edge of the box with ample space. He takes his time on the finish, a beautifully curled shot to the far post. Sure, the Dons could’ve closed down space better, but the formation and build-up earned the space, and Iannello was certainly meant to be there.
Marist’s second goal, another chance to look at the team’s shape with both teams playing at full strength before an SF red card, comes in the 31st minute in the form of a Chris Verheul goal.
The clip begins just after the 30th minute, with San Francisco’s attack fizzling out behind good defending from Douglas and distribution by Mitlitski. Marist’s back seven, which is the three centerbacks and the flat group of four ahead of them, plays keepaway for a bit before Marques gets possession and goes up the line. He then sends a diagonal pass up the field to a group of Red Foxes waiting to pounce. In that group are Diop and both Verheuls, who fight with the defenders to try and win the ball.
In the end, no one wins the ball, and Chris Verheul gets through on goal with just the goalkeeper to beat. Verheul takes the ball past the keeper and slots it into the net, doubling Marist’s lead.
This formation switch is likely not permanent—nor is it the only way Marist will be playing— but it proved useful against a team that already had success against ranked opponents early in the season. It very well might be a viable strategy for the Red Foxes to create chances as the season progresses.
Edited by Max Rosen
Photo from Marist Athletics
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