The Fresno FC Foxes are in Tacoma for a languid Sunday afternoon match at Cheney Stadium (I always thought it was pronounced CHAE-knee, but I recently found out it is actually chee-knee. The more you know.). If the Tacoma Defiance can beat or draw the Foxes today it will be the first time this season they achieve consecutive results. It doesn’t seem like much, but it could start to build the confidence the Defiance need to get their sputtering — perhaps too kind of word to describe the year so far — season headed in the right direction.

Cheney Field should see at least one of Danny Leyva and Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez for the first time in over a month as the two return from their sojourns to the GA Cup and the US Youth National Team U17’s pre-World Cup camp.

The Foxes are in their second year as a USL Championship team and have already built themselves a strong identity. They are a dominant defensive team. In their inaugural season they let in just 38 goals — good for T-1st in the USL Championship Western Conference — and have continued that form this year where they are alone at the top of the Western Conference with just eight goals conceded in 10 matches.

In 2019, they have added a little offense to complement their suffocating defense, which has lifted them from a bottom-third team to second in the Western Conference. They share the scoring load fairly evenly among their attackers: Three are on three goals and a couple more have two goals to their name. They feed their front two with a ton of crosses, which is not a great match-up for a Defiance backline that struggles to win balls in the air. It will be extremely important for the Defiance to deny service into the box.

The Defiance and Foxes have met just two times and the Foxes have dominated both. If the Defiance get a win, draw, or even a goal it will be a first against the Foxes.

nos audietis in somniis | nos audietis in altum

you will hear us in your sleep | you will hear us from the deep

this is our Sound

Keys to the Game:

• Fullbacks and Wingers must block crosses
• Don’t allow Jackson time to pick out the two forwards
• Chances will be rare, take advantage of them

Lineups

How to Watch

Match date/time: 1:30 PM PT, Sunday, May 26, 2019

Venue: Cheney Stadium, Central Tacoma, Puyallup-White River Watershed, Cascadia

Streaming: ESPN+ (Talent: Andrew Harvey and Dave Clark)

How I'm watching

Outfit: A nice, professional cardigan.

Where: Likely in the pressbox of the good old ball field, Cheney Stadium.