Know Your Enemy: South Georgia Tormenta
- Robert McLaughlin
- Apr 12
- 6 min read
Tonight, Hearts of Pine return for another night of league play on a cool Georgia night in Statesboro against South Georgia Tormenta. The Dirigo Union will be hosting a watch party at Bayside Bowl in Portland (58 Alder St) beginning at 7:00 PM. Kick-off is at 7:30 PM EDT and will also be broadcast on ESPN+. The Hearts of Pine will also be hosting a club-sponsored watch party at Brickyard Hollow in Portland.
Team History
Founded in 2015, South Georgia Tormenta (also known in some media as Southern Georgia Tormenta & Tormenta) has been in the USL1 since the league’s founding in 2019. Prior to that, Tormenta played for several years in the USL2 including an undefeated season in 2018 prior to their jump up. 2022 proved to be the best individual season for the team with the club finishing league play in 3rd place and winning the playoff competition. In the following 2 seasons, however, Tormenta have had a gradual slide down the table finishing 7th & 10th in 2023 and 2024 respectively – missing the playoffs both seasons. Clearly unsatisfied with those results, the club reloaded on talent this off-season to bring in some significant players which has made Tormenta a team to watch in 2025.
Tormenta plays their home games in Tormenta Stadium, a 5,300 seater venue in Statesboro, Georgia. Set amidst an unfinished housing project on the doorstep of Georgia Southern University, the stadium has some oddities reminiscent of the dark days of lower league American soccer. These include 2 pre-fabricated houses smashed together serving as the club offices and the plethora of dirt piles all around the stadium. Fan attendance for Tormenta has long been a source of disappointment for club with an average match usually having only about 1100 fans last season (at times, it almost appears as if more dirt piles are within shot of the broadcast camera than fans). The official SG is called the Flight Crew although their matchday presence is often undetectable (on the broadcast at least). For the last 5 seasons, Tormenta have had Scotsman Ian Cameron on the touchline. Tormenta also boast a USL2 side and an academy system. Tormenta means storm in Spanish.
Key Players
A strong desire to reclaim the glory days of 2022 inspired the off-season for Tormenta. With lackluster showings the last 2 years, real quality was sought and acquired for their 2025 campaign. Most notable, perhaps, is their front line where Ian Cameron has options galore in Sebastian Vivas (who led scoring for Tormenta last season), Yaniv Bazini and Mason Tunbridge all of whom have had stunning performances so far this season. Tunbridge has 3 goals and 1 assist and Bazini has had 2 goals. Both have used their height to great advantage and header goals seem to be a specialty for both players. Also up front is Jonathan Nyandjo who has so far created 4 chances this season, tied with Tunbridge.
At the defensive end, Tormenta have a effective central defender in Jackson Kasanzu, especially when he is in the air. The real gem of the Tormenta defense, however, comes in their wingbacks, Gabriel Alves and Oscar Jimenez who use brute strength to stop players in their tracks. Expect to see them directly challenging Ollie Wright and Walter Verela as they work balls up the wings. Alves also has been effective at running up the field and beginning plays for Tormenta with him leading the team in effective passing. Backing up the ariel potential of Tormenta in midfield is Gabriel Cabral who has helped create a fair number of chances for his side. In goal, Tormenta have league veteran Austin Pack who, while seasoned, is not up to the same caliber as some of his teammates. Last season, he allowed 33 goals against his side or 1.53 per 90 minutes. Based on his performance this season so far, he is on pace to meet this statistic for a second year.
Tactics
Current Form: WWLWD
Preferred Formation: 4-2-3-1
USL1 Position: 9th
Ian Cameron’s tactical plan this season has been predicted on the ability to move from the ball from the back and up and over the midfield and place it in the possession of the front line. This strategy has been well dialed in and Tormenta are second in the League in accurate long balls per match (29.8). Once the ball makes it to the front line Tunbridge is the man to make things happen. He has proved adept at moving around central defenders seemingly from multiple angles including out of right half-space and by directly running over the top. That’s not to discount Bazini who acts as something as an understudy to Tunbridge but is none-the-less dangerous in the final third. In their game against AV Alta several weeks ago, Bazini was the star, poaching the ball in the box from Avilez to score after the Alta keeper held the ball for much too long. In a second goal, Bazini converted a cross from Nyandjo when left unmarked by Alta.
Defensively expect Tormenta to be aggressive in defending their space using their relative height to their advantage. That’s not to say that players can’t weave through their defenses, however (most of Red Wolves' shots last weekend came from inside the box), but when required both Alves and Jimmenez can be physical as can Kasanzu. However, when forced to be overly fiscal Tormenta has shown they can get carried away. At Red Wolves last weekend, both Alves and Perez gave up penalties for being too aggressive in the box which robbed themselves of what should have been a victory.
What to expect on match day
More so than the Spokane match, this ought to be a true test of the Hearts against a side that has been impressive to watch in the opening week’s of the season. Unlike last week, Hearts enjoyed a well deserved week of rest with no US Open Cup match taxing them midweek. With the squad fully rested, and with the arrival of Natty James from Trinidad, Coach Murphy has many more options when it comes to squad selection this upcoming week which will also see Hearts play Rhode Island FC on Tuesday in Lewiston.
From a play style perspective its likely to presume that Tormenta may try to keep the ball in the air given their teams penchant for winning ariel duels. In each of their professional matches so far this season, the Statesboro side has come away having won the most ariel competitions – a noticeable weakness for the Hearts. Last week, Tormenta used this to great effect with Vivas scoring on a header that came over the top into the box and Tunbridge attempted the same maneuver earlier in the match with less success. Coach Murphy will need to instruct his players to try and keep the ball on the ground as much as possible to avoid this risk.
Personally, I am very excited to see 2 head-to-head match-ups this evening. The first is in the competition between Sean Vinberg and Mason Tunbridge. The Tormenta forward clearly is making a run for the golden boot this season but to get there he will need to contend with Vinberg who has proved to be a rock of a defender for the Hearts in the opening weeks of this season. Who wins that struggle could very well prove the decisive factor in this game. The second competition comes in the comparison between Nathan Messer and Gabriel Alves. This one is a bit more tactical, given that Tormenta prefers to play the ball over the midfield whereas we like to work around it but both Messer and Alves take great pride in controlling their lanes of the pitch. Both have also been involved in setting up key plays with the Messer-Wright duo well noted and Alves being the catalyst for a number of Tormenta plays. Furthmore, both served Rhode Island FC last season with Alves seeing 904 minutes for Khano Smith's side while Messer saw only 19 minutes (criminal, simply criminal). It’ll be interesting to see which one does their job better. With the first league victory in club history still up for the taking, tonight will be yet another night for the Hearts to make history.
Correction: an earlier version of this article had incorrect times for tonight's match and DU watch party. Kick-off is at 7:30 PM EDT and the watch party will begin half-an-hour before at 7:00 PM EDT.
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