SMU vs Akron: Recap, Ratings, and Stats

(I just happened to be in town for the SMU--Akron Round of 32 game and the six dollars to watch the game was worth it. Unfortunately showed up after the first twenty minutes of the game but as the score was still 0-0 I didn't feel too bad.)

The first half (from what I saw) was largely in Akron's favor. Akron was using the entire width of the field and had no trouble switching the point of attack. SMU didn't press on defense enough, which led to the first goal. Below are sophisticated pictures made in Paintbrush.

Akron's first goal:

A little foggy but I believe Luke Holmes played a wonderful bending ball low sent ball that was placed behind the defense into the corner for a racing Quinn. Ahead of the offense, Quinn slotted it back to the corner of the 18 for Yedlin who saw Mattocks with space on the backpost. A spot-on cross to Mattocks and a diving header put the Zips up 1-0. SMU had the numbers put the gave too much space for Quinn and Mattocks each. Collectively poor defending and the goalie was left helpless.



Akron's second goal:

A free kick from 28 yards out taken by senior Luke Holmes put the Zips up 2-0 with 27 minutes left in the second half. If you couldn't tell from the picture below, the wall split but the keeper still had a chance on the shot.


Akron's third goal:

Holmes was involved with the third goal as he laid off a long pass just past midfield. Mattocks used his speed and relative size to battle the Mustangs' Aaron Simmons. Inside the 18, Mattocks cut the ball back and Simmons tripped over the ball, without winning it. Left with a one-on-one, Mattocks put the ball in the side netting.


SMU's goals:

(I didn't draw up the first 'Stangs goal as I couldn't remember it clearly enough. Sorry SMU-ians.)

The third goal, scored with fourteen minutes left the Mustangs' crowd and the players deflated. But with seven minutes left the Mustangs finally cracked Akron's defense with a floated ball into a crowded 18. Tyler Engel remained composed on the ball as he took a touch then put it in the back of the net. 34 seconds later, the Engel drew a penalty kick when entered the 18. An aggressive tackle to clear the ball paved the way for a shortened 3-2 lead. An awful video of the PK:

The last seven minutes were split between Akron pushing the ball to the corner and SMU sending long, booming passes to find a rebound in the 18. As time expired, SMU managed a corner kick, something they were connecting well on throughout the game, but the clock ran out before they could take it.

Almost goals:

• SMU had a free kick at the goalie's right corner of the 18 but made a very aware upper ninety save by tipping the ball over the bar. Not flashy but very smart.
  
• Last seconds in the first half Mustangs pulled the ball down on a long counter. Alone in the 18, he took a shot that missed backpost upper ninety by inches.
• One-on-one with SMU's keeper, Mattocks' hatrick was denied by a good angle taken by the keeper.
• Both teams had balls bouncing around inside the 18 where the shot was ultimately hit over or right at the goalie.
  

Game Stats

Seen first half stats are placed next to a (projected 45 minutes in italics). Momentum graphs read right to left as the clock counts downwards in collegiate play.

Subjective Point Graphs

First Half


SMU - 31.53 (39.42)
Akron - 39.53 (49.54)

Second Half


SMU - 66.83
Akron - 58.43

Full Game

SMU - 98.37 (106.25)
Akron - 98.07 (107.98)

Momentum Graphs

First Half


Dominance

SMU - 33.3
Akron - 30.6
None - 36.1

GG Rating - 92.3

Second Half


Dominance

SMU - 26.7
Akron - 26.7
None - 46.7

GG Rating - 77.8

Final Dominance

SMU - 30.0
Akron - 28.6
None - 41.4

GG Rating - 85.0

Numbers

***Example Category***
Team - Chance…Threat Rate/100
Team - Chance…Threat Rate/100

First Half
Possession
SMU - 9…44.9
(11...44.9)
Akron - 34…17.5
(43...17.5)

Passing
SMU - 10…30.4
(13...30.4)
Akron - 35…18.6
(44...18.6)

Shooting
SMU - 4…65
(5...65)
Akron - 6…30
(8...30)

Second Half
Possession
SMU - 43…22.6
Akron - 26…28

Passing
SMU - 44…25.9
Akron - 22…26.4

Shooting
SMU - 7…44.3
Akron - 11…44.5

Final
Possession
SMU - 52…26.4
(63...29.7)
Akron - 60…22
(103...20.1)

Passing
SMU - 54…26.7
(67...27.4)
Akron - 57…21.6
(101...20.3)

Shooting
SMU - 11…51.8
(16...55.9)
Akron - 17…39.4
(25...36.5)

Conclusion and End Notes

• How Akron won: converting chances that arose from using speed against a slower squad and spreading the attack over the entire field and through every player. Dominated possession
  
• How SMU lost: defensive lapses and not converting on chances (and not just saying that from a "We should have scored on every shot" sort of stance). Also had trouble connecting passes in midfield, which limited the start of their offense. Too many long balls from start to finish.
• How Akron could lose in the future: Size is a problem with the team as they, I believe, only have no field players that are over six foot and receive regular playing time. Set pieces will be dangerous against them.
• How SMU could have won: Using their size against Akron more. The long balls, while moderately effective, could have been even more dangerous had they implemented them better (crosses > straight long clears). Defensive marking and preventative awareness would help immensely.

Stand Out Players

Akron:

• So. Darren Mattocks (Portmore, Jamaica) - ST - Two goals. Great speed and knows how to use his strength. Imagine a Jeff Cunningham-esque player. Off the ball, questionable.
• So. Aodhan Quinn (San Diego, California) - RM - Showed good speed and vision. Limited playing time.
  
• Fr. Scott Caldwell (Cleveland, Ohio) - CAM - The 145 pound midfielder ran hard and played aggressive yet smart defense. Frustrated SMU's back four.
  
• Sr. Luke Holmes (Oldham, England) - LM - Ran up and down the field and was a major part in every goal.
• Jr. Thomas Schmitt (Berea, Ohio) - RM - Fast, moves well off the ball, great touch.
• Sr. Matt Dagilis (Akron, Ohio) - CB - Smart play.
• Sr. Michael Balogun (Houston, Texas) - LB - Poised on the ball and was never ratted. Team looked confident when the ball was at his feet. Defensively sound.

SMU:

• Sr. Payton Hickey (Plano, Texas) - LM - Came into the game late and energized the offensive with his speed and effort.
• Jr. Ben Hill (Coppell, Texas) - ST - Poor surrounding play but his touch was great with an added bonus of creatively although not flashy. Holds his own but was clearly annoyed/disappointed with poor runs he was shown by teammates.
• Fr. Tyler Engel (Orland Park, Illinois) - CM - Up and down. Good vision. Helped in both goals.

Akron's blue collar worth ethic will continue to advance them while SMU, with arguably better talent, showed poor cohesiveness. Both teams had "should have scored" goals so the score line is accurate this time.

Else

• Not one offside was called in the game.
• The field was the nicest field I've ever seen in my life.
• At halftime the two teams' subs were warming up on the field for a few minutes. SMU players were working on 20+ yard shots and volleys while Akron was working on possession play.
  

Click here for a post-game interview with SMU coach and players.

USA vs Slovenia: Recap, Ratings, and Stats

The USMNT ended their scoring drought by finding the back of the net three times with goals from Edson Buddle, Clint Dempsey, and Jozy Altidore. The Americans fought through the foggy mist to gain a 3-1 lead at halftime with several players helping in the offense but had a hard time controlling the crafty Tim Matavž on the other side of the field. The game ended in Klinsmann's second win for the team but provides a nice spring board for 2012.

The game also marked Carlos Bocanegra's 100th cap with the senior squad, tying him tenth all-time with the team and is only thirteen appearances away from becoming fifth overall, leapfrogging legends Kasey Keller (102), Eric Wynalda (106) , and Claudio Reyna (112). If Bocanegra finishes through the next World Cup cycle, a strong possibility, he could finish close to third all-time. Jozy Altidore (45) and Juan Agudelo (15) stand a good chance at finishing in the top five as well being only 22 and 18 at the moment.

A video including an interview with Bocanegra on the achievement can be found here.

Subjective Point Graphs

First Half

USA - 69.77
Slovenia - 46.93

Second Half


USA - 27.97
Slovenia - 99.03

Full Game

USA - 97.73
Slovenia - 145.97

Momentum Graphs

First Half


Dominance

USA - 24.4
Slovenia - 6.7
none - 68.9

GG Rating - 66.7

Second Half


Dominance

USA - 0
Slovenia - 35.6
none - 64.4

Final Dominance

USA - 12.2
Slovenia - 21.1
none - 66.7

Numbers

***Example Category***
Team - Chance…Threat Rate/100
Team - Chance…Threat Rate/100

First Half

Possession
USA - 30…26.5
Slovenia - 28…19.6

Passing
USA - 32…33.4
Slovenia - 34…17.9

Shooting
USA - 9…56.7
Slovenia - 7…52.9

Second Half

Possession
USA - 27…13.9
Slovenia - 59…19.5

Passing
USA - 29…17
Slovenia - 64…21.3

Shooting
USA - 6…24
Slovenia - 13…58.5

Final

Possession
USA - 57…20.5
Slovenia - 87…19.5

Passing
USA - 61…25.6
Slovenia - 98…20.2

Shooting
USA - 15…43.6
Slovenia - 20…56.5

Player Ratings

+7 - Dempsey - (11…9/2…90') - Typical aggressive energy and professionalism from Dempsey. Looks like getting Donovan and Dempsey on the field at the same time under Klinsmann will take some time...

+5.5 - Altidore - (10.5…8/2.5…90') - Incredibly encouraging to see him moving off the ball, playing defense, and looking to find runners over the top.

+5 - Buddle - (9…7/2…78') - Goal aside, where has Buddle been? Creative all over the field and the goal was enough luck to wow at but not enough to doubt the ability.

+5 - Howard - (7…6/1…90') - The goals were put into the corners but he was lucky to not find another goal bounce off his back from a post shot from Matavž. Another solid game Howard.

+3 - Cherundolo - (9…6/3…90') - Looked a step quicker than usual, which was encouraging, but lost shape a couple times defensively. The entire back line needs shape but Dolo is the least of their worries.

+2 - Bradley - (9…5.5/3.5…90') - Great to have him back in the middle of the field but I'm not as complimentary as others. First half he inserted himself over the field but in the second half he disappeared for too long.

+2 - Johnson - (6…4/2…61') - An early strike that really tested the goalkeeper. His willingness to work provided an encouraging game from the outside mid.

+1 - Bocanegra - (9…5/4…90') - The century-capped captain has consistently had concern with being on the complimentary pages with his counter center back. Alliterations aside, his aggressiveness breaks the back too much. What the solution is up for debate (help with the midfield, toning down his activeness, formation change...) but it's cause for attention.

+0.5 - Chandler - (8.5…4.5/4…82') - Got subbed out for another knock from moving up the field to hard. He has got to funnel his aggressiveness into

+0.5 - Shea - (2.5…1.5/1…29') - A late sub for Johnson. Still not as aware as I'd like to be on service but countered well against a pushing Slovenia team.

+0.5 - Williams - (0.5…0.5/0…8') - Late sub. Helped with the defense.

+0 - Edu - (1…0.5/0.5…12') - Late sub and the fog made it impossible to see what he did except for one shot so we'll give him an even rating to be safe.

+0 - Rogers - (0…0/0…0') - The go-getter and Klinnsman-favorite earned his understated 18th cap.

+0 - Jones - (0…0/0…0') - Definitely stalled time with his sub-in...

-1 - Beckerman - (8…3.5/4.5…90') - His value drops when he's off the ball with his defensive shape being so shakey. Slipped on his lone shot and looked silly doing so.

-1 - Goodson - (9…4/5…90') - Last of the least but not without optimism. Playing alongside Bocanegra is tough to say the least and Matavž was likely the hardest challenge for Goodson in all of 2011.

Conclusion

I'm not jumping from complaining about offensive woes to defensive woes but the defense still looks suspect, which has always been a concern dating back to and before USA's 4-2 loss to Mexico in the Gold Cup this summer. The numbers are heavily in Slovenia's favor in passing and possession for a good reason and with an aging and constantly changing back line, USA needs to figure it out fast. Up top, things are starting to progress and after five games with one goal, that's something to be excited about.

USA vs France: Recap, Ratings, and Stats

USA put forth another dismal offensive display. The few offensive contributors, Altidore and Dempsey, were left alone in creatively and lack of support from the midfield. While Howard put on another goalie clinic and continues to write the how-to book for future American goalies, the back four was in disarray for most of the entire second half. The defensive line had line to no effective communication between themselves and only Cherundolo, despite his losing speed, put up a respectable game.

Subjective Point Graphs

First Half


USA - 10.80
France - 37.10

Second Half


USA - 30.23
France - 97.17

Full Game

USA - 41.03
France - 134.27

Momentum Graphs

First Half


Dominance

USA - 0.0
France - 20.0
None - 80.0

GG Rating - 26.7

Second Half


Dominance

USA - 4.4
France - 40.0
None - 55.6

Final Dominance

USA - 2.2
France - 30.0
None - 67.8

Numbers

***Example Category***
Team - Chance…Threat Rate/100
Team - Chance…Threat Rate/100

First Half

Possession
USA - 16…9.9
France - 52…11.7

Passing
USA - 21…10.1
France - 55…13.3

Shooting
USA - 3…13.3
France - 6…15.7

Second Half

Possession
USA - 31…15.9
France - 50…24.2

Passing
USA - 35…17.7
France - 48…24.8

Shooting
USA - 5…14
France - 19…38.9

Final

Possession
USA - 47…13.8
France - 102…17.8

Passing
USA - 56…14.9
France - 103…18.7

Shooting
USA - 8…13.7
France - 25…33.4

Player Ratings

+6.5 - Dempsey - (10.5…8.5/2…90') - Left alone up in the attack more times than not, Dempsey obviously became frustrated with the lack of support, which resulted in him turning the ball over more than we're expect to see from him. Did everything he could to get the offense into the 18.

+5.5 - Altidore - (10.5…8/2.5…90') - It's very encouraging to see Altidore knowing when to dribble and when to pass it off. A similar review for Altidore that Dempsey received.

+4 - Howard - (6…5/1…90') - Multiple great saves. You could tell from his poise he came ready to protect the goalmouth. The one-on-one, which is reminiscent of the second Ghana goal in the World Cup, he led a little more with his feet than his hands but given the short window to save the ball it's a little more excusable than just any kick save.

+2.5 - Beckerman - (7.5…5/2.5…66') - Didn't help with the attack but as a CDM that wasn't really his role. A little out of position sometimes, he did help get the ball into midfield. Great poise, which is more than some players can say.

+1.5 - Cherundolo - (9.5…5.5/4…90') - Held his own with one-on-one defending, which is something he's displaying for a while now. Didn't get the chance to push forward and serve balls in, which he's also used to, with Williams turning the ball over every touch.

+1 - Buddle - (1…1/0…13') - Came in late in the 77' minute and the offense responded by getting 29% of their subjective points in the 14% amount of the game he was in.

+0.5 - Edu - (7.5…4/3.5…77') - Recieved some flack for poor passing but the medicine balls he was receiving from Williams and lack of movement from the rest of the eleven didn't help. Played decent enough.

+0.5 - Johnson - (1.5…1/0.5…19') - Not a bad night for the young 23 year old. More playing time needed.

+0 - Shea - (7…3.5/3.5…71') - Sluggish and hardly inserted himself in the attack.

+0 - Jones - (2…1/1…24') - A non-factor despite getting enough playing time to be something.

+0 - Beasley - (1…0.5/0.5…19') - n/a

-1 - Bocanegra - (9…4/5…90') - His aggressiveness isn't working with lack of communication with Goodson. On the goal he misjudged the ball's bounce by a good five yards.

-1 - Chandler - (10…4.5/5.5…90') - Was looking decent until the hard challenge he received by pushing the ball too far forward. After that he looked dazed for the rest of the game. In the late minutes he was the only one of the four who missed the step on the offsides trap that almost led to a 2-0 France victory.

-2 - Goodson - (10…4/6…90') - The challenge on the Remy was embarrassing and positioning was near awful.

-2 - Williams - (7…2.5/4.5…71') - Erratic play and couldn't foresee an obvious step by a French defender. Killed the right side of the field.

Mo' Number Crunching November

(Best title I could come up with.)

While you can't judge a player after one game, you can start to get an idea of a team after five. In a very raw form, here are our main stats for the past five games:


If you're confused about the categories you can go here for some help, specifically the "Game Stats" section.

From left to right we have the respective team, their possession stats, followed by passing and shooting numbers. The last two columns are game dominance and GG rating, which isn't too tied to a team's performance but just seemed interesting to throw in.

I graphed all of five performances in each category. The results were eye-gougingly:


Just from looking at the graph you can tell that the third game, the large dip in the middle, was the weakest performance (Belgium), while the second and fourth were much better performances (Costa Rica, Honduras).

On the right you have the legend to tell you what each line is, although those are slightly misleading as I weighted each line so the graph would be tighter and not have lines 50 pts apart.

Some bends that go against the grain are the drops in passing and possession threats for USA from Mexico (game 1) to Costa Rica (game 2). Also, while lines bend down from Honduras (game 4) to Ecuador (game 5) others flatten out and a few rise. Why this happened could be for a variety of reasons, all of which I'm sure your explanation would be as good as mine. (You're welcome.) The large picture here is finding out the overall game play of America through these five games. The two low games are likely due to Mexico's legitimacy as a team and the jetlag America experienced while traveling 6000+ miles to play Belgium. And despite getting desired results, USA played well against Costa Rica, Honduras, and Ecuador. On to their opponents...


These are the five opposing squads' stats. Outside of Belgium's ridiculously high shooting points (they had thirteen shots) and Costa Rica and Ecuador's low shooting points (six and nine) there's not too much of note. Looking back at the player ratings, the defenders scored well so I'm thinking the lack of offense just heightened the Belgian attack.

On to Accumulated Player Ratings! (Again, check the stat-defs for explanation.)

+23 - Howard - (31…27/4…450')
+17.5 - Shea - (39.5…28.5/11…345')
+14.5 - Cherundolo - (32.5…23.5/9…315')
+13.5 - Dempsey - (28.5…21/7.5…270')
+12.5 - Chandler - (36.5…24.5/12…346')
+10.5 - Bocanegra - (42.5…26.5/16…432')
+10 - Altidore - (25…17.5/7.5…236')
+9.5 - Agudelo - (18.5…13.5/4…154')
+8 - Onyewu - (14…11/3…135')
+8 - Bradley - (16…12/4…142')
+8 - Donovan - (21…14.5/6.5…180')
+8 - Edu - (29…18.5/10.5…290')
+7.5 - Torres - (26.6…17/9.5…250')
+7.5 - Beckerman - (30.5…19/11.5…315')
+4.5 - Goodson - (9.5…7/2.5…90')
+4 - Williams - (13…8.5/4.5…130')
+3.5 - Rogers - (14.5…9/5.5…129')
+3 - Beasley - (8…5.5/2.5…70')
+2.5 - Jones - (6.5…4.5/2…60')
+1.5 - Spector - (5.5…3.5/2…59')
+1 - Clark - (1…1/0…6')
+0.5 - Kljestan - (2.5…1.5/1…24')
+0 - Larentowicz - (1…0.5/0.5…14')
-0.5 - Fiscal - (20.5…10/10.5…225')
-0.5 - Buddle - (6.5…3/3.5…85')
-0.5 - Ream - (2.5…1/1.5…18')
-6.5 - Castillo - (17.5…5/11.5…180')

Maybe more importantly, +/- per 90 minutes:

+/- per 90...name - (min...games)

+5.6 - Agudelo - (154…5)
+5.3 - Onyewu - (135…2)
+5.1 - Bradley - (142…3)
+4.6 - Howard - (450…5)
+4.6 - Shea - (345…5)
+4.5 - Dempsey - (270…3)
+4.1 - Cherundolo - (315…4)
+4 - Donovan - (180…2)
+3.8 - Altidore - (236…4)
+3.3 - Chandler - (346…4)
+2.8 - Williams - (130…2)
+2.7 - Torres - (250…3)
+2.5 - Edu - (290…4)
+2.4 - Rogers - (129…3)
+2.2 - Bocanegra - (432…5)
+2.1 - Beckerman - (315…4)
-0.2 - Fiscal - (225…3)
-3.3 - Castillo - (180…2)

**Players who have not played more than 90 minutes**

+15 - Clark - (6…1)
+4.5 - Goodson - (90…1)
+3.9 - Beasley - (70…2)
+3.8 - Jones - (60…1)
+2.3 - Spector - (59…2)
+1.9 - Kljestan - (24…1)
+0 - Larentowicz - (14…1)
-0.5 - Buddle - (85…2)
-2.5 - Ream - (18…1)

Howard is a standout and for good reason. Critics will hound Klinsmann for the lack of scoring but giving up five goals in five games with an ever changing defense is fairly impressive. There's nothing to surprising here if you have followed the team (although Clark's +15.0 per 90 minutes is something we can only hope he continues once he gets more than six minutes of playing time).

Project 2010 is doing something pretty neat where they average out several player ratings from multiple sources. While their name is a little dated, the initiative to pull off such a task is heart-warming for soccer statisticians (fyi: "soccer statisticians" is not a real thing).

Comparing my ratings with their findings...

Their ratings:

Howard - 0.756
Dempsey - 0.755
Donovan - 0.701
Cherundolo - 0.701
Bradley - 0.696
Shea - 0.69
Bocanegra - 0.672
Agudelo - 0.663
Altidore - 0.656
Chandler - 0.643
Edu - 0.622
Onyewu - 0.602
Torres - 0.585
Beckerman - 0.569
Rogers - 0.556
Williams - 0.532
Fiscal - 0.511
Castillo - 0.478

Weighted Rating Differences:

5.604 - Castillo
2.717 - Fiscal
1.123 - Bocanegra
0.660 - Beckerman
0.581 - Edu
0.297 - Rogers
0.182 - Torres
-0.08 - Chandler
-0.14 - Williams
-0.54 - Donovan
-0.58 - Altidore
-0.68 - Cherundolo
-0.78 - Dempsey
-0.87 - Howard
-1.16 - Shea
-1.64 - Bradley
-2.28 - Agudelo
-2.36 - Onyewu

I excluded the players who had played less than 90 minutes (looking at you, Clark!). Also, their ratings go back to right after the end of the World Cup while mine only cover the last five games. Still, I am more in favor of Onyewu, Agudelo, Bradley and Shea while I dislike Castillo, Fiscal, and Bocanegra more than the rest of the soccer society.