Now that we’re deeper into the MLS season it’s a good time to go back and check out our top performers. As we did in our previous article, we’ve broken it down into three categories: attacking, defending and goalkeeping. This week we threw in a few more interesting angles as well.
All this data comes from Sofascore, which is an outstanding resource for soccer and other sports data.
Top Performers: Attack
Our criteria include: goals (duh), penalties taken, big chances missed & goal completion %. The big chances is a new variable, which I threw in there because it adds a new dimension.
I am not gonna lie, but I did not think that Tai Baribo would still top this chart. He’s still riding that unreal wave of six goals in his first five matches; since then he’s only added one more. His goal conversion also dropped from 66.7% to 39% (though this is still the highest among the top attackers). Dejan Jovelijić is really close at 38%, but three of his five goals were penalties, which pumps up his average.
Our debutantes to the group are Brian White (Vancouver, #3), Diego Rossi (Columbus, #8), Josef Martínez (San Jose, #12) and Dejan Jovelijić (Kansas City, #13). We bid goodbye to Anders Dreyer, Jordan Morris, Telasco Segovia and Emil Forsberg. There are also nine players on four goals, so I expect this list to change as more games are played.
FC Cincinnati’s Evander has moved up to #2; Quakes’ Christian Arango leaps from #15 to #4. D.C. United big man Christian Benteke makes a nominal climb, but what jumps out to me are his seven missed chances. Which brings us to…
Whiffmasters
We all know that attackers miss; it’s part of the process. But this group above have excelled at whiffing the shot. A “big chance” is any attempt that has a good chance of scoring, such as a 1-on-1 with the keeper, an open header, or a penalty kick.
The biggest standout for me is Brandon Vazquez. Austin have only scored seven in nine game; he already has seven big chances missed.
Top Performers: Defense
Our variables here are: tackles, accurate pass %, clean sheets, penalties committed. Only defenders and midfielders are considered.
D.C. United’s David Schnegg still leads this category by a wide margin, but below him there was a lot of movement. Sebastian Berhalter moves up to #2, but is notable for the 3 clean sheets and 86% pass completion. The Earthquakes’ Rodrigues makes a debut at #3 (he just missed the cut in GW5). David Ayala replaces Timbers teammate Anthony Alves, and look at the Revs’ Mamadou Fofana popping in at #6 (2 clean sheets and 91% pass completion).
Defenders who Score
I promised in the last article I would get to this, and I have now fulfilled.
Top Performers: Goalkeepers
In our last report, we noted how many of the top keepers were on teams low in the standings. That isn’t really the case anymore, except for #5 Jonathan Sirois of Montréal and #8 Sean Johnson of Toronto. The other eight all play for teams sitting squarely in the middle of the pack.
