The joys of the morning after the morning after the rain are upon us: It's time once again to head toward the RioT and watch those boys in Claret and Cobalt battle some Canadian chaps who, horror of horrors, are completely winless to this point. Beyond that, though, they're also completely without draws. They've scored four goals and conceded 13. Is this the big chance we need to score a few goals, lift the spirits, and get our side back in order?
You've always got to worry when you're playing a side in such magnificently terrible form, of course. Will we be the team they snag a draw against, or even a win? I don't think so, but that's got to play in the minds of the management at least a bit. Right, though, let's get on with the lineup. Don't stop reading after that, though, because I've got some interesting statistical musings on the season thus far.
In goal once again, the magnificent Nick Rimando will undoubtedly start and lead from the back, moving forward with his every-minute-of-every-match quest. It is interesting: He has claimed all but one high ball this season — 18/19, 95% — and I think we all know which one that was, don't we? It's reassuring, seeing these things week-in-week-out.
In defense, we've got our first questions. While Olave will certainly come right back into the side, who he partners may be a bit of a question. If Nat Borchers is deemed to not need a rest, it'll be him, but if needed, Schuler could come right into the side without much issue at all. I'll plump for Borlave, but I wouldn't be surprised if Schuler got the start.
On the flanks, it's hard to see past Tony Beltran and Chris Wingert, though given both their penchants for running for 90 minutes — and ability to, no doubt — I'd wonder if one will be given a rest, with Tanaka coming into the side instead. Despite his fine form, I'd drop Tony to the bench, if just to protect him a bit going forward. He has, after all, missed only 13 minutes this season — late substitutions leading to this — and a bit of a rest wouldn't hurt. Likewise, Tanaka could use more minutes if he's to be a genuine backup to either full back.
Anchoring the midfield in his own less-anchory way will undoubtedly be the captain of the universe, Kyle Beckerman — who, by this time, has won the goal of the week (Alvaro Saborio has also won one of those) for his stunning strike against San Jose — almost a sure-starter in the holding spot. Of course, I'm not so sure it's a holding spot as it has been, but more on that later. Alongside Kyle Beckerman, more questions: Does Ned Grabavoy come back into the side following a rib dislocation? Does Will Johnson continue picking up minutes after coming back from injury and missing pre-season? Is Javi ready for another 60 to 90 minutes?
I don't particularly know the answers to these questions, such is my plight. I'd imagine that Ned could well be ready, so I'll go for him, Johnson and Morales. First-choice. Now, I'd imagine I'll be wrong on one of these, such is my confidence, so don't be surprised when that happens. Not that I suspect you're surprised when I get things wrong, of course, but, well, you know.
Up front, I'd expect a pairing of Espindola and Saborio, with both of them looking to snag a goal or three. If you've read what I wrote about Saborio yesterday, you understand that I think he's been vastly undervalued. He is, for me, one of our top players, and while his form has wobbled a bit in the early season, he's not been at all bad. More about him later, too.
Right, here it is in a shorter form, with my replacement guesses issued parenthetically: Rimando / Tanaka (Beltran), Olave, Borchers, Wingert / Beckerman, Grabavoy (Velasquez), Johnson (Steele), Morales (Gil) / Espindola, Saborio
The Statistics
Nick Rimando and Kyle Beckerman lead the team in minutes played at 810, having played in every minute of every match in 2012. Tony Beltran follows with 797 minutes, having played in every match.
Kyle Beckerman leads the team in touches, having seen the ball 742 times — nearly once a minute. Unsurprisingly, he also leads the team in total passes, sitting at 581, giving him a touch-to-pass rate of 78%. His passing rate is 86%, with 499 of his 581 passes accurate. 34% of his passes go forward, while only 11% go backward. This represents a bit of a tactical shift from his approach last season, when he'd anchor the midfield a bit more. This season has seen him take up positions slightly higher up the pitch.
However, these higher positions have also seen him leading the team in fouls, sitting at 22 — about 2.4 fouls per match. It should come as little surprise that he's leading the team in yellow cards with 4. However, only one of those cards was given for a foul, while one each was given for dissent, argument and handball.
Before you worry that he's playing higher up the pitch and sacrificing defensive work, Beckerman has led the team in interceptions with 30 — 3-and-a-third a match. That's a remarkable achievement. He's attempted 25 tackles, 18 of which have been successful — he leads the team in both of these as well. His higher positioning means he's involved in more duels — 38 won, again leading the team — and helping to regain possession at a higher rate. It is certainly no coincidence that he's been played every minute so far: He looks more fit than he's been in his career. For a guy that just hit the big 30, he looks like he could continue for a good while yet, the consummate professional he is.
Jamison Olave has led the team in offside calls provoked with 10 — just over one for each of his 8 matches, while Borchers, and Beltran have three a piece and Schuler and Johnson have two a piece. It speaks much to his improvement as an RSL player and his concentration and effectiveness as a defender. Where once we had a temperamental but skillful player, we now have easily one of the best — if not the best — stopper-style defenders in the league, both in mentality and in physical ability.
Alvaro Saborio leads the team in aerial balls won — no surprise to me — at 13, with the closest to him being Espindola and Olave at 7 each. For being in the middle of the table in minutes played, he's done quite well in the air. It also means he's won more than 50% of those balls, with 10 aerial battles lost — and considering he is often coming up against central defenders, who generally win higher percentages of those duels, he's doing quite well for himself.
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