SB Nation Arizona: All Posts by Pat Johnston

Landon Donovan has big Impact in Win vs. Union

2013-05-18T00:48:09Z

Landon Donovan and the LA Galaxy were firing on all cylinders on offense after being missing in action in the previous two matches. After managing to put just four combined shots on target in the last two losses, the Galaxy placed seven shots on target against the Philadelphia Union on May 15 and four of those shots went in the net.

Donovan had a hand in all four of the goals, although he didn't show up in the scoresheet for teeing up the corner kick that went in off of Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath's face.

Donovan did assist on Robbie Keane and Hector Jimenez' goals before scoring one of his own in the 87th minute. As a result, Donovan turned in a game-high Match Impact Rating of 109.1. I had commented during the game that Marcelo Sarvas had really improved his ability to draw foul calls this season. Sarvas had the match of his life in that regard as he suffered seven fouls while the Union only drew 12 fouls as a team. Sarvas also chipped in with an assist on Keane's goal which gave the Brazilian a MIR of 99.8.

Keane came in third with a MIR of 88.8 for a goal, an assist and two fouls drawn. Jimenez only played 18 minutes so his MIR of 177.5 is not a realistic depiction of how he might have performed had he gone the full 90 minutes. However, the midfielder does have a goal and an assist in his last four appearances (196 total minutes). On the opposite end of the spectrum is Mike Magee who turned in a MIR of -0.5 for committing two fouls and putting both of his shots off target. Magee, who has not placed a shot on net in any of the last three matches, could unthinkably be headed for a slump despite sitting in a tie for second place in MLS with six goals.

Milestone Watch: Donovan is just one assist away from tying Preki (112) for third-most all-time in MLS.

Gyasi Zardes Plays Supersub In Match Impact Rating vs Whitecaps

2013-05-15T02:01:18Z

The lone bright spot in another loss for the Galaxy was the headed goal of substitute and homegrown player Gyasi Zardes in the 86th minute (see it below). It showed in his Match Impact Rating (click here for more on MIR). Jose Villarreal sent a nice ball into the penalty area on the play but even that moment of life was snuffed out by Darren Mattocks' goal in stoppage time. Just as in the recent loss against the Houston Dynamo, the Galaxy managed two shots on the goal out of 14 attempts. The Vancouver Whitecaps put 57.1 percent of their attempts on goal, by contrast. Once again, LA simply didn't have what it took to win in the final third.

Zardes only played 23 minutes but recorded what you could call a staggering prorated Match Impact Rating of 166.8. The young forward took three shots and scored one goal during his time on the pitch but was on pace for 11.8 shots and nearly four points and four fouls suffered over 90 minutes.

A.J. DeLaGarza might be a surprise to some to finish second on the team with an MIR of 30 but he drew three fouls in his 90 minutes of play while committing none himself. Villarreal and Mike Magee tied for the third best performance for the Galaxy with an MIR of 29.8. Villarreal had an assist but also committed three fouls while Magee absorbed three fouls (all in the offensive half of the pitch).

After the top three were Marcelo Sarvas (13.1) and Sean Franklin (10.6), both of whom did not finish the match. Both players drew a foul but Sarvas did so in fewer minutes. Landon Donovan (10), Omar Gonzalez (10) and Juninho (9.8) were the only other Galaxy players to play at least 55 minutes and have an MIR for the match. None of those ratings are anything to write home about, but I think Juninho was robbed of the second assist on the Zardes goal due to a touch pass to Villarreal. Had he gotten it, his MIR would have jumped to a 39.5.

It's not all bad when two of the team's youngest players are doing good things. Hopefully that trend continues on the eastern road swing that's about to begin in Philadelphia.

Galaxy Fail to Make Offensive Impact Against Dynamo in Loss

2013-05-07T00:00:03Z

The LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo's MLS Cup rematch did not go so well for the home side on Sunday. As was pointed out earlier today, the Galaxy's play in the final third was simply ineffective. LA did not manage any goals and only put two of their 19 attempts on target. The Dynamo were not much better with two shots on target out of 14 attempts.

In looking to the Match Impact Ratings (read on for more information on the Offensive Match Impact Rating) for the contest, the Galaxy's "best" performer was Jose Villarreal who turned in a less than sterling 24.7 in his 73 minutes on the pitch. Villarreal took two shots (none on target) and suffered two fouls (both in the offensive half of the pitch, one of which was on the edge of the penalty area).

The defense did not provide anything offensively as none of the defenders recorded a MIR. Indicative of how poor the offense was on Sunday, Marcelo Sarvas, Landon Donovan and Juninho were the only other Galaxy players besides Villarreal who played at least 55 minutes who had a MIR for the match that was not zero. Sarvas won two fouls in the midfield zone and took four shots (none on target) to produce a MIR of 19.5. Donovan had his lone shot go on target and drew a midfield zone foul for a 10.5 MIR and Juninho drew one foul in the offensive half of the pitch to go with two shots (none on target) to generate a MIR of 10.

If not for an unfortunate moment of ball watching by Sean Franklin in the 56th minute, the match might have ended in a scoreless draw.

Follow Patrick Johnston on Twitter @TheRealPSJ

Is Artificial Turf the Future of North American Soccer?

2013-05-02T20:46:54Z

Charles Boehm's longform piece in MLS Soccer.com's The Word series focuses on the rise in use of artificial turf in North American youth soccer and poses the question of whether we might be seeing the future of North American soccer.

In MLS, only four of the stadia (BC Place-Vancouver Whitecaps, CenturyLink Field-Seattle Sounders, Gillette Stadium-New England Revolution, JELD-WEN Field- Portland Timbers) use artificial turf. However, in youth soccer, artificial surfaces are being turned to as a cost effective, durable and year-round opportunity to satiate the demand for playing time. There is no doubt that artificial surfaces have improved from the days of the green carpet AstroTurf of the Astrodome. But, are those surfaces now good enough? Do we know enough about how the body reacts to playing on them?

Claudio Reyna, the current youth technical director for U.S. Soccer and former New York Red Bulls and U.S. International midfielder, had a mixed reaction. Reyna grew up playing on natural surfaces, along with the unevenness and rocks that sometimes come with them. He preferred those fields to artificial turf like the one he played on for the Red Bulls, but realized that youth are used to non-grass playing surfaces.

"It's normal for kids now. ... They don't think twice, they just play on it. I still have a tough time feeling comfortable with it, to play on it. And it's going to be interesting to see what it does down the road with injuries - are there more joint injuries? It's not natural. But again, it's being used."

There are examples in Boehm's article praising artificial turf for aiding youth skill development. The most prominent is the referencing of artificial turf being used at Barcelona's famed La Masia. While it is true that there are four artificial fields in Barcelona's academy, five of the nine pitches are natural grass and an additional goalkeeper area is also a grass surface. Another thing to consider skill wise is that Barcelona or any other elite European outfit attracts top youth players from around the world to their academies. Are we not expecting greatness from the players produced there no matter the playing surface?

Barça is a team that thrives on possession and is instilling that into youth players at an early age in part with the use of artificial surfaces. U.S. Men's National Team coach Jürgen Klinsmann favors more possession than U.S. fans had been used to under previous regimes and said he doesn't see any issues playing the game on artificial surfaces and wants the U.S. to have more pitches no matter what they are made out of. Those of us who prefer to see the game played only on natural grass don't have to like this promotional push, but the sets of circumstances mentioned in the Boehm article mean we aren't going to see the trend abate any time soon either.

Follow Patrick Johnston on Twitter at TheRealPSJ.

Clint Dempsey, pair of Honduran defenders led Match Impact Rating in USA vs. Honduras

2013-02-14T22:23:48Z

This is overdue as I was in Hawaii after the USA vs. Honduras match, but here is the Match Impact Rating (see this article for more info on MIR) analysis of the U.S.' first outing in the Hex.

Clint Dempsey scored the first goal of the match for the U.S. in the 36th minute on what turned out to be his only shot on goal in the match out of four attempts. Dempsey also drew two fouls and had an MIR of 56.75. His goal was a wonderstrike if you missed it:

However, Dempsey was outdone by a pair of Honduran defenders in offensive Match Impact Rating. Juan Carlos Garcia (goal) and Maynor Figueroa (two assists) both could have been up for Man of the Match due to their offensive impact. In addition to his goal, Garcia also drew four fouls while only committing one on his way to an MIR of 95.25. Figueroa had one foul suffered to go along with his assists and compiled an MIR of 70. Jermaine Jones, who had the only assist on the day for the U.S., turned in a 52.38 MIR.

There were 20 players who had enough minutes to earn an MIR for the match and five of the Top 8 belonged to the Honduran side, including having three of their five defenders in the Top 8. Despite the U.S. having 7 corners to 4 for Honduras, the home side made the most of those chances, including an anything but ordinary goal from defender Juan Garcia:

Here are the Top 3 performers in MIR for both sides (min. 45 mins played):

United States

Clint Dempsey, 56.75 (goal, 4 shots, 1 shot on goal, 2 fouls drawn)

Jermaine Jones, 52.38 (assist, 1 foul drawn, 4 fouls committed)

Eddie Johnson, 45.76 (shot, 3 fouls drawn)

Honduras

Juan Carlos Garcia, 95.25 (goal, 1 shot, 1 shot on goal, 4 fouls drawn, 1 foul committed)

Maynor Figueroa, 70 (2 assists, 1 shot, 1 foul drawn)

Jerry Bengtson, 54.32 (goal, 2 shots, 1 shot on goal, 1 foul drawn, 2 fouls committed, 2 offside)

Defensive MIR

The defense of Honduras had a total of one goal, three assists, 2 shots, 1 shot on goal, 5 fouls drawn, 5 fouls committed and one offside in the match and had an average MIR of 54.75.

The backline for the U.S. combined for 1 shot, 2 fouls drawn and 2 fouls committed in the match and had an average MIR of 4.88. Omar Gonazlez of the LA Galaxy led the U.S. defense with an MIR of 10. He had one shot and one foul drawn during the match.

Least Impact

Both defenses had a defender in the red. Arnold Peralta for Honduras and Timothy Chandler for the U.S. had MIRs of -1 and -.25, respectively. Forward Jozy Altidore was the low man in the match for the U.S. with a dreadful MIR of -.75. In his 90 minutes of action, he took one shot which was off-target and committed three fouls.

Clint Dempsey bested by Honduras defenders in offensive impact

2013-02-14T21:30:12Z

Clint Dempsey was a bright spot for the U.S. in its opening World Cup qualifying game of the Hex, but Dempsey and the U.S. were bested by two Honduran defenders in offensive match impact rating.

The United States lost 2-1 to Honduras last night in their first World Cup qualifier Hexagonal round, their first final round opener loss in 24 years. As the US is currently on a streak of six straight World Cup qualifications, that means the last time the US didn't win their final round opener is the last time the US didn't qualify for the World Cup.

The Castrol US soccer index lists Clint Dempsey as the top player in the match, and he was selected Man of the Match by US Soccer as well. His goal is essentially the sole reason for his high ranking; he barely beat out Fabian Johnson on the Castrol Index. No one was given a very good score for this match, but with only two shots on goal the goalscorer reigns.

According to our own Offensive Impact Rating, defenses again stood out. This time it was Honduras' defense that made an impact. Whereas in the US vs. Canada match the backline was praised on soccer moves alone, Honduras' defense notched one goal, drew five fouls, and by MLS rules had three assists. Even without MLS rules, the defense had both of Honduras' assists.

What this speaks to is a lack of pressure in the midfield. The first Honduras goal came off a corner kick restart with defender to defender action, then a defender again finds the space to slot the ball to Bengtson. Perhaps playing Eddie Johnson in the midfield wasn't the best idea.

For an explanation on the Castrol Index, check out this video. Offensive Impact Rating is always graciously given to us by Patrick Johnston.

Robert Griffin III Injury: Redskins QB admits he was at risk, but didn't hurt team

2013-01-07T01:53:51Z

Washington Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III took the podium after the team's 24-14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday in the NFC Wild Card game at FedEx Field to discuss playing through his knee injury.

Griffin had come into the game less than 100 percent due to a lingering knee injury. Wearing a heavy brace, Griffin guided the Redskins to two first quarter touchdowns and a 14-0 lead on his touchdown passes. Griffin also took hits during the drives and needed treatment from trainers. In the fourth quarter, and he was forced to leave the game when he tried to recover a bad snap on the chewed up turf at FedEx Field and re-injured his knee.

After the game, Griffin said he didn't believe that playing through injury was detrimental to the team. Griffin said, "I'm the best option for this team. That's why I'm the starter." Griffin's backup, Kirk Cousins, was just 3-of-10 passing for 31 yards in the game after he replaced the injured Griffin.

Griffin did admit a certain amount of risk trying to play through the injury. Griffin said, "I think I did put myself at more risk being out there." Ultimately, it was not a Seahawks player, but the horrendous condition of the FedEx Field turf at gametime which was the biggest risk to Griffin. He is scheduled to undergo an MRI on his injured knee on Monday.

Wizards vs. Heat final score: Wizards fall to Heat, 99-71

2013-01-07T01:34:26Z

The Washington Wizards were defeated by the Miami Heat, 99-71, on Sunday at American Airlines Arena.

The Wizards have just four wins on the season and only one on the road. The Wizards took the first game of the season series from the Heat back on Dec. 4 at the Verizon Center, but Miami has made Washington pay in the two games since the first meeting. The Heat won 102-72 on Dec. 15 before Sunday's result. The final game of the season series will be at Verizon Center on April 10.

Miami, which was in control by the end of the first quarter, was never in any real danger on Sunday and really pushed the game out of reach with a 30-point fourth quarter. Miami's LeBron James led all scorers with 24 points. Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Ray Allen all reached double-figures in scoring for the Heat. Wizards guard Garrett Temple tied James for a game-high seven assists, but Temple was 0-for-7 shooting from the field and finished with zero points. Kevin Seraphin lead the Wizards with 14 points.

The Wizards next game will be on Monday at the Verizon Center against the Oklahoma City Thunder.