MLS - Looking Ahead (Informative Opta Update)

Week 3 in the MLS should be another great week, full of awesome goals, hard tackles and controversial coaching decisions! Unfortunately, both the Chicago Fire and Real Salt Lake have off this weekend, so my main responsibilities will be the Houston Dynamo and LA Galaxy. I haven't done the Dynamo yet, but seeing as how I just finished the post-match analysis on the Houston vs. Seattle game yesterday, I feel confident taking them this week. When you do post-match analysis you get to know both teams extremely well because you spend so much time looking at every single player. Knowing this, I'd definitely feel comfortable doing the Seattle Sounders FC as well. When doing live-game analysis, some teams are harder to do than others and there are many factors that play a role in how good the analysis turns out.  A lot of networks have camera views far away from the field and this generally makes the players much harder to identify.  Jersey color can also play a factor. When you have shirts and shorts that match in color, it can be hard to tell if the player has his shirt tucked in.  Also, most numbers are barely visible from the views we have so our focus has to be on everything else.  After this weekend I'll have done, Chicago, LA, RSL and Houston. Our training was done with the Colorado Rapids so I know them too. By the end of this season, it's quite possible that I'll have done analysis on practically every team in MLS.

All in all, the 2011 season is certainly living up to the hype. MLS is really taking things up a notch this year and its been a lot of fun being apart of it. The website is better than ever and their article content is extensive. If you haven't checked out the Podcasts yet, I suggest doing so because they can be really informative and new guests are on the show all the time. Matchtracker is running at a high level and every piece of data we enter in our matches is updated instantly to the web. Every game this year has video highlights posted during the game, and if you're into Apple products, the app for the iPad/iPhone is great for checking in on all the action.

Wilmington Hammerheads Continue To Roll - (Turf Field Update)
Last night the Hammerheads took on UNC-W in a wet and challenging environment, but came out as the victors yet again. The team boosted it's preseason record to a promising 6-0 start. The final was 3-1 with Jyler Noviello scoring two goals to lead the way.  He's the teams leading scorer this preseason and a likely starter at forward on opening day.  Richard took the night off with a minor hip injury, but should be back in time for the teams next preseason match. From what I understand only 14 players took part in the game so it looks like a quite a few were sidelined with injuries as well.

Good news coming from Wilmington is that the new turf field at Legion Stadium is finished.  Coach Irving said that the field will definitely take some getting used to and that it's going to play really fast for the time being.  He knows that the more they play on it, the better it should feel to the players and the more it should settle. I've never really played on turf, but I'm assuming it can be quite different for some of the players. The Hammerheads next match is scheduled for this Saturday against the Carolina Railhawks of the NASL.

Wolfe & Seabrook Add Goals vs. UNC-Pembroke

The Hammerheads traveled to UNC-Pembroke for their 4th preseason game on Tuesday night. There were both old and new contributors this time. The final score was 4-1, with the Hammerheads finally giving up their first goal of the preseason. Chris Banks and Jyler Noviello scored again, but Jordan Seabrook and the recently acquired Tanner Wolfe also put the ball in the back of the net. Right now it looks as if Wilmington will have several threats at the attacking end. They extended their preseason goals scored total to 12, while holding all 4 opponents to just 1. The team will have one week off before playing their next game against UNC Wilmington on March 30th. This game should be fun for some of the players who played their college ball at the local college. Jordan Seabrook played his college ball at USF and participated in the 2009 Adidas MLS Player Combine alongside Richard. He was selected 51st by the Colorado Rapids, but was released before the start of the season. Tanner Wolfe played his college ball at Stetson University, consistently battling Richard year in and year out for the top spot in the Atlantic Sun Conference. While at college, Tanner tallied 33 goals and 18 assists leaving him 5th all-time in points at Stetson. Richard and Tanner are longtime friends and played high school ball together their senior year for Ridgewood High School in Port Richey, Florida.

UPDATE - It looks as if Seabrook's glory will be short-lived because most of the trialists are heading home. Tanner Wolfe, however, is staying put!

THIS JUST IN - Tanner Wolfe, Kyle Polak and Diego Barrerra were officially added to the roster, pending USL and USSF approval. Each of these players had a successful college career and played either semi-pro or pro ball in recent years. Wolfe has scoring potential at either outside mid or forward, Polak will most likely assume the backup GK role and Barrerra should fit in somewhere towards in the middle/back. I'm assuming the team is nearing 20 players by now, so it will be interesting to see how much more they can do based on funds. I'm also not sure if Alex Grendi has, or will be signing in the near future.

MLS First Kick & Hammerheads Preseason Game

It was an amazing week of action for Major League Soccer. The LA Galaxy started off week 1 with a 1-0 win over Sounders FC on Tuesday, then followed it up with a 1-1 draw against the NE Revolution on Sunday. Both Galaxy goals were scored by Juninho. Saturday brought action from so many different places in the U.S. and Canada, numerous story lines and lots of heart-pumping action. The Vancouver Whitecaps drew a sold-out crowd of nearly 23,000 cheering fans in their opening match and they rewarded them with a 4-2 victory over TFC. Charlie Davies put up 2 goals for D.C. United in a win over the Columbus Crew. Omar Bravo notched Player Of The Week honors with 2 goals vs. Chivas USA, proving that he could be a significant addition to Sporting KC this year. The Colorado Rapids, last years MLS Cup Champions, looked really sharp in their first match with a 3-1 win over the up-and-coming Portland Timbers. Goals were scored by Jeff Larentowicz, Omar Cummings and Jamie Smith. Oh, and Dwayne De Rosario scored the 8,000th goal in MLS history.

My main focus on Saturday was the Chicago Fire vs. FC Dallas game at 830pm and Real Salt Lake vs. San Jose Earthquakes at 1030pm. In the opening game, I thought the Chicago Fire really came out looking sharp with their questionable 3-5-2 formation. Ristic and Segares played the outside mid positions, both showing the ability to get forward with the attack and help on defense when needed. The Fire defense looked relatively good, although Jalil Anibaba and Bratislav Ristic both got beat by Zach Loyd leading to FC Dallas's only goal. Milton Rodriguez was on the receiving end with a beautiful left-footed flick-on that beat Sean Johnson with ease. Chicago's goal was scored by Diego Chaves, his first MLS goal in his first ever MLS match. One part of the match Chicago couldn't capitalize on was Brek Shea's red card in the 55th minute, which he received for his "last man" take-down of Gaston Puerari. Next week Chicago(4pm) will take on Sporting KC at home and FC Dallas(9pm) also plays at home against the San Jose Earthquakes.

Chicago Fire vs. FC Dallas - Preview, Recap & Match Highlights (1-1)

OPTA ANALYSIS...

All throughout the season Opta will take weekly statistics to a whole new level. We analyze all 50/50 challenges, aerials won/lost, tackles, launches, crosses, passes, clearances, headers...basically every single touch on the field. One of my favorite stats is the "Take On". With this stat we will be able to see how many times a player "take's on" another player and determine a success rate depending on the outcome. Zach Loyd came up big vs. the Fire with a huge assist to Milton Rodriguez, but what I really liked about his effort and what will be noted as the season goes on, was his ability to get past both Jalil Anibaba and Bratislav Ristic. Loyd deserves just as much credit for that goal as Rodriguez, and with Opta keeping track of that now, everyone will be able to see who has the ability, tenacity and success to take his team to the next level. To understand the way Opta analysts interpret the game(and take-ons), view the FC Dallas match highlight above and you will see why Zach Loyd was given so much credit for the goal.

* Take On/Challenge Lost - Zach Loyd +2, Jalil Anibaba -1, Bratislav Ristic -1 *

My next match was with one of my favorite teams to watch in the entire league and my early favorite to win it all, Real Salt Lake. They took on a persistent San Jose team in monsoon like conditions. Kyle Beckerman scored RSL's only goal on a well placed strike from the top of the box, hitting off the left post before beating GK Jon Busch. The pressure San Jose put forth after that was relentless, but RSL GK Nick Rimando certainly earned his paycheck, securing a 1-0 victory for his squad. The ball was all over the place with swirling winds and pounding rain, making almost every shot on goal a major problem. After it was all said and done, the Earthquakes out shot RSL 16-11 with and 8-2 advantage in shots on target. Next week RSL(9pm) and New England(430pm) both play at home against the LA Galaxy and D.C. United respectively.

San Jose vs. Real Salt Lake - Preview, Recap & Match Highlights (0-1)

Hammerheads win 3rd straight preseason game
The Hammerheads traveled to Coastal Carolina on Sunday and grabbed a 1-0 victory, bringing their preseason goals scored total to 8. Alex Grendi was responsible for the goal this time, his second of the preseason. Wilmington's GK's and defense must be doing something right because they have yet to let in a goal. The team will travel to UNC-Pembroke on Tuesday with kickoff set for 7pm. This will be their 4th preseason game in the last 10 days. I'm sure the team is still trying out different players at various positions, so it's unlikely that David Irving is playing the starting team yet. However, look for the lineup to become more secure as opening day draws near.

MLS Signs Multi-Year Deal With Opta

While Richard gets prepared for his next preseason game against Coastal Carolina, I'm getting ready to for week 1 at MLS in New York. Something new from MLS this year is their deal with Opta, an England based data analysis company. With Opta running at full speed tomorrow, all MLS games will be analyzed to the extreme. The live game-analysis and technology behind Opta is extraordinary stuff and it will revolutionize the way we view players for years to come. If you are unfamiliar with Opta, check out their website. As of now, it looks like my main priority will be RSL, but I'll probably be responsible for Chicago, LA and Chivas when needed.


Opta takes data analysis to another level. Not only do they breakdown every single ball touch, recovery, aerial, tackle, foul, thrown-in, pass, goal kick, corner, shot and goal, they also record the outcome. We all know the importance of a pass won or a pass lost, a tackle won or a tackle lost, a take on won or a take on lost and an aerial won or an aerial lost. The information Opta analysts gather over the course of a game can be very useful with regards to player scouting and tactics. I did the Galaxy vs. Sounders game on Tuesday, and when it was all said and done, we had entered roughly 1600 events. After each match is over, Opta does a post game-analysis assuring everything entered or missed is correct. All data gathered over the course of the season will be available for purchase. The picture shown above (on the right) is the final product distributed to buyers. It is mind-blowing to say the least!

Doing a little training before First Kick on Saturday

Hammerheads Off To A Promising Start...

Just two days after their first practice of the 2011 season, the Hammerheads traveled to Buies Creek, NC to take on the men's soccer team from Campbell University. The game ended in a 3-0 shutout, favoring the newly designed USL PRO squad from Wilmington. Goals were scored by Christopher Banks, Ivan Becerra and Richard Jata. I'm still working on acquiring some footage from the preseason opener at Elon, but if I do you'll be able to catch it all here. I know everyone is really excited about the upcoming season and I couldn't agree more. The anticipation is growing...

Opening day at Legion Stadium is exactly one month away and the Hammerheads can use every opportunity possible in preparing for that day. Their next preseason match is against Coastal Carolina(Conway, SC) on Sunday, March 20th. If you can't make it to a regular season game once the season starts, don't worry because I heard that some games might be shown nationally on FSC.

First Official Practice of the 2011 Season (Video)

Here's a brief video of the first practice held by the Wilmington Hammerheads since their departure from the league in 2009. In this clip you'll see some scrimmaging as well as a couple words from Head Coach David Irving and defender Ivan Becerra. One highlight of the scrimmage, shown twice in the video clip below, is the bicycle kick from Richard that beats the keeper near post...



What will the Wilmington Hammerheads record be at the end of the season? Will they make the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup? Who will be their leading scorer?

Hammerheads Dominate First Preseason Match

The Wilmington Hammerheads wasted little time getting their first win of the 2011 preseason. Richard scored on a beautiful free kick in route to a 4-0 victory over Elon. Chris Murray, Jyler Noviello and Alex Grendi also added goals, giving the Hammerheads some confidence going forward. Tanner Wolfe has been invited back for a second look, with hopes of locking down a spot on the final roster. As of March 10th, I believe the unofficial roster count was at 16. It's quite possible we'll hear a couple more signings this week, but as far as I know all tryouts are over with and only players cut from MLS teams this week will be invited to camp from now on.

Preseason Schedule

March 12th - @ Elon - Win (4-0)
March 16th - @ Campbell
March 20th - @ Coastal Carolina
March 22nd - @ UNC-Pembroke
March 30th - @ UNC-Wilmington
April 2nd - @ Carolina Railhawks
April 10th - Open House @ Legion Stadium from (1 - 5pm) - Players meet and greet and an exhibition match vs. Hurricane FC

Campbell University, Jata's old stomping ground, is the next stop on the road to opening day(4/16). The game is scheduled to take place this Wednesday, in Buies Creek, with kickoff set for 7pm. Here's a brief video of Hammerheads Head Coach David Irving discussing the signing of Richard Jata and Tom Taylor last month.



Back at Legion Stadium sections of the new turf have been laid down. Hopefully things are coming along fast and error free. Either way, the stadium should boast a vastly improved appearance by opening day. This is what the field looked like as of March 1st. From what I understand, as of today, turf installation is running smoothly and sections have been laid down from one endline to the other. Now the main focus is on getting the sidelines done, perfecting the installation, working out all the kinks, painting, etc.



For more updates on the Wilmington Hammerheads please visit their official blog, written by Tom Grady of the Star News, at hammers.blogs.starnewsonline.com.