Statistically Speaking- Spotlight on Ned Grabavoy

Grabavoy - Photo by James Boz

I have a confession to make. Going into this season I was not a big Ned Grabavoy fan. Going into this last off season we all knew that changes were going to be made with the team. In talking this over with one of my friends, I was vocal to the fact that I didn't think the team should bring Grabavoy back. I am not too proud to admit that I was wrong. Grabavoy has been playing great and is having a career year for the team. I thought I would dig into his numbers to see just how good a year Grabavoy is having.

Before getting into his season's numbers, here is a little bit about Grabavoy. He was drafted 14th overall (second round) of the 2004 Superdraft by the LA Galaxy. He played two and a half seasons for LA and won the MLS Cup with the team in 2005. Halfway through the 2006 season, he was traded to the Columbus Crew where he played until 2008. In 2008 he was selected in the expansion draft by San Jose. He was put into the waiver draft and was selected by RSL prior to the 2009 season.

After missing the first two matches of the season, Grabavoy has been a mainstay in the RSL lineup. He has taken to heart the challenge that Jason Kreis issued all midfielders to score more goals. At nearly the half-way point in the season, Grabavoy is tied for third on the team with three goals. This equals the amount of regular season goals that he has scored over the previous four years of playing with RSL combined. It also ties him with his career high of goals scored in a single season.

Grabavoy has also been credited with two assists so far this season. He had three assists last season which has been his high with the team. There is a chance he will pass that.

You can really see Grabavoy's value when you take a look at team goals. While he is on the field, RSL is scoring a goal every 54.77 minutes. When he has not been on the field, RSL is scoring a goal every 117.50 minutes. Last year RSL had a better scoring rate while he was on the field (61.82) than when he was off the field (70.38) as well.

Grabavoy is also really impressive when you look at his shooting. Currently he is scoring 25% of the shots he has taken. He is the second highest on the team with this stat. This would lead me to believe that he needs to shoot more in matches. The interesting thing is that the 12 shots he has taken so far this year is the second highest shot total that he has had since he has been with RSL.

By watching Grabavoy and looking at his stats, it is obvious that he has really stepped up his game this year and has become one of the most valuable pieces in the RSL midfield.

Special thanks to RSLBoz.com for the photo.