Crunching the Numbers- Dallas

It was not the best of weeks for RSL. After the disappointing loss to DC United, the team really hoped to bounce back against FC Dallas. The early red card made that a little hard to do and RSL came out with  a decent 1-1 result. The offense continues to struggle to put up the numbers that it was producing for most of the season. In league play RSL has only scored 3 goals in their past 4 games (plus not scoring any goals in the USOC Final either).

Here are some more interesting numbers coming out of the match:

• RSL has now scored 55 goals on the season or a goal every 53.36 minutes. They are still leading the league in goals scored.
• The team has given up 40 goals on the year or a goal every 71.00 minutes.
• Alvaro Saborio now has 11 goals in only 14 games played. He is scoring at a rate of .85 goals every 90 minutes that he plays. 
• Saborio and Robbie Findley have played 419 minutes together. During this time RSL has scored 5 times or a goal every 83.8 minutes. Statistically, out of all the RSL forward pairings, the team scores the least when Saborio and Findley play together. 
• Chris Schuler has now played 1260 minutes on the season. During that time RSL has given up 14 goals or a goal every 90.00 minutes. RSL has played 1620 minutes without Schuler in the lineup. In that time the team has given up 26 goals or a goal every 62.31 minutes. 
• Schuler and Nat Borchers have played 630 minutes together as a centerback pairing for RSL. In that time the team has given up 6 goals or a goal every 105.00 minutes. This is the best for any RSL centerback pairing. 
• RSL has an incredible record of 35-6-9 when Saborio scores a goal.
• The team has scored 29 goals at home and 26 goals on the road. They have given up 15 goals at home and 25 goals on the road. 

Statistically, Saborio is having a great season in the limited games that he has played. Not only is he leading the team in goals scored but he also leads the team in shots on goal and is third on the team in shots taken. He has done all of this in only 14 out the the 32 games that RSL has played this year.

Even with all of these stats I still question if Saborio is too much of the offense when he plays. I originally took a look into this about a month ago and since that time I am still undecided if the team really does play better with or without Saborio. Here is one last stat on the subject. When Saborio plays and he does not score a goal, RSL has a record of 19-28-17. That is a big difference than the 35-6-9 when he does score.

One huge plus to the team has been the return of Chris Schuler. He has been outstanding since returning from his foot injuries. Since returning to health the team has only given up 1 goal in the three games that he has played in (two MLS matches and a reserve league game). He has been dominate in the air and that was something that RSL has seemed to be missing. Hopefully he can stay healthy for the final stretch of the season.