Statting the Opposition- Vancouver

By Charles Barnard

This week I take another stab at looking at RSL's upcoming opponent's statistics prior to this weekend's match. Today we look at the Vancouver Whitecaps. Who should RSL be worried about heading into this match? As fans, who should we hope to see or not see in the starting lineup?

So far this season I have only seen Vancouver play probably 10 to 15 minutes. I have just not caught any of their matches yet. This is one of the reasons why I like to take a look at the stats prior to the game. It gives me a real sense of who I should be watching for from the Whitecaps. With that said, on to the stats.

• Vancouver is currently scoring a goal every 63 minutes. They are giving up a goal every 78 minutes.
• 9 of the 10 goals the Whitecaps have scored this season have come in Vancouver.
• The Whitecaps are currently scoring 80% of their goals in the second half of play and 40% of all their goals have come in the final 15 minutes of the match.
• 75% of Vancouver's conceded goals have come in the second half of matches.
• The Whitecaps best attacking duo is Kenny Miller and Kekuta Manneh. When they have played together this season Vancouver is scoring a goal every 39 minutes.
• Vancouver has scored a goal every 72 minutes that Darren Maddocks has been on the field. When he has not been on the field they are scoring a goal every 25 minutes. 
• Pedro Morales leads the team in shots (17) and shots on goal (9). He is creating a scoring chance (shot or pass leading to a shot) every 14.3 minutes.
• Manneh is creating a shot every 13.25 minutes that he has played. 
• Statistically Vancouver's best defender has been Johnny Leveron. The team has only given up 1 goal in the 135 minutes that he has been on the field. 

Vancouver has been very good defensively so far this season on the road; only giving up 2 goals in 3 road games. Rumors out of Vancouver are that defender Jay DeMerit will be out this match. It will be interesting to see if the strong defense can continue without his veteran experience.

I am curious to see who the Whitecaps will start up top. They have been using some combination of Maddocks/Manneh/Miller at forward this season. Statistically Manneh is the player that scares me the most. It will be vital for RSL to be mindful of the speed that Vancouver has up top as both Manneh and Maddocks are some of the fastest players in the league.

Coming into this match RSL has scored 7 goals in the first half. On the other hand, Vancouver has only given up 2 goals in the first half of matches. It will be interesting to see if RSL will be able to continue to score in the first half of matches.