GF/GA and how it affects the Burn's W-L-T

[Rocket]

Even though the Burn are off to their best start ever, you'll still here the occasional "Yeah, but we're not shutting out our opponents like we used to".

Very true. The Burn have only shut out their opponent 2 times so far this season vs. 8 times (!) the first 21 games last year.

But the great thing about the Burn defense in 2002 is that they've managed to hold their opponent to 1 goal or less in 71% of their games, and have a 9-1-5 record when doing so.

In contrast, during their first 21 games in 2001 the Burn managed to hold their opponent to 1 goal or less in only 49% of their games (6-1-3 record).

Here are some tables showing how GF/GA has affected the Burn's record in 2002 and in 2001 (1st 21 games):

.................................2002....................2001
# goals scored...... Burn record...........Burn record
....by Burn....... ...W......L......T.........W......L......T

.........0.................0......5......0..........0......2......2
.........1.................1......0......5..........2......3......1
.........2.................4......0......2..........0......4......1
.........3.................3......0......0..........4......0......0
.........4.................1......0......0..........1......0......0
.........5.................0......0......0..........0......0......0
.........6.................0......0......0..........1......0......0

Overall record........9......5......7..........8......9......4


.................................2002....................2001
# goals scored...... Burn record...........Burn record
....by opponent. ...W.....L......T..........W.....L......T

.........0.................2......0......0..........6......0......2
.........1.................7......1......5..........0......1......1
.........2.................0......2......2..........1......3......1
.........3.................0......1......0..........1......2......0
.........4.................0......1......0..........0......1......0
.........5.................0......0......0..........0......1......0
.........6.................0......0......0..........0......1......0

Overall record........9......5......7..........8......9......4

[Chamo]

The 2002 stat that jumps out the most is that when the Red and Black score a goal they are undefeated.

I bet that most of the teams that Dallas plays from this point forward in the season will bunker and counter (with the exception of SJ). The success of the Red and Black will depend on their ability to breakdown these compact defenses during the stretch run of the regular season.

La locura rojinegra

[Alex Sanz]

Wasn't the Burn 10-11-5 in 2001?

Thanks for the stats VW. Very interesting stuff.

[Chamo]

Originally posted by Alex Sanz
Wasn't the Burn 10-11-5 in 2001?

Thanks for the stats VW. Very interesting stuff.

Yes, that was their record at the end of the season. VW's stats are through 21 games to make the comparisons between 2001 and 2002 valid at this point in time.

La locura matematica

[Rocket]

Originally posted by Chamo
The 2002 stat that jumps out the most is that when the Red and Black score a goal they are undefeated.


I agree that this is probably the most telling stat, Chamo.

In particular, it's interesting to note that the Burn are 8-0-2 this year when they've scored 2 or more goals compared to 6-4-1 last season.

To me, this gives credence to the belief that the Burn are consistently better defensively this year than in the past.

The other thing that stands out is that the Burn have allowed their opponent to score 3+ goals in only 2 games this season compared to 6 games last year. Way to go defense!

[Alex Sanz]

Ok, that makes sense. My bad. Again, all very interesting stuff.

[Rocket]

Thanks, Alex.

Here're a few more stats to ponder:

1) Who should start at forward alongside Kreis?

When Rhine starts at forward, Dallas is 7-3-4
When Cerritos starts at forward, Dallas is 2-2-4

Bobby's in a bit of a slump so my gut says we may want to start Ronald, but the stats say Rhine is our man

2) Who's indispensible to this team?

Player.......W-L-T when player is out/non-starter

Pareja.......0-2-1.......Stay healthy Oscar!
Vaca.........1-1-1
Chivas.......1-1-5
Rhine........2-2-3
Deering.....1-1-3
Zarco........5-2-1......Possible trade bait once Bussey's ready?
Cerritos.....7-2-3
Morrow......2-0-1.....Hmmm. As you can see, stats aren't always the end-all-say-all.

3) Must Jason score for the Burn to win?

Pretty much.

When Jason scores, Dallas is 8-0-4
When Jason doesn't, Dallas is 1-5-3

4) Watch out if Dallas scores first!

The Burn are undefeated, 7-0-3, if they score first.
When their opponent scores first, they're 2-5-4 -- not too bad, really, and actually quite respectable by soccer standards.