That’s a wrap on the first month of the 2015 MLS season.
And what a month it was.
After dropping their season opener, Vancouver Whitecaps FC have now won three straight matches – most recently, a 2-1 triumph over Cascadia rival Portland Timbers at BC Place.
Here are a few of the more interesting stats from the month of March.
9
This is the most important stat of them all.
Whitecaps FC claimed nine out of a possible 12 points in the month of March – a new club record in MLS. That puts them second to only FC Dallas, who lead MLS with 10 points.
3
First-year striker Octavio Rivero has scored three goals in his first four MLS matches. The 23-year-old Uruguayan is tied with four other players atop the league’s scoring charts.
Check out his latest strike, which was crowned MLS Goal of the Week.
[youtube id=”5SVB2lUaiPs”]
14,552
That’s how many kilometres the ‘Caps travelled in the month of March. They made a total of six flights over trips to Chicago and Orlando, including a missed flight and an impromptu night in Dallas.
Aside from the month of June, when the ‘Caps have four away matches because of BC Place’s unavailability due to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, this was the team’s busiest travel month of the year in terms of regular season competition.
8
Whitecaps FC lead MLS with eight “big chances created,” defined by Opta as “a situation where a player should reasonably be expected to score, usually in a one-on-one scenario or from very close range.” The next closest team has five.
Seven different ‘Caps players have created “big chances” for their teammates, but captain Pedro Moralesleads the way with two.
43
Similarly, Whitecaps FC are tied for the league lead with 43 “chances created,” defined as a pass/cross instrumental in creating a goal-scoring opportunity.
Once again, Morales has a team-high 10 chances created, which is the third highest total in MLS. In terms of chances created per 90 minutes, however, Kekuta Manneh leads the way with just over three chances created per 90 minutes.
Here are the top five Whitecaps FC players in the chances created category.
|
Player |
Chances created |
Minutes played |
|
Pedro Morales |
10 |
358 |
|
Octavio Rivero |
8 |
360 |
|
Kekuta Manneh |
8 |
238 |
|
Nicolas Mezquida |
4 |
169 |
|
Steven Beitashour |
3 |
360 |
54
Sticking with team stats, the ‘Caps are tied with Sporting Kansas City for the league lead in total shots (54). Rivero is leading the way with 15, which is tied for first in MLS.
17
No surprise here.
Whitecaps FC midfielder Matias Laba is once again among the league leaders in tackles.
Currently, the Argentine is second to only Moises Hernandez with 17 tackles in four matches.
24
One player who quietly had a strong month was centre back Kendall Waston.
The “big man,” as they call him, is tied for the league lead with 24 headed clearances. He also leads MLS with eight blocks, including the goal-line clearance you see below from Saturday’s match vs. Portland.
*Statistics provided by Opta Sports
Originally posted on WhitecapsFC.com