Matt Barger
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mattbarger.bsky.social
Matt Barger
@mattbarger.bsky.social
800 followers 1.2K following 2K posts
Data scientist. Anti-fascist. Soccer fan. Disappointed Keynesian. Sometimes writer for American Soccer Analysis
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Life got busy past couple weeks, so we're missing some regular season games and that's on me.

Working on a Shiny app so you can access every game from every league.

Pinning this to keep my ass honest.
The penalty for Chicago throws things off a bit.

Philly was dominant and efficient. A great combo.
Generally, a suplex means the one getting thrown lands on his head and neck. Concussion stuff, etc.

That is not what happened here. This was a tackle. Lopez was held and driven down to his back.

It was a clear red card offense, but no brains were scrambled. Lopez had control over his reaction.
Lopez didn’t get hit in the head. He had agency; he needed to control his reaction.

If you’re the ref you have to punish violent conduct so teams don’t get the impression they can get away with more.

Kicking out at a player is violent conduct. End of.
Both incidents are not equal in degree, but they are both commonly considered as red card offenses.

If you think retaliation should not be punished because it’s “justified,” you probably haven’t watched many sports. Retaliation is often the only thing that is punished.
Look at that read. As the ball is kicked Kadono already KNOWS.
games like these are the best argument against the best-of-3 format.

tension is completely lost when aggregate goal difference does not matter.
Not sure. Here's what I've got.

SAC: 3 squares (field player blocks) and a diamond (GK save)
OC: 7 squares

seems to line up with your 7-4 SOT readout
Sacramento Republic FC 0-0 Orange County SC

Passes per shot sequence: SAC 7.6-5.9 OC
Avg Progression to shot (m): SAC 40-30.3 OC

Shots: SAC 13-11 OC
xG: SAC 1.06-0.65 OC
xG (open play): SAC 0.78-0.53 OC
xG (dead ball): SAC 0.28-0.12 OC

#USL #SACvOC #RepublicFC #ForCounty
A note here: Opta counts shots blocked by field players as shots on target.

They should not do this. It's misleading.
Sacramento Republic FC: 0 (0.86 xG)
vs
Orange County SC: 0 (0.42 xG)

#SACvOC | #RepublicFC | #ForCounty | #USLChampionship | 🤖⚽
The laws don’t make exceptions for “deserving” a punch or a kick, mate.
I mean, they weren’t and that’s not my point.

The rugby tackle was a red card offense, the subsequent kick-out was also a red card offense, regardless of the circumstances.

He wasn’t suplexed, he had his wits about him. He didn’t have to kick out.
Rhode Island the much better team in this one IMO
Honestly? A very light rugby tackle. Still a red, and kicking out is also a red.

Is what it is. Chippy game.
Shades of Vancouver-Dallas Game 1, save for the fact that Dallas was actually trying.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 3-0 FC Dallas

Passes per shot: VAN 7-5 FCD
Avg Progression to shot (m): VAN 34.3-49.5 FCD

Shots: VAN 22-1 FCD
xG: VAN 3.66-0.04 FCD
xG (open play): VAN 2.63-0.04 FCD
xG (dead ball): VAN 1.04-0 FCD

#MLS #VANvFCD #VWFC #DTID
I'll hold the L here lol. Heat of the moment.

They weren't bad, but I heard a lot about their weekend/holiday plans... and the banter with the sideline was ugh.

When the game is repetitive, you run out of stuff.
For emphasis: one forced save (diamond) on both charts here through 120 minutes.

SAC tried to pass through a brick wall, but they were left shooting from deep, or giving the ball away.

OC had like 7 transition breaks and committed far too few numbers. Not enough wheels on the parked bus?

Good W.
Sacramento Republic FC 0-0 Orange County SC

Passes per shot sequence: SAC 7.6-5.9 OC
Avg Progression to shot (m): SAC 40-30.3 OC

Shots: SAC 13-11 OC
xG: SAC 1.06-0.65 OC
xG (open play): SAC 0.78-0.53 OC
xG (dead ball): SAC 0.28-0.12 OC

#USL #SACvOC #RepublicFC #ForCounty
Sacramento Republic FC 0-0 Orange County SC

Passes per shot sequence: SAC 7.6-5.9 OC
Avg Progression to shot (m): SAC 40-30.3 OC

Shots: SAC 13-11 OC
xG: SAC 1.06-0.65 OC
xG (open play): SAC 0.78-0.53 OC
xG (dead ball): SAC 0.28-0.12 OC

#USL #SACvOC #RepublicFC #ForCounty
Only critique I may have is that he jumps early. He’ll struggle against stutter steps.
As a goalkeeper I really appreciated how decisive he was even if he was going the wrong way.

Those three saves landed into his hands, but that’s because he made the right read on all three.

5/7 correct guesses is really good.
Portland vs San Diego in the Sunday afternoon spot dovetails nicely with the fact that neither have an NFL team
As the NYC mayor campaign ends in blatant Islamophobia, Zohran drops this banger and I am here for it.
أنا اسمي زهران ممدان وعم رشّح حالي لأكون العمدة الجديد في مدينة نيويورك
Why 22 minutes have a PIP so we can get that content through the commercials
@xowngoals.com

seven Seattle dogs seems do-able, should be timed.

Seven Seattle dogs in seven minutes?
Life got busy past couple weeks, so we're missing some regular season games and that's on me.

Working on a Shiny app so you can access every game from every league.

Pinning this to keep my ass honest.
When Kadono made a correct read, it made the shooter look very foolish. The three saves looked placed in his gloves.

His reaction time is insane, even if he jumps early sometimes.
Seventh OC shot: No-looker to the opposite post. This guy should have been the first taker.

Seventh OC shot: They've been hyping Jack Gurr all game. Kadono says he's trash. Early run up, telegraphed to Kadono's left, perfect read, authoritative save. LFG OC!

OC 5-4 SAC eat it
Hell is something, apparently.