Best of November: Powered by InStat

by Travis Clark

December 4, 2020

A leading video analysis provider, InStat digs into the numbers behind the success (or lack thereof) of players on the field.

In a new monthly feature, TDS will dig into some of the top performances of young players from club, college and professional soccer. Driving the data will be the InStat Index, a number derived by a player’s number of quality action in a game.

Keep in mind that players are only included when their games are added to the database. Below is a look at some of the players that have performed well in November in women’s club and college soccer.

ECNL

Kaitlyn Giametta, FC Dallas 02/03: It was a big month for Giametta, who signed her National Letter of Intent to play college soccer at Texas Tech. She has the potential to be an impact player almost immediately in the Big 12. She had a busy month, traveling to the National Event in Arizona, and playing in all three games. Playing significant time, she did well in two of three matches in particular, assisting on a goal in a 1-1 draw against Legends FC and winning 50% of all her challenges in a 1-0 defeat against San Diego Surf. Outside of the trip to Arizona, a big-time offensive performance back on Nov. 8 powered her to a 247 InStat rating, as she scored a goal, completed 72% of her passes and won 4 out of 5 dribbles in a win versus Sting Dallas.

Kaitlyn Gustafson, Solar SC 06: Goalkeepers often go overlooked, as it can be difficult to find stats to evaluate performances. One measure that InStat uses is the Supersave, which is deemed to be a stop of a higher level of difficulty. In a 4-1 win over AHFC, Gustafson provided three Supersaves among the four shots saved, finished with an InStat rating of 194. She passes the ball relatively well for her age, completing 78% of passes attempted in four games during November.

Angela Baron, DKSC 02/03: A defender on DKSC, Baron enjoyed an excellent month, helping her team go unbeaten. She won 72% of her defensive challenges, averaging nine per game. Along with that, her 11 interceptions per game helps to snuff out danger before it gets close to her goal.

Jaden Thomas, FC Dallas 05: The attacking talent from North Texas put together an impressive offensive display, with three goals in four games. She was more than just a finisher, creating two chances per game. A two-goal performance against Eclipse Select produced an InStat rating of 276.

Girls Academy

Kayla Budish, SC Wave 04: Just one game made it into InStat, but Budish finished three of four chances in a wild 4-4 draw against Cincinnati United. The attacker also connected well with teammates, completing 76% of 33 passes attempt. She also outperformed her expected goals, scoring three times off 1.16 xG.

Emma Radoncic, STA 05: A goal-scoring midfielder, Radoncic took 12 shots, getting four on target in a 5-2 win against Cedar Stars Academy. She scored a goal and added an assist in that game, and helped her team dominate possession by completing 83% of 54 passes attempted.

Olivia Garcia, Utah Royals AZ 02/03: Another prolific goal-scoring stretch from three games in November propelled her to impressive statistical output. She scored a hat trick on November 7, converting all three of her chances against Albion SC Las Vegas. Along with that, Garcia scored two goals and added an assist against West Coast, punctuating that by completing 92% of 24 passes attempted.

College

Abi Brighton, Vanderbilt: It was a scintillating run to the SEC tournament championship, as the Commodores won four games in a week. Brighton was a huge part of that, playing as a defensive midfielder and creating all kinds of trouble for the opposition. Her pass completion numbers were solid at 75%, averaging 37 passes in the month of November. Averaging 20 challenges per game, she won 63% of them, and made an average of five interceptions per match. Goals helped boost her InStat Index number, and her long-range strike in the final to make it 3-1 was a memorable one. It was also not a needle-mover from a stats perspective, earning just 0.04 xG.

Clara Robbins, Florida State: A match-winner for the Seminoles down the stretch, Robbins was credited with an assist to go with her two goals in the ACC tournament final win against North Carolina. That was certainly the high point of her four matches in the month, although she had either a goal or assist in each. In the final against the Tar Heels, she won 73% of her challenges, made six interceptions and completed 76% of her passes.

Brenna McPartlan, South Alabama: From only a small sample size of three matches at the beginning of the month for the Sun Belt tournament champs, McPartlan’s three goals helped play a role in her leading the team in the InStat Index. She was pretty good with her passing, particularly in the final by completing 80% of 49 pass attempts. During the team’s week in the tournament, she averaged eight interceptions per game, along with nine ball recoveries. That helped balance out a tendency to lose the ball, as she did 12 times per game on average.

Related Topics: Atlantic Coast, Big 12, SEC, Sun Belt