The most important number, 10 games into the season, is 15.
That’s the number of points Austin FC’s been able to accumulate, largely due to an impressively tallied four wins in its last five matches, turning a dismal 0.6 PPG clip five matches through the young season into a respectable 1.5 PPG.
It felt like we’ve gathered enough data here to try to determine some data-backed observations about how Austin FC’s playing, and while it’s still too premature to say that the team’s changing its game model to be more pragmatic, the numbers early on are saying that its mindset might be shifting.
It’s still evident that head coach Josh Wolff wants to use the ball to displace opponents and to set up opportunities, but it’s also evident that this might happen more selectively now. Consider that, in Verde’s last two wins, the goals came off:
- a long boot from a goalkeeper that should have been awarded a secondary assist, followed by a flick-on header by a winger to another winger who got free between two defenders;
- a winger winning the ball in the opponent’s half, dishing it off to a free midfielder, then passing to a defensive midfielder taking it centrally before getting it to two attackers positioned centrally;
- a defensive midfielder winning the ball on a tackle, having the presence of mind to get back up immediately and find a winger with a long pass.
No slow buildups in any of those plays. Just clear, purposeful, direct, and opportunistic passes getting the ball forward.
And while it’s true that Austin was winning the possession battle in the first 20 minutes of its most recent match against the Galaxy, it actually finished the day losing the overall possession battle — but getting a shutout win — for the second straight week. And not just losing it, but I’m getting a scooch ahead of myself.
Let’s nerd it out.
