Welcome back to the premier data driven Union Omaha recap column. I hope you’ve had a fantastic off-season and you survived the 182 days between competitive Union Omaha home games. Let’s dive in.
1) JP Scearce is a literal monster.
We here at Data Dump are big JP Scearce fans, especially after a fantastic interview last season. However, given the amount of love JP receives from other members of the WGaH Media Empire (*cough* Luke *cough*), we haven’t felt the need to shine the flashlight. However with a game last his on Saturday, it has become impossible NOT to shine the flashlight.
As you can see below, JP won more duels than the entire starting Tormenta midfield combined: 15 to 13 and was involved in 30 duels compared to 31 duels for those three guys.
(Special shout out to former Owl, all-around good person, and aspiring League One fashion icon, Kobe Perez, who looked decent while making his Werner Park debut.)
Overall, sure JP could have been a little more accurate with his passes, but look at the ground he covered!
2.) Illal was critical.
Illal had 13 tackles won (forced loss of possession), defensive blocks (stopping a shot), interceptions (stealing a pass), and recoveries (collecting a loose ball). Six of those 13 happened in the box and ten of the 13 were within 25 yards of goal.
Combined the two centerbacks for Tormenta had nine tackles won (forced loss of possession), defensive blocks (stopping a shot), interceptions (stealing a pass), and recoveries (collecting a loose ball).
3.) We’re still Union Omaha.
Instead of revisiting ALL of our favorite 2020 Data Dump tropes, I’m going to focus on a single one: time of possession. In 2020 our average percentage of possession in a win was 39.4%. Our first win of 2020? 42.1%. Sounds about right.
Now if you felt we had more possession in the first half than we did in the second, it sure looks like you are correct! Check out these first half v. second half Union Omaha heatmaps.
If you felt we took our foot off the gas a little bit in the second half, these images will kind of confirm that thinking. Most notably for me is the lack of touches in the middle of the field in the second half.
As someone who picked the Owls to score four goals in the weekly pick’em, I am filling that easing up into the “potential red flags” file in case it becomes a problem in the future. In the meantime, after one game it seems that the team reloaded, hasn’t missed a beat (what up Evan Conway), and looks like a team ready to compete for wins in any league in America, but especially our own!
Who Gives A Hoot? 