| Each week, we will look back at the games that were to see which players had the largest individual performances. I say largest because the contributions that we can measure (from play by play) tend to be things that are easy to count. This includes, goals, shots, assists, turnovers, penalties, etc. We can’t measure a defender who shuts down an opposing player so completely that he doesn’t even touch the ball. Still, it is interesting to be able to identify the players that really filled it up each weekend and give them a shout out here. |
| For a bit of background, in order to rank single game performances, we needed a way to condense box score stats into a single number for each player. In order to do this, we relied on our expected goal values methodology, which assigns a goal value to each type of play depending on how often it leads to a goal in the next 60 seconds. By adding up all the expected goals added for each player, we can get to that single number and these rankings. |
| We have also tagged each performance with the opponent’s ELO rating. The higher the number, the stronger the opponent. This should help to give some context for each performance. Did the player feast on the dregs of D1 or did they put up these numbers against a quality opponent? |
Top Single Game Scores of the week
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#1 – Ryan Smith (Robert Morris) – 11.04 goals added
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| Feb 15 vs Canisius Opp ELO: 1486 |
| All day, Princeton’s Michael Sowers held the top slot for this week’s list. And then, in the final game of the weekend, Smith and RMU just went off. The game featured 32 goals, so it’s not surprising to see a top star from that game on this list. What is maybe more surprising is that Smith is now #11 in our cumulative EGA ranking, despite having played only one game. |
| 8 |
2 |
22 (15) |
| 5 |
0 |
N/A |
| 2 |
1 |
2 |
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#2 – Michael Sowers (Princeton) – 9.51 goals added
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| Feb 15 vs Monmouth Opp ELO: 1444 |
| Another week, another top-20 EGA performance for the Princeton star. With the Tigers 1-0, will this be the year that Sowers gets to play past the IL tournament? The one thing that stands out as good for Sowers and bad for the Tigers post-season hopes is that all 7 of those goals were unassisted. It’s great to have a guy that can go and get 7 goals on his own, but that is not a recipe for long-term offensive success. At the very least, it makes it much harder. |
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#3 – Dylan Beckwith (Fairfield) – 7.67 goals added
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| Feb 15 vs Stony Brook Opp ELO: 1463 |
| Fairfield’s new coach, Andrew Baxter, got his tenure off to a good start yesterday. It’s one game, but the 47.4% offensive efficiency mark that Fairfield put up against Stony Brook was the best performance of any Fairfield team in the past 6 seasons. And Dylan Beckwith was obviously a huge part of that performance. The 2nd quarter was really where he stood out. In the period, he had 3 unassisted goals on 6 shots, an assist, and 3 GBs. If he’s able to come up with more quarters like that, the Baxter honeymoon could extend well into the spring. |
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#4 – Jason Knox (Hobart) – 7.27 goals added
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| Feb 15 vs Siena Opp ELO: 1408 |
| He had 10 goals on 12 shots. That is nuts. For those without a calculator, that is an 83% shooting percentage. Again, that is nuts. It’s far too early to make any strong assertions, but so far Hobart is our #1 offensive efficiency team. Last year they were 14th. They could end up anywhere in between those two numbers probably, but their first 2 games suggest they will end up toward the higher end of the range. |
| 10 |
1 |
12 (11) |
| 3 |
0 |
N/A |
| 1 |
1 |
2 |
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#5 – Tommy Sopko (Bucknell) – 7.13 goals added
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| Feb 15 vs Sacred Heart Opp ELO: 1547 |
| The game against Sacred Heart was not as close as the final score suggests. The Bison were up 8-4 at half and had a win probability above 70% for almost the entire second half. It’s helpful in those situations to focus on the stats that came from the period when the game outcome was in doubt. And that is when Sopko made his mark. Of his 7.1 total EGA, 5.6 of it came in the first half. Still, the Bison’s offensive efficiency by quarter went: 40%, 24%, 24%, 17%. Not a great trend. The key for Bucknell is whether their offense can be more consistent throughout 4 quarters. In a tough Patriot League, that’s going to determine whether this team can get themselves into the conversation with Army, Loyola, etc. |
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#6 – Jack Hannah (Denver) – 7.08 goals added
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| Feb 15 vs Duke Opp ELO: 1696 |
| Weighting for opponent strength (which this column explicitly does not do), Jack Hannah’s performance against Duke may have been the best of the weekend. |
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#7 – Ryan Tierney (Hofstra) – 6.28 goals added
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| Feb 15 vs Michigan Opp ELO: 1460 |
| This was a very balanced performance by the Hofstra offense. Tierney was a big part of it with 4 goals and 4 assists. Not a great day for the Big Ten though, and the Pride knocking off Michigan was a big part of it. |
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#8 – George Prince (Dartmouth) – 6.01 goals added
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| Feb 15 vs Merrimack Opp ELO: 1528 |
| George Prince and Dartmouth had a day against Merrimack. Assists are not usually a recipe for ending up on this list because assisted goals are split between the guy who got the assist and the goal-scorer. Prince overcame this “handicap” by picking up 2 GBs and scoring 2 unassisted goals to go with the 4 assisted goals and 2 assists he picked up. One game against Merrimack does not a season make, but still, the 32.5% offensive mark the Big Green put up is a full 10 percentage points better than any full-season mark they’ve had in the past 5 years. |
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#9 – Colin Crowley (Villanova) – 5.93 goals added
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| Feb 15 vs Yale Opp ELO: 1952 |
| Tough loss for the Wildcats against Yale. I’m sure they were hoping to continue the trend they’ve established with tough early season victories. Wasn’t to be in this one. Still, Crowley was a bright spot. Crowley has typically been a secondary option behind Connor Kirst and Matt Campbell, so it’s encouraging to see someone else putting up a big stat-line for Nova. |
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#10 – Jared Bernhardt (Maryland) – 5.82 goals added
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| Feb 15 vs Penn Opp ELO: 1634 |
| It’s been a hot start for Bernhardt as part of the Maryland miracle-comeback tour (season nick-name pending…). He is currently 4th in our cumulative Statistical Tewaaraton table. Against Penn, Bernhardt was less the catalyst for the comeback and more the reason the comeback was possible in the first place. He did virtually all of his damage in the 1st half with all 4 goals and one of his assists coming before half-time. Glass half-full says: “wow they managed that comeback while getting virtually nothing from Bernhardt.” Glass half-empty says: “how can your top offensive player go so quiet for a whole half.” Smarter people than me can make the call, but I’m guessing that Penn made a conscious decision to contain Bernhardt and that led to the opportunity for other players to take over in the 2nd half. Glass is half-full for the 3-0 Terps. |
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#11 – Eric Holden (Hobart) – 5.81 goals added
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| Feb 15 vs Siena Opp ELO: 1408 |
| In this one, he scored 4 goals and added 3 assists against Siena in a game that Hobart won 26 – 9. Granted, there wasn’t a lot there besides the scoring, but it’s good enough to land a spot on the list since, hey, you win by scoring. Now, the obligatory dose of reality: Siena was the #-37 weakest opponent on this list. Factor that in. |
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#12 – Kyle Gucwa (Manhattan) – 5.78 goals added
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| Feb 15 vs VMI Opp ELO: 1265 |
| In this one, he scored 6 goals and added 1 assist against VMI in a game that Manhattan won 10 – 8. He also threw in 2 ground balls for good measure. Now, the obligatory dose of reality: VMI was the #-48 weakest opponent on this list. Factor that in. |
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#13 – Jacob Greiner (Jacksonville) – 5.63 goals added
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| Feb 15 vs Marquette Opp ELO: 1494 |
| In this one, he scored 5 goals and added 2 assists in a game that Jacksonville won 11 – 9 over Marquette. He also threw in 1 ground ball for good measure. Repeat this against a team stronger than Marquette, and he’ll really get people talking. |
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#14 – Austin Popovich (Robert Morris) – 5.60 goals added
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| Feb 15 vs Canisius Opp ELO: 1486 |
| On the day, he tallied 5 goals and 2 assists against Canisius in a game that Robert Morris won 22 – 10. As if that wasn’t enough, don’t forget the 1 ground ball. Repeat this against a team stronger than Canisius, and he’ll really get people talking. |
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#15 – Charlie Kitchen (Delaware) – 5.54 goals added
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| Feb 15 vs NJIT Opp ELO: 1187 |
| In this one, he scored 2 goals and added 3 assists against NJIT, in a game that Delaware won 13 – 1. Add in 2 ground balls and you’ve got a pretty full stat sheet. No trillion-club here. Now, the obligatory dose of reality: NJIT was the #-52 weakest opponent on this list. Factor that in. |
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#16 – Jake Carraway (Georgetown) – 5.45 goals added
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| Feb 15 vs UMBC Opp ELO: 1564 |
| He paced the team with 7 total points (4 goals; 3 assists) against UMBC in a game that Georgetown won 14 – 8. Add in 1 ground ball and you’ve got a pretty full stat sheet. No trillion-club here. Repeat this against a team stronger than UMBC, and he’ll really get people talking. |
| 4 |
3 |
16 (10) |
| 1 |
0 |
N/A |
| 3 |
1 |
1 |
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#17 – Tom Haun (Stony Brook) – 5.39 goals added
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| Feb 15 vs Fairfield Opp ELO: 1383 |
| On the day, he tallied 3 goals and 2 assists in a game that Stony Brook lost 18 – 16 to Fairfield. As if that wasn’t enough, don’t forget the 4 ground balls. But perhaps the most impressive thing was accomplishing all of that while committing exactly zero turnovers. Repeat this against a team stronger than Fairfield, and he’ll really get people talking. |
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#18 – Nicky Solomon (North Carolina) – 5.35 goals added
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| Feb 15 vs Lafayette Opp ELO: 1231 |
| He paced the team with 7 total points (2 goals; 5 assists) against Lafayette in a game that North Carolina won 24 – 8. He also threw in 4 ground balls for good measure. And zero turnovers! Coach has to love that. Repeat this against a team stronger than Lafayette, and he’ll really get people talking. |
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#19 – Matt Grillo (Providence) – 5.26 goals added
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| Feb 15 vs Bryant Opp ELO: 1388 |
| He paced the team with 5 total points (3 goals; 2 assists) against Bryant in a game that Providence won 16 – 9. He also threw in 3 ground balls for good measure. Now, the obligatory dose of reality: Bryant was the #-38 weakest opponent on this list. Factor that in. |
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#20 – Charlie Bertrand (Merrimack) – 5.20 goals added
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| Feb 15 vs Dartmouth Opp ELO: 1322 |
| If the defense doesn’t stop you, just keep shooting, right? He gladly obliged, racking up 6 goals against Dartmouth in a game that Merrimack lost 13 – 11. Add in 3 ground balls and you’ve got a pretty full stat sheet. No trillion-club here. Repeat this against a team stronger than Dartmouth, and he’ll really get people talking. |
| 6 |
0 |
16 (14) |
| 3 |
0 |
N/A |
| 1 |
0 |
0 |
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