The fact that Izzy Scane and Charlotte North both have 94 goals this year conjures up images of two thoroughbreds, racing neck and neck to the finish line of the Preakness. And if you are like me, horses just look like horses; can’t tell one from the other.

But that metaphor glosses over real differences in how these two stars reached their statistical heights. Digging into how those 94 goals were scored will help to understand these players and these offenses a bit better.

It takes two to tango…or score an assisted goal

First the headline number. Of the 94 goals scored by Izzy Scane, 42% were assisted. For Charlotte North, the figure is 29%. Of the players who have scored more than 60 goals this year, only Ally Kennedy (Stony Brook) and Sorana Larson (UC Davis) have had a lower percentage of their goals come off an assist.

Robin to your Batman

I’m not sure whether this is something structural in the way these offenses look to create shots, but I suspect it’s a bigger reason for the difference in these two players assisted goal rates rather than something about the players themselves.

Sequence Matters

One last nugget that I thought was interesting concerns when these players score their goals. There is definitely a difference when you break the game down into quarters.

For North, there is a clear downward trajectory, as the game goes on, she scores fewer goals. And it’s not just her; the goals by quarter for the team as a whole follows the same trend.

For Scane, the picture is a bit more consistent. You don’t see the downward trend to the same degree that you see with the Eagles’ star. But again, this is more of a function of the offense’s production as a whole, which follows much the same pattern.

I am always interested in the Q2 vs Q3 splits since that incorporates any halftime adjustments and counter-adjustments that are made. Scane’s goal scoring jumps after halftime, even though the percentage of goals that are assisted drops. For North, she is just as productive in Q3, even with the same assisted goals ratio dip.

Honestly, not sure what to make of that.

But regardless, I hope this convinces you that these are not 2 identical players racing for a goal scoring record. These are 2 different players, in different situations, scoring their goals in different ways.

Can’t wait to see how it turns out.

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