This loss was a hard one to swallow given that the team played a generally good game. The first Las Vegas goal resulted from an unfortunate deflection right to Oalex Anderson’s head and the Legion was deprived of two clear penalties and had potentially one if not two goals called off for tight offside calls. And could have been killed off by a weak penalty call the other way. Such is the nature of refereeing in this league.
GK: JASSEM KOLEILAT – A
Jassem made two saves in this game, his first in over 200 minutes. There wasn’t much he could do about Anderson’s goal, but he rather fumbled Johnny Rodriguez’ header for the second. He did of course get the first full penalty save in Legion history (excluding shootouts); 2 previous stops were converted on the rebound. A hefty 88.2% accuracy rate on just 17 passing attempts.
LB: DAWSON MCCARTNEY – B
Dawson was called for the PK. As noted, it was pretty weak, especially compared to the no calls on Las Vegas. Pulled at halftime, presumably as he is recovering from a knock, he put together 3 tackles and 1 interception but won only 3 of 7 duels. No shots and all 3 crosses were unsuccessful. 18 passes overall for a low 77.8% completion rate.
CB: RAMIZ HAMOUDA – A
One more game for Raz? He won’t be in Oakland but will appear, we hope, against Loudoun United this weekend. 1 tackle, 5 clearances and 2 interceptions. He won a whopping 7 of 9 duels to boot. Passing was good, 84.7% accurate on 72 tries.
CB: KEEGAN HUGHES – A-
Keegan got a legitimate yellow card early in the second half. He was lucky that was only his first because his crafty time-wasting ahead of the Las Vegas PK could have earned one. It worked out as planned though. That aside, he made 5 clearances and won 7 of 10 duels. He created 2 scoring chances and even had a shot off target. Passing was up there, failing to connect on just 9 of 79 deliveries.
RB: LEO DURU – B+
Leo’s performances are beginning to create a lineup selection problem at right back. As in, there are multiple good options. This time out Leo made 1 tackle, 1 clearance and 1 interception while winning 4 of 7 duels. He was credited with 1 chance creation and also sent in 2 unsuccessful crosses. 45 passing attempts for an 84.4% completion rate.
LDM: SAM SHASHOUA – A-
Sam’s minutes are creeping back up. He played 64 minutes Saturday. He made 3 blocks in that time and matched them with 3 blocked shots of his own (2 from distance, 1 inside the 18). On top of that he had 1 chance creation and 1 unsuccessful cross. He lost 5 of 8 duels though. He connected on a stratospheric 92.2% of his passes.
RDM: SETH ANTWI – A-
Seth picked up an obvious yellow card, a minor blemish on a very good game. Protecting the back line as usual, he made 3 tackles and 4 interceptions and won 5 of 7 duels. Nothing in attack, but he was 97.6% accurate on 42 passes. That is, he missed just one. Not quite Chris Richards territory, but damned close.
LAM: GEVORK DIARBIAN – A-
Gevork put the ball in the net barely a minute or two after the first Vegas goal. It was called offside but the decision was iffy. Of the 2 shots that counted, 1 was off target and the other blocked. He had 2 unsuccessful crosses but 2 good chance creations. Defensively, 1 block and just 2 of 4 duels won. Only 24 passes in 82 minutes, connecting on 21.
CAM: TYLER PASHER – A
It took Tyler almost 96 minutes to get a shot off. It was dead center and 18 yards out and an absolute rocket. Unfortunately it was straight at keeper Mason Stajduhar. That would have been the perfect addition to his assist just 7 minutes earlier. He was responsible for 3 scoring chances and 2 good crosses. Typically creating chaos in midfield, he made 1 tackle and won 3 of 4 duels. Good on 72.7% of 22 passes. All told, a Man of the Match performance.
RAM: SEBASTIAN TREGARTHEN – B-
Seba played 64 minutes and was not overly effective. He created 1 scoring chance but no other attacking contributions. Defensively a bit better: 2 tackles and 1 clearance, but he lost 7 of 13 duels. Passing was also not too great, at 80% accurate on 20 attempts.
FWD: RONALDO DAMUS –A
Ronaldo’s scoring drought continues but this time it was not for lack of effort. He was probably barely offside when he put the ball in the net and one of his 3 off-target shots was inches wide. He was offside twice more, not necessarily a bad thing, and created 3 chances. He put in 1 tackle and 1 clearance and went 5 for 10 in duels. 78.6% accurate on 14 passes, but all 10 in the attacking half were good.
SUB: AMIR DALEY – B
Amir replaced Dawson at the break. He was more or less absent in attack, barely entering the final third. He provided 2 tackles and 1 interception. 3 for 5 in duels and good on 20 of 24 passes.
SUB: SAM MCILLHATTON – B-
Sam came on is a like-for-like swap with his namesake. He had a shot inside the 18 for once, but it was well wide. He recorded 1 tackle and 1 interception and won 2 of 3 duels. Passing was low at 72.2% accurate on 18 attempts, including 3 of 5 in the attacking half.
SUB: SERGE NGOMA – A-
Serge will be kicking himself for missing an open goal. True, it pretty much brushed the post, but wide is wide. He had one other shot off target, was offside once and created 2 chances. That’s very good for 32 minutes of work. His passing accuracy was even lower than McIllhatton’s, but he only made 7 attempts, missing on 2.
SUB: SEBASTIAN SAUCEDO – A
Bofo’s 89th-minute goal was his third of the season, the other 2 being in the USL Cup. Overall, that ties him with Tyler and Seba for the team lead. One was a PK and he is 1 for 2 in shootouts as well. And he’s done that in just 148 minutes of play, far less than the others. That’s also goals in back-to-back games. His confidence has to be sky-high.
HC: JAY HEAPS – A-
Jay was shown the yellow card for the 6th time this season (5th in league play). If the same rules apply to coaches as to players, two of those have been wiped as he went 6 straight games without a card. If he hits 5 cards (again, it’s unclear if USL Cup cards are included in the total) he gets a fine. If he hits 8, it’s another fine and a one-game suspension. His emotional investment in games is evident, but it’s a toss-up as to whether that is a positive or a negative for his players. Tactically, he got most of this game right, although the team did get a bit less aggressive for a while as they so often do.
