The Riverhounds defense welcomed a big addition – one standing at 6 feet 6 inches tall.
Arriving in Pittsburgh via loan from Minnesota United FC of MLS, Joe Greenspan started and played his first game with his new club against Saint Louis FC on April 12 at Highmark Stadium.
Greenspan made his presence felt early in the game, using his height advantage to head a ball away from an opposing attacker in the defensive zone in the 4th minute. The Westfield, New Jersey native pressured Saint Louis strikers throughout the contest and led the Hounds with six clearances at the end of the match. Saint Louis FC slipped by the Hounds in the end, winning the tilt, 2-1.
“I thought he played well,” head coach Dave Brandt said after the match against Saint Louis FC. “Obviously there were a couple goals – we know that. I thought Joe was very solid back there. I think for the most part, we were pretty tight.”
Brandt’s familiarity with the center back dates back to his prior coaching tenure with the United States Naval Academy, where he coached Greenspan from 2011-14. In 2013, the pair helped the Midshipmen to their first NCAA Tournament victory in 42 years.
Now almost three years later, the combination is picking up where it left off. Despite appearing in just four of Pittsburgh’s seven games this season, Greenspan is second on the team with 23 clearances. Leading the team in this category is the newcomer’s center back partner, Jamal Jack, who has 26 clearances this season.
Clearing away opposing scoring opportunities is at the root of any successful defensive effort. In Pittsburgh’s win against Charleston on April 8, defender Lalas Abubakar, on loan from Columbus Crew SC, recorded a Hounds single-season high 14 clearances. That was Abubakar’s only game with the Black and Gold, as he has since returned to Columbus.
Greenspan’s loan will last until at least May, when he is due to return to Minnesota United FC. At that time, the Hounds will need to replace his production on a backline that has dealt with a fair share of obstacles, including red card suspensions and health concerns.
“I think we’ve had some issues in the back with injuries,” Brandt said. “While a couple of our center backs have been hurt or just game-to-game fitness coming back, it’s worked well for us and it’s appropriate to have Joe back there with Jamal.”
At the root of every successful scoring opportunity is a shot on goal, and there is no underestimating the potential impact one shot can have during a soccer match.
Regression analysis can help explain the effects of allowing an opponent to bombard the net with shots.
Across the USL during the 2016 season, there was a positive correlation between shots on goal allowed and losses in the final standings. For every additional shot on goal allowed, teams on average suffered an extra 0.15 losses in the final standings. In other words, a team would be expected to lose if it would allow at least seven shots on goal in a single game.
This season, the Hounds have allowed at least seven shots on target only once, occurring in the season opener against New York Red Bulls II. Although, Pittsburgh did not lose that game as it tied the 2016 USL champions, 3-3.
In the Black and Gold’s three losses this season, it has allowed four, two and four shots on goal, respectively. Even though the squad did not allow seven shots on target in any of these games, allowing four shots to reach the net on average led to 0.58 losses, a total that would hint more strongly at a loss than a victory, based off data from 2016.
As for the loss against Saint Louis FC when the Hounds allowed two shots on goal, it could be more of an outlier over the course of the season based off this data model.
The ball swished against the net and rung off the goal frame.
Rookie forward John Manga blasted the pinpoint accurate shot during a mid-April practice session and drew praise from his teammates for the strike.
Shooting accuracy is at the forefront of the Hounds attack, and has been since Brandt arrived in Pittsburgh. Corey Hertzog has since helped bring along younger forwards with their striking precision.
“When I try to go for too much power in shooting, he would come to me and be like ‘you’re already strong, just use some technique, go for the corner, just finesse and you’ll get it right,’” second-year forward Chevaughn Walsh said.
This finesse that the Hounds have been striving for was on full-display against the Richmond Kickers on April 22.
In the 59th minute, Marshall Hollingsworth collected a loose ball and transitioned into a tap and turn around an opposing Richmond defender. Dribbling within about 22 yards of the net, the midfielder released a strike that sailed into the top left corner of the goal.
The tally brought the Hounds within a goal of the Kickers, but they ultimately could not record the equalizer in the final minutes. Richmond won the match, 2-1.
On the defensive end, the Black and Gold only allowed four shots on target in this contest, which is well short of the seven shots on goal allowed it took on average to lose a game in 2016. There is another side to this proposition, however.
Just as it is important to clear away scoring chances on the defensive end, it is just as imperative to launch a fury of strikes on the offensive side of the ball. Forcing an opposing goalkeeper to make seven saves could work just as well as clearing away opposing scoring opportunities.
This season, the Hounds have yet to record seven shots on goal in a single game. Their single-match high of six shots on target came in the season opener against New York. In the aforementioned Richmond tilt, Pittsburgh blasted five shots on net.
Six games into this season, Pittsburgh has compiled the same amount of shots on target as it has allowed (27). Moving forward this year, it will need to hold an advantage in this statistic to help increase its probability of winning. For the younger strikers, that means continuing to work on shooting precision and learn from the team’s leading goal scorer in practice sessions.
“I admire the way [Hertzog] finesses the shots,” Walsh said. “It’s so pretty going into the net, so I admire those and I try to work on those on my own.”
