Mike da Fonte added his name to a growing list of Republic players that have scored at least once this season with a game winner over Seattle Sounders 2. In this week's By the Numbers, we look at that list and compare the first half of the 2016 season to the first half of 2015 and 2014, with a bit of trivia thrown in for good measure.
This season so far
9 - Sacramento Republic's current unbeaten streak by in USL play, their longest since 2014
10 - Players who have scored a goal for Sacramento Republic in USL play this season. Can you name all ten? The answer is at the end of the article. Hint: The Monday Blurb has the answers too.
5 - Yellow Cards accumulated by Chris Christian. He will miss the Wednesday's game on a mandatory one-game suspension.
15 - Yellow cards accumulated by the five core Republic defenders (Chris Christian, Derek Foran, James Kiffe, Emrah Klimenta and Mike da Fonte)
1349 - Minutes that Chris Christian has played for the Republic out of a possible 1350 this season, the most of any outfield player..
6 - Total players, excluding goalkeeper Dominik Jakubek, who have played over 1,000 minutes for Sacramento this season. Can you name all six?
15 - Games that Christian has started for Republic this season, the only player apart from Jakubek who has started every game.
14 - Second highest number of games started by a Republic outfield player, a tie between Kiffe, Klimenta and Danny Barrera.
22 - Players for Sacramento who have at least one start this USL season.
This season vs past seasons
1.87 - Points gained per game by Republic in the first half of the 2016 season
1.57 - Points gained per game by Republic in the first half of the 2015 season
1.86 - Points gained per game by Republic in the first half of the 2014 season
1.20 - Goals scored per game by Republic in the first half of the 2016 season
1.64 - Goals scored per game by Republic in the first half of the 2015 season
1.64 - Goals scored per game by Republic in the first half of the 2014 season
0.73 - Goals conceded per game by Republic in the first half of the 2016 season
1.21 - Goals conceded per game by Republic in the first half of the 2015 season
1.21 - Goals conceded per game by Republic in the first half of the 2014 season
After a start that had many Republic fans nervous, things have quickly turned around, with the team gaining slightly more points per game through the first half of 2016 than they did in their Championship winning 2014 season. While the goals per game this season still lags behind previous years, it has now reached a respectable level at 1.20 per game. Finally, the team's defensive record in the first half of this season has been the Republic's best ever by far.
Trivia answers:
10 Republic goal scorers: Cameron Iwasa (5), Tommy Thompson (2), Adam Jahn (2),Emrah Klimenta (2), Harry Williams (2), Danny Barrera (1), Mackenzie Pridham (1), Thomas Stewart (1), Mike da Fonte (1), and Daniel Trickett-Smith(1).
5 Republic players with over 1,000 minutes played: Chris Chrisitan, James Kiffe, Emrah Klimenta, Danny Barrera, Cameron Iwasa, JJ Koval.