This week on The IX Sports Podcast Soccer Edition, host Kathleen Gier is joined by Jamon Moore of American Soccer Analysis to discuss advanced soccer statistics and the Where Goals Come From Project.
Gier opened the podcast by asking Moore to introduce himself and his interest in statistics.
“Back when I was a kid, I finally got one when I was like a teenager, and but I enjoyed playing these simulation board games from like companies like Strat-O-Matic, StatusPRO … And you would basically pick a team and and simulate, you know, entire seasons if you had the time and ability,” Moore explained.
“So it’s always been a dream of mine to kind of take some of those concepts of those early childhood games, and create some sort of computer version of a soccer game that in which you could do simulations,” Moore explained.
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Moore said the fastest part of soccer analytics has been growing in conjunction with the NWSL.
“We actually produce maybe even more content these days for the women’s game and for [the] NWSL than we even do for the men’s game now. So yeah, it’s been a huge growth area for us [at American Soccer Analysis],” Moore said.
One statistic Moore and his colleagues have been spending a lot of time on is called expected goals, or xG. That statistic predicts how likely a scoring chance is to result in a goal.
Cien Goles is a simulation that encourages users to build a super team to see which combination of either NWSL or MLS players could result in 100 goals.
Tune in to the episode to hear more about the growth of analytics in women’s soccer.
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