USL Best: Ball Winning Playmakers

This is a look at USL Championship midfield players that are good defensively as well as strong in the attack. I realize that this is being very specific, as opposed to just looking at "best passer" or "most goals," but ball-winning / defensively active midfield players are an extremely rare beast. Especially in the United States.

Usually what you see in MLS or USL are mids that are either good at winning the ball and then distribution OR attacking activity. I was looking for both here.

The Defensive categories I took into consideration (per 90):
1. Interceptions
2. Tackles Won
3. Duels Won
4. Ariel Duels Won

Attacking Activity considered (per 90):
1. Assists
2. Key Passes
3. Shots on Target
4. Non-Penalty Goals + Assists

After ranking every player in the USLC, I teased out the players with the best average rank between my Defensive and Attacking activities.

Here are the highest-rated midfield players:

Name	Age	POS	Value	Highest Level	Nationality
Eryk Williamson	22	CM	342k	MLS	United States
Carl Haworth	30	RW	285k	USLC	Canada/Wales
Wal Fall	27	CM	257k	USLC	Germany/Senegal
Leo Fernandes	28	LM	228k	MLS	Brazil
Harry Forrester	29	LW	314k	Eng. Champ	England
Kris Tyrpak	27	RW	200k	MLS	United States
Marcus Epps	25	RW	342k	MLS	United States

Name	NPG+Ap90	KPp90	SOTp90
Eryk Williamson	0.64	2.12	0.60
Carl Haworth	0.50	2.03	0.70
Wal Fall	0.25	1.47	1.00
Leo Fernandes	0.49	2.46	0.60
Harry Forrester	0.33	1.43	0.70
Kris Tyrpak	0.75	0.64	1.20
Marcus Epps	0.32	1.43	1.20

Name	Strength 1	Strength 2	Strength 3
Eryk Williamson	Assists	Key Passes	Overall Attacking
Carl Haworth	Key Passes
Wal Fall	Duels Won	Overall Defender	Good Passer
Leo Fernandes	Assists	Key Passes	Overall Defender
Harry Forrester	Duels Won	Tackles Won
Kris Tyrpak	NPG+A per 90	Shots on Target	Tackles Won
Marcus Epps	Shots on Target	Duels Won

Name	Age	POS	Notes
Eryk Williamson	22	CM	DCU Ac., Maryland, PDXII/Portland Timbers
Carl Haworth	30	RW	2012 MLS Pick, with Ottawa Fury from 13-19
Wal Fall	27	CM	10 Years in German ac./lower level teams, J. Jones cousin
Leo Fernandes	28	LM	With Phil Union '13-17, Tampa since
Harry Forrester	29	LW	A decade in England/Scotland
Kris Tyrpak	27	RW	in MLS 2014-15, USL since
Marcus Epps	25	RW	Signed with Phil in 17. NYRB loaned him to RBII / Memphis 901

ERYK WILLIAMSON is clearly at the head of the class here. His age combined with his activity in attacking has made him a player that Portland seems to like, but not want to fully commit to.

If you are looking to add a rock-solid overall midfield player, I'd inquire about Wal Fall, Harry Forrester, Kris Tyrpak. Picking up a late 20s journeyman probably isn't on the menu for most but Fall and Forrester have strong pro resumes and would hit the ground running. Even at the MLS level, they could contribute.

I'll have more on this topic soon. This was just a look at mids. Next up is Ball Winning Forwards (USL has many).

Any questions, contact me at: lwjohnson654@yahoo.com

Ball-Winning Distributors, USL Championship

The USL Championship makes available Opta data for their regular season as well as playoffs. Each year I enjoy mining all that information for good players. This year is no different.

Below are what I'm calling "ball-winning distributors." Meaning; they will win the ball and keep the ball in your possession (good passers). You'll find mostly defensive mid, central mid and a backline player or two.

These are very active players, but don't necessarily involve themselves directly in the attack. I've included their strengths (near or at the top in the USL).

BALL-WINNING DISTRIBUTOR
Name	Age	2019 Team	Strength 1	Strength 2	Strength 3
Boluwatife Akinyode	24	NASHVILLE SC	Tackles Won	Pass in Opp Half	Long Pass
Kevan George	29	CHARLOTTE	Interceptions	Pass in Opp Half	All-round Defending
Ebenezer Ackon	23	SAN ANTONIO FC	All-round Passing	All-round Defending	Duels Won
Sam Hamilton	23	NEW MEXICO UNITED	General Passing	General Defending
Wesly Decas	19	ATLANTA UNITED 2	General Passing	General Defending
Kevin Partida	23	RENO 1868 FC	Tackles Won	All-round Passing	Pass in Opp Half
George Campbell	17	ATLANTA UNITED 2	General Defending	General Passing
Kevon Lambert	21	PHOENIX RISING FC	Tackles Won	All-round Defending	General Passing

What I considered:

PASSING ACTIVITY:
1. Overall Passing %
2. Passing % the Opponents Half
3. Long Pass %
4. Total Passes

DEFENSIVE ACTIVITY:
1. Interceptions per 90
2. Tackles Won per 90
3. All Duels Won per 90
4. Ariel Duels Won per 90
5. Total Activity (total of these categories)

Once I had a rank on all 1047 USL players, I took the average of both Passing and Defensive Activity to pull out the top players above. Players below 900 mins were not considered. More notes on each player:

Name	Age	POS	Value	Highest Level	Notes
Boluwatife Akinyode	25	DM	228k	NASL	Nomad, recently transferred to Birmingham
Kevan George	29	DM	200k	MLS	Established Trinidad International
Ebenezer Ackon	23	LB	0k	USLC	Ghanaian, in US via College
Sam Hamilton	23	DM	171k	MLS	Colorado Rapids Academy Player
Wesly Decas	20	CB	171k	Liga NOS	Honduras U20 Player
Kevin Partida	24	CM	143k	MLS	Jumps between Reno FC and MLS Quakes
George Campbell	18	CB	171k	USLC	Atlanta United Academy Player
Kevon Lambert	22	CM	257k	USLC	Jamaica Senior Team Player

Each one of these players is worth a look at the MLS level. Beyond that, perhaps Decas, Campell, and Lambert are worth bringing in for a closer evaluation outside MLS.

More ball-winning passers with a good year, if you happen to be shopper:

Name	Age	POS	2019 USL Team
Wal Fall	27	CM	OTTAWA FURY FC
Napo Matsoso	24	CM	LOUISVILLE CITY FC
Kai Greene	25	RB	SAN ANTONIO FC
Mitchell Osmond	24	CB	INDY ELEVEN
Paco Craig	25	CB	LOUISVILLE CITY FC
A.J. Cochran	26	CB	PHOENIX RISING FC
Joseph Farrell	24	CB	PHOENIX RISING FC
Ray Saari	25	DM	SACRAMENTO REPUBLIC FC
Bryam Rebellón	27	RB	EL PASO LOCOMOTIVE FC
Michael Gallagher	24	CB	LA GALAXY II
Ricardo Avila	21	DM	REAL MONARCHS SLC
Saalih Muhammad	22	AM	NEW MEXICO UNITED
Alexsander Andrade	22	DM	SWOPE PARK RANGERS
Tah Anunga	23	CM	CHARLESTON BATTERY
Logan Gdula	23	CB	HARTFORD ATHLETIC
Jean-Christophe Koffi	21	CM	NEW YORK RED BULLS II
Kenneth Tribbett	27	CB	NASHVILLE SC
Walker Hume	25	CB	ORANGE COUNTY SC
Eryk Williamson	22	CM	PORTLAND TIMBERS 14