# Most and Least Improved 05 SoCal Teams to date (February 2019)



## Kante (Mar 6, 2019)

As things move into Spring/the last third of the season, here’s the three most improved teams - and the three least improved teams – so far this season. Not saying these are the best or worst teams, just most improved and least improved from 9/1/18 thru 3/2/19.

If your team is not listed below or is another age group but you are interested in how they’re doing, send a note and will send over the requested team chart. 

*Most Improved #1: Strikers*
The Strikers started slow this year with initial losses to Albion and Arsenal, and a tie with the Nomads. Not sure what that’s about (last year seemed to be the same), but the Strikers then picked things up with a 10-0 win against SDSC, and have been improving almost every week since.

The only real competition locally for the Strikers looks like it’s the SD Surf. The Strikers lost the first match to SD Surf 1-4 but were playing without two key 05s (who are spending time playing up with the Strikers u15 squad) against a full-strength SD Surf squad. The Strikers and the SD Surf play again on March 16th and that will definitely be a game to watch.

Here’s the Strikers goal differential % over time chart:


*Most Improved #2: Santa Barbara SC*
Santa Barbara has had some tough bumps this season, including only rostering 10 players in January’s away game against FC Golden State and less than competitive showings early in the season against a mostly u13 team from LAFC, away at TFA and away at LA Galaxy. 

Since the winter break, they’ve had wins against Real SoCal (3-0) and LAUFA (5-2), and a more competitive second showing against LA Galaxy where Santa Barbara held a full strength LA Galaxy squad scoreless for most of the first half, as opposed to their first game where Santa Barbara gave up four goals in the same period of time. 

While they’ve improved offensively since November, Santa Barbara’s defensive improvement has been the biggest driver in their overall improvement trend. 

However, Santa Barbara also has been benefiting from a significant home field advantage effect, and have played at home their last three games. This may be skewing the perceived improvement. The upcoming away match against the Legends on 3/9 will be a key test. 

Here’s Santa Barbara’s goal differential % over time chart:


*Most Improved #3: Legends*
Speaking of the Legends, they’re the #3 most improved team this season. A new team to the USSDA this year, the Legends started slow, acclimated and, after an uncharacteristic loss to the Pateadores in the Legends first game back from winter break, have turned in some impressive performances in the new year. Of note, since the winter break, the Legends beat TFA 3-0 and battled in 1-2 loss to LAFC.  

The Legends have been strong defensively with consistent improvement for most of the season, and their offense has improved significantly since their October 0-2 loss to FC Golden State. 

Here’s the Legends goal differential % over time chart:


*Least Improved #1: LAUFA*
LAUFA had a tough row to hoe this season, after losing most of their starting 2017-18 defense and their leading 2017-18 scorer to the LA Galaxy. They started strong enough with early wins against the Legends and TFA but then ran into LAFC for a 0-9 loss and, while LAUFA has pulled off wins along the way, it’s been a fairly steady decline in quality since then. 

LAUFA decline has been largely due to a step down on the offensive side after the LAFC game, and they haven’t seemed to be able to develop any good answers in this area.

LAUFA has also been churning through players this year, with 30 ’05 players listed on their USSDA page as being rostered for at least one game this season.

Here’s LAUFA’s goal differential % over time chart:


*Least Improved #2: Real SoCal*
Real SoCal may have peaked with their September 1-0 win over LAFC, and while it looks like Real SoCal matches up well against TFA, against everyone else, they’ve been declining in quality over the course of the season.

The biggest driver for this decline is that Real SoCal is a downward trend offensively.Real SoCal has only scored two goals in their last nine games (this is not counting an own goal scored by FCG when the two teams played in the middle of a February downpour). However, they’ve also been up and down defensively with a handful of solid performances being offset by a slightly worse than average overall defense.

Here’s Real SoCal’s goal differential % over time chart:


*Least Improved #3: Arsenal*
Arsenal took a good step up this year from last season, and, from the game reports, it looks like they’ve had competitive performances against SD Surf and the Strikers. However, Arsenal had a key injury in the first game of the Showcase, and they’ve been digging out since then. There’s been some forward progress but they had a set-back in the recent 1-4 loss against the OC Surf.

Where other teams have had a steady improvement or decline, Arsenal’s ups and downs over time likely can be chalked up to a couple of different items, and would stay tuned here to see how they do for the rest of the season.

Here’s Arsenal’s goal differential % over time chart:


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