Each week, we will look back at the games that were to see which players had the largest individual performances. I say largest because the contributions that we can measure (from play by play) tend to be things that are easy to count. This includes, goals, shots, assists, turnovers, penalties, etc. We can’t measure a defender who shuts down an opposing player so completely that he doesn’t even touch the ball. Still, it is interesting to be able to identify the players that really filled it up each weekend and give them a shout out here.

For a bit of background, in order to rank single game performances, we needed a way to condense box score stats into a single number for each player. In order to do this, we relied on our expected goal values methodology, which assigns a goal value to each type of play depending on how often it leads to a goal in the next 60 seconds. By adding up all the expected goals added for each player, we can get to that single number and these rankings.

As of this week, we have also tagged each performance with the opponent’s ELO rating. The higher the number, the stronger the opponent. This should help to give some context for each performance. Did the player feast on the dregs of D1 or did they put up these numbers against a quality opponent?

Top Single Game Scores of the week

#1 – Ben Reeves (Yale) – 6.40 goals added May 05 vs Penn Opp ELO: 1558 In this one, he scored 3 goals and added 3 assists in a game that Yale won 13 – 12 over Penn. As if that wasn’t enough, don’t forget the 1 ground ball. Yale drew Syracuse in the first round of the tournament, so he’ll have a chance to prove it next week in the Carrier Dome. (Not that he needs to prove it at this point.) Goals Assists Shots (OG) 3 3 14 (5) GBs FO Won FO Pct 1 0 N/A Turnovers Penalties Caused TO 2 0 0

#2 – Connor Fields (Albany) – 5.96 goals added May 06 vs Binghamton Opp ELO: 1621 On the day, he tallied 3 goals and 6 assists against Binghamton, in a game that Albany won 20 – 8. As if that wasn’t enough, don’t forget the 2 ground balls. Coach Marr is already talking about a sell-out in the first round game against UNC, so Fields’ next performance, in primetime, should have lots of eyes on. Given the offensive prowess of Cloutier and the Heels, I would be surprised if this one doesn’t have lots of opportunities for offensive fireworks. Goals Assists Shots (OG) 3 6 5 (3) GBs FO Won FO Pct 2 0 N/A Turnovers Penalties Caused TO 3 0 0

#3 – Josh Byrne (Hofstra) – 5.80 goals added May 04 vs Massachusetts Opp ELO: 1488 In this one, he scored 5 goals and added 1 assist against Massachusetts, in a game that Hofstra lost 13 – 12. He also threw in 3 ground balls for good measure. And zero turnovers! Coach has to love that. Now, the obligatory dose of reality: Massachusetts was the #1 weakest opponent on this list. Factor that in. Goals Assists Shots (OG) 5 1 8 (8) GBs FO Won FO Pct 3 0 N/A Turnovers Penalties Caused TO 0 0 0

#4 – Tre Leclaire (Ohio State) – 5.80 goals added May 04 vs Johns Hopkins Opp ELO: 1589 I’m sure he’s very generous most days, but on this day, he tallied 6 goals without an assist against Johns Hopkins, in a game that Ohio State won 15 – 13. Add in 3 ground balls and you’ve got a pretty full stat sheet. No trillion-club here. Ohio State gets Loyola in the first round next weekend. The consensus seems to be that Loyola is one of the tougher unseeded teams. And our Lax-ELO model says OSU has a 56% chance of pulling this one out. But hey, these are the types of games that you need to grind out on your way to championship weekend, right? Goals Assists Shots (OG) 6 0 13 (7) GBs FO Won FO Pct 3 0 N/A Turnovers Penalties Caused TO 1 0 0

#5 – Connor Fields (Albany) – 5.61 goals added May 04 vs Stony Brook Opp ELO: 1585 Pacing the team with 7 total points (2 goals; 5 assists) against Stony Brook in a game that Albany won 19 – 6. He also threw in 3 ground balls for good measure. I think this is the first time that we’ve had a player show up on this list twice in one week. Is anyone surprised Connor Fields was the guy to do it. Goals Assists Shots (OG) 2 5 10 (5) GBs FO Won FO Pct 3 0 N/A Turnovers Penalties Caused TO 4 0 0

#6 – Stephen Hudak (Brown) – 5.45 goals added May 05 vs Princeton Opp ELO: 1596 Pacing the team with 6 total points (5 goals; 1 assist) against Princeton in a game that Brown won 17 – 15. He also threw in 1 ground ball for good measure. Brown was one of the top teams that was left out of this year’s tournament according to our Lax-ELO model. But their “snub” doesn’t seem to be getting as much attention as the fact that Army was left out. Either way, solid season for the Bears. Goals Assists Shots (OG) 5 1 9 (8) GBs FO Won FO Pct 1 0 N/A Turnovers Penalties Caused TO 1 0 0

#7 – Michael Sowers (Princeton) – 5.25 goals added May 05 vs Brown Opp ELO: 1694 On the day, he tallied 4 goals and 1 assist against Brown in a game that Princeton lost 17 – 15. Add in 3 ground balls and you’ve got a pretty full stat sheet. No trillion-club here. And zero turnovers! Coach has to love that. Throw in Brown’s ELO rating of 1694, and these stats take on whole new meaning. Goals Assists Shots (OG) 4 1 10 (8) GBs FO Won FO Pct 3 0 N/A Turnovers Penalties Caused TO 0 0 0

#8 – Zach Currier (Princeton) – 5.19 goals added May 05 vs Brown Opp ELO: 1694 I’m sure he’s very generous most days, but on this day, he tallied 2 goals without an assist against Brown in a game that Princeton lost 17 – 15. As if that wasn’t enough, don’t forget the 16 ground balls and 21 faceoff wins. Plus, when you factor in that Brown was the #2 strongest opponent on this list, these stats look even better. It’s fitting that Sowers and Currier appear on this list back to back. In a season that was somewhat of a renaissance for Princeton, you needed a few stars to carry the load. These two were certainly up to the task all season long. Goals Assists Shots (OG) 2 0 8 (5) GBs FO Won FO Pct 16 21 61% Turnovers Penalties Caused TO 2 4 4

#9 – Justin Guterding (Duke) – 5.12 goals added May 07 vs Boston U Opp ELO: 1622 On the day, he tallied 3 goals and 4 assists in a game that Duke won 18 – 8 over Boston U. Add in 2 ground balls and you’ve got a pretty full stat sheet. No trillion-club here. Duke was apparently the last team into the at large field. Our Lax-ELO model has Duke as the 3rd strongest team in the nation. I can taste the cognitive dissonance. We’ll get more into Duke in another post, but hard to imagine that such a strong team was seriously considered to be on the outside looking in. The counter-argument is that ELO incorporates some residual effect from prior seasons, where the selection committee can only take into account this year. Fair, but ELO is a pretty good way to gauge team strength, and don’t you want the strongest teams playing in May? Goals Assists Shots (OG) 3 4 6 (5) GBs FO Won FO Pct 2 0 N/A Turnovers Penalties Caused TO 1 0 0

#10 – Sam Cleveland (Colgate) – 5.05 goals added May 06 vs Syracuse Opp ELO: 1698 Pacing the team with 6 total points (4 goals; 2 assists) against Syracuse, in a game that Colgate lost 11 – 9. As if that wasn’t enough, don’t forget the 3 ground balls. And zero turnovers! Coach has to love that. Plus, when you factor in that Syracuse was the #1 strongest opponent on this list, these stats look even better. Goals Assists Shots (OG) 4 2 13 (7) GBs FO Won FO Pct 3 0 N/A Turnovers Penalties Caused TO 0 0 0

#11 – Connor Kelly (Maryland) – 5.03 goals added May 04 vs Penn State Opp ELO: 1692 On the day, he tallied 4 goals and 1 assist against Penn State, in a game that Maryland won 8 – 6. As if that wasn’t enough, don’t forget the 3 ground balls. Given the importance of possession, he’s probably most proud that he had as many turnovers in the game as you did. For all the pre-season hype over Maltz/Rambo/Heacock, you might be surprised to see Connor Kelly appearing on this list. But now that the season is in the books, I think you might find quite a few experts who think that he’s the key to the Terps finally breaking their championship drought. Goals Assists Shots (OG) 4 1 9 (5) GBs FO Won FO Pct 3 0 N/A Turnovers Penalties Caused TO 0 0 0

#12 – Kyle Mcclancy (Albany) – 4.92 goals added May 04 vs Stony Brook Opp ELO: 1585 In this one, he scored 4 goals and added 1 assist against Stony Brook in a game that Albany won 19 – 6. He also threw in 1 ground ball for good measure. Goals Assists Shots (OG) 4 1 8 (4) GBs FO Won FO Pct 1 0 N/A Turnovers Penalties Caused TO 1 0 0

#13 – Chris Aslanian (Hobart) – 4.82 goals added May 04 vs Sacred Heart Opp ELO: 1506 This was a day to take advantage of the defense, and he delivered with 4 goals in a game that Hobart won 15 – 9 over Sacred Heart. He also threw in 2 ground balls for good measure. But perhaps the most impressive thing was accomplishing all of that while committing exactly zero turnovers. Repeat this against a team stronger than Sacred Heart, and he’ll really get people talking. Goals Assists Shots (OG) 4 0 10 (6) GBs FO Won FO Pct 2 0 N/A Turnovers Penalties Caused TO 0 0 0

#14 – Tyler Keen (Monmouth) – 4.60 goals added May 07 vs Marist Opp ELO: 1578 On the day, he tallied 2 goals and 2 assists in a game that Monmouth won 9 – 8 over Marist. He also threw in 2 ground balls for good measure. And zero turnovers! Coach has to love that. Goals Assists Shots (OG) 2 2 9 (3) GBs FO Won FO Pct 2 0 N/A Turnovers Penalties Caused TO 0 0 0

#15 – Dan Muller (Massachusetts) – 4.54 goals added May 04 vs Hofstra Opp ELO: 1644 On the day, he tallied 4 goals and 1 assist against Hofstra in a game that Massachusetts won 13 – 12. Granted, there wasn’t a lot there besides the scoring, but it’s good enough to land a spot on the list since, hey, you win by scoring. And zero turnovers! Coach has to love that. Goals Assists Shots (OG) 4 1 7 (5) GBs FO Won FO Pct 0 0 N/A Turnovers Penalties Caused TO 0 0 0

#16 – Connor Kelly (Maryland) – 4.45 goals added May 06 vs Ohio State Opp ELO: 1690 I’m sure he’s very generous most days, but on this day, he tallied 5 goals without an assist against Ohio State, in a game that Maryland won 10 – 9. Add in 1 ground ball and you’ve got a pretty full stat sheet. No trillion-club here. Goals Assists Shots (OG) 5 0 11 (7) GBs FO Won FO Pct 1 0 N/A Turnovers Penalties Caused TO 2 0 0

#17 – Dylan Molloy (Brown) – 4.42 goals added May 05 vs Princeton Opp ELO: 1596 Pacing the team with 6 total points (4 goals; 2 assists) against Princeton in a game that Brown won 17 – 15. It was a somewhat one-dimensional day with no GBs or faceoffs, but come on: 6 total points. Goals Assists Shots (OG) 4 2 6 (4) GBs FO Won FO Pct 0 0 N/A Turnovers Penalties Caused TO 1 0 0

#18 – Austin Sims (Princeton) – 4.39 goals added May 05 vs Brown Opp ELO: 1694 Pacing the team with 4 total points (2 goals; 2 assists) in a game that Princeton lost 17 – 15 to Brown. He also threw in 2 ground balls for good measure. And zero turnovers! Coach has to love that. Plus, when you factor in that Brown was the #2 strongest opponent on this list, these stats look even better. Goals Assists Shots (OG) 2 2 17 (8) GBs FO Won FO Pct 2 0 N/A Turnovers Penalties Caused TO 0 0 0

#19 – Brendan Gleason (Notre Dame) – 4.22 goals added May 06 vs Army Opp ELO: 1626 If the defense doesn’t stop you, just keep shooting, right? He gladly obliged, racking up 4 goals against Army in a game that Notre Dame lost 10 – 9. Add in 2 ground balls and you’ve got a pretty full stat sheet. No trillion-club here. It’s somewhat rare for a Notre Dame player to show up here. Clearly, their #4 seed is a testament to their defense. Duke was the team that ELO was highest on, relative to their actual seeding. Notre Dame is probably the team most on the other end of that spectrum. I was a bit surprised by their seed, even without accounting for injuries. I was not surprised to hear the ESPN folks calling their game against Marquette a potential upset. Goals Assists Shots (OG) 4 0 7 (5) GBs FO Won FO Pct 2 0 N/A Turnovers Penalties Caused TO 1 0 0