2026 Stats Recap: #3 6/13-7/25

We have reached the halfway point in the season! And that means this is the halfway stats recap.

This article will take a deep dive into who is performing well for the Republic. For those new here, I keep a running spreadsheet of the Republic's season that you can access using the link at the bottom of this page. And from there, I provide regular updates on who is performing well in the different categories. This will be the third update for 2026, and I will provide one after every five matches except for the last one, which will be at the end of the season, playoffs or not.

If you want to read the match recaps for the past 5 matches (some of these won't have match recaps as I was out traveling):

• 6/13/26: 1-0 at Colorado Springs
• 6/20/26: 0-1 vs New Mexico United
• 7/8/26: 2-1 vs Rhode Island FC
• 7/18/26: 1-1 at Charleston Battery
• 7/25/26: 3-1 at Oakland Roots SC

This stats recap will only reflect matches in the USL Championship. So, no Open Cup or USL Cup stats will be part of these stats recaps. But, if you want to read the match recaps for those competitions, you can check them out here:

• 6/6/26: 1(5)-1(3) vs Monterey Bay FC
• 7/11/26: 0-2 at Athletic Club Boise

If you also want to read relevant stats recaps from last year, you can check these out. One will be from the 2025 season, after the first 10 matches of last year's campaign, and the other will be the overall stats recap at the end of the season.

• 2025 Stats Recap #3: 6/14-7/12
• 2025 Stats Recap Finale

One thing to note was that this was supposed to come out one game previously, but the Tulsa match got postponed. Players working back from injury like Jack Gurr and Memo Rodriguez are starting to have their presence felt this season. And there are opportunities for players to step up as some stalwarts are missing due to injury.

Goals:

1. Kyle Edwards - 5 goals.
2. Michel Benitez and Forster Ajago - 3 goals each.
3. 8 players - 1 goal each.

Shots:

1. Memo Rodriguez - 20 shots taken (4 on target, 11 off target, 5 blocked).
2. Forster Ajago - 18 shots taken (8 on target, 9 off target, 1 blocked).
3. Kyle Edwards - 16 shots taken (6 on target, 7 off target, 3 blocked).

Total xG (Expected Goals):

1. Forster Ajago - 4.09.
2. Michel Benitez - 2.92.
3. Kyle Edwards - 2.35.

Assists:

1. Arturo Rodriguez - 3 assists.
2. Jack Gurr, Mark-Anthony Kaye, and Kyle Edwards - 2 assists each.
3. Michel Benitez, Ryan Spaulding, Memo Rodriguez, Forster Ajago - 1 assist each.

We have a new leader in goals scored! And it's actually a striker! Thanks to his brace in Oakland, Kyle Edwards is now the club's leading scorer this season in the USL regular season. And the thing about Edwards' performance so far this season is that he's made a majority of appearances coming off of the bench. Edwards has played 317 minutes so far. This is in comparison to Forster Ajago, who has mostly gotten the starting look and has played 917 minutes. That being said, these two have similar but different roles for the club. Ajago has the hold-up play in his game where teammates can make runs off of him. Whereas Edwards can be a target man or someone to try and get the ball at his feet on the run. That being said, there is a difference in production. Ajago is the biggest underproducer on the squad, with a difference between goals scored and xG of -1.09. And then Edwards is the biggest overproducer, with him generating 5 goals off an xG of 2.35. A couple things to note going forward into the second half of the season: who gets the start on the front line, how does the presence of Alfredo Midence influence these numbers, and Arturo Rodriguez is the current leading assister, but his last appearance in the league was 7/8 against Rhode Island. Will a player like Memo Rodriguez or Mark-Anthony Kaye step up to generate even more chances?

Touches on the Ball:

1. Lee Desmond - 1131 touches.
2. Michel Benitez - 780 touches.
3. Mark-Anthony Kaye - 743 touches.

Passes Completed:

1. Lee Desmond - 939 passes completed (813 short passes, 126 long passes).
2. Mark-Anthony Kaye - 554 passes completed (502 short passes, 52 long passes).
3. Danny Crisostomo - 517 passes completed (475 short passes, 42 long passes).

Average Passing Accuracy (minimum 200 passes):

1. Danny Crisostomo - 89.21% average passing accuracy on 517 passes completed.
2. Jared Timmer - 88.01% average passing accuracy on 402 passes completed.
3. Lee Desmond - 86.55% average passing accuracy on 939 passes completed.

In the last update I was pondering who would take over in these categories as Freddy Kleeman went down with an injury. Most of that time I spend looking at other defensive players like Jared Timmer, Aaron Essel, and Chibi Ukaegbu. Neill Collins has tinkered with the backline as he tries to fill in the gaps, but it's mostly consisted of a core of Jack Gurr, Lee Desmond, and Jared Timmer. And then throw in Aaron Essel with Chibi Ukagebu making a substitution cameo. Timmer is getting the volume of passes up as he's getting more minutes. He's not at the top yet but he's now in the top 10 for Republic players for passes completed after being only above 4 teammates at the 10 match check-in. But in front of the defense has been a steady presence with Mark-Anthony Kaye. He has started each match of this stretch in the defensive midfield. And that doesn't include his start at leftback in the USL Cup match against Boise. Kaye's veteran experience is definitely a factor for the Republic's success. Look for the club to continue to lean on his leadership in the middle of the park to guide the squad through the second half of the season. And I'll continue to talk about Kaye in the next couple of sections.

Chances Created:

1. Arturo Rodriguez - 15 chances created.
2. Michel Benitez and Memo Rodriguez - 14 chances created.
3. Mark-Anthony Kaye - 13 chances created.

Memo Rodriguez and Mark-Anthony Kaye have shown up to try and generate opportunities over this last stretch of games. Memo reclaimed his spot in the attacking midfield after going down early in the season with injury. At the 10 game mark Memo had only created 4 scoring chances, being well behind the team leaders at that point. But ever since becoming a regular starter again, Memo is well on his way to be the Republic's creation leader. Memo is a dynamo in the middle of the park and always keeps his head up to try and feed his strikers (see the last goal in the Oakland match). And this is the type of player I've been wanting for the Republic for awhile. The club can't be leaning on Jack Gurr being their only chance creator, so having someone who can float around in the midfield and around the top of the opponent's box frees up other lanes as the opponent's attention is not solely on one player. Speaking of Jack Gurr, I expect to see him in this list at the next check-in. He is too good of a player in this department to not be one of the club leaders. Gurr sits on 9 chances created and is not that far behind despite him missing much of the early season due to injury.

Tackles:

1. Mark-Anthony Kaye - 37 tackles committed.
2. Michel Benitez - 29 tackles committed.
3. Arturo Rodriguez - 16 tackles committed.

Fouls Won:

1. Ryan Spaulding - 23 fouls won.
2. Arturo Rodriguez - 22 fouls won.
3. Forster Ajago - 18 fouls won.

Duels Won:

1. Mark-Anthony Kaye - 76 duels won on a 54% duel win rate.
2. Lee Desmond - 71 duels won on a 65% duel win rate.
3. Michel Benitez and Forster Ajago - 58 duels won each, with Benitez on a 62% duel win rate and Ajago on a 37% duel win rate.

With Benitez and Kleeman both gone, Kaye has stepped in to be that physical filter in front of the backline. He forces opposing teams to play around him as he can step in to win the ball off anybody around him. Up top, Ajago is an interesting case as he doesn't have the highest win percentage, but he just puts himself in these positions so many times that he slots in here regardless. 

Yellow Cards:

1. Aaron Essel - 7 yellow cards.
2. Michel Benitez, Dominik Wanner, Freddy Kleeman, Mark-Anthony Kaye, Arturo Rodriguez, Forster Ajago - 3 yellow cards each.
3. Danny Vitiello, Danny Crisostomo, Mayele Malango - 2 yellow cards each.

Aaron Essel is one yellow card away from a suspension. He doesn't have any good behavior points, so if he wants to avoid that suspension, he needs to make 3 appearances without getting awarded a yellow before his next yellow is given to him. It is interesting that there is a gap between Essel and the rest of the Republic players.

What do you think of these stats? Who performed to your expectations? Who exceeded them? Let me know in the comments below!

Check out the full spreadsheet here!

(Photo thanks to Sacramento Republic FC).