2026 Stats Recap #4: 8/1-8/22

There are 10 matches left in the regular season! We are in the home stretch, with everyone jostling as the playoffs loom large.

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 fourth 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):

• 8/1/26: 5-0 vs. Sporting JAX
• 8/5/26: 0-1 at FC Tulsa
• 8/8/26: 0-0 vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
• 8/15/26: 1-0 vs. Lexington SC
• 8/22/26: 2-2 vs. Phoenix Rising FC

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 #4: 7/19-8/23
• 2025 Stats Recap Finale

Ok some more roster news from the last update. The Republic has decided to bolster the attack heading into this final stretch with the signings of Cal Jennings and Alfredo Midence. And they have also decided to extend the contract of Tim Leibold from a 25-day contract to a full contract. I will be curious to see if any of these players can make a big enough wave to pop up into the leaderboards by season's end.

Goals:

1. Kyle Edwards - 6 goals.
2. Tyler Wolff - 4 goals.
3. Michel Benitez and Forster Ajago - 3 goals each.

Shots:

1. Memo Rodriguez - 28 shots taken (6 on target, 13 off target, 9 blocked).
2. Kyle Edwards - 23 shots taken (10 on target, 8 off target, 5 blocked).
3. Mayele Malango - 22 shots taken (4 on target, 14 off target, 4 blocked).

Total xG (Expected Goals):

1. Forster Ajago - 4.32.
2. Kyle Edwards - 4.01.
3. Michel Benitez - 2.92.

Assists:

1. Memo Rodriguez - 4 assists.
2. Arturo Rodriguez - 3 assists.
3. Jack Gurr, Mark-Anthony Kaye, Kyle Edwards - 2 assists each.

Let's take stock of where the Republic attack stacks up to the rest of the league. At the time of writing, the Republic are tied for 11th in goals scored with 27 goals. And the team is 18th in the league for shots taken with 232. That gives them a conversion rate of 11.6%. That conversion rate also puts them in the middle of the league, as 15 teams currently have a lower conversion rate than them. Out of those 15 teams, 7 of them currently occupy a playoff spot. Some of those notable teams are Louisville, San Antonio, and Tulsa. I have been saying in these stats recaps that there has been a disparity between the expected performance of the Republic attack based on the stats and what actually happens on the field. But given the context of the rest of the league, they aren't doing that bad? I mean Tampa Bay, the current runaway leaders of the Eastern Conference, have a fractionally better conversion rate. But what sets Tampa Bay apart is its volume of shots, ranking third in the league. They are able to generate more looks at goal and put themselves in a better position to get a result in each match.

If the Republic can consistently convert goals at the rate they are, there are more points to be had. Like, I'm not even asking for them to improve. Just bare minimum, convert at the rate you are going at right now. Looking at the last 10 league matches for the Republic, they outshot their opponents in six of those matches. But if you take their shooting totals from those 10 matches, apply that 11.6% conversion rate, and compare that to what they actually scored, they only met that mark 5 times. The Republic failed to meet that mark against New Mexico, Charleston, Tulsa, Pittsburgh, and Lexington. All of which are playoff teams. The only playoff team they met that mark against was Rhode Island. The most egregious example is the June 20th match against New Mexico. In that match, Sacramento outshot New Mexico 18 shots to 9, but New Mexico won 0-1. If you apply the 11.6% conversion rate to those 18 shots, that converts to the Republic scoring 2.088 goals. Which would've netted them 3 points in the standings, assuming that New Mexico performs the same as they did in reality. Looking at the five matches I mentioned previously, if the Republic had matched their conversion rate, three of the matches would've flipped to a neutral or positive result for Sacramento. Those matches being the previously mentioned New Mexico match, along with their recent clashes against Tulsa and Pittsburgh. I want to just re-emphasize. The Republic could've gotten a neutral-to-positive result against the current Western Conference leaders and the two teams that played in last year's final. If only they met their conversion rate with their actual performance. This is where the frustration lies. And that's where I hope a player like Cal Jennings comes in. If you want to pick someone out of all of USL Championship history to lead the line, you can't go wrong with picking Jennings. Cal has a career conversion rate of 19%. Compared to the rest of the Republic's strikers, Kyle Edwards is at 21%, but that's with Edwards mostly coming off the bench in his career. Forster Ajago is at 15%. And Tyler Wolff, who is currently enjoying a career purple patch, is at 30%, but that's with Jennings playing over triple the minutes Wolff has. And also with Wolff lining up in the midfield for a good portion of his career so far. I mean, it would be nice if Wolff could maintain his current strike rate. But if you want a proven striker at this level, Cal Jennings is the best that you can ask for. Now, hopefully, Cal is the key to turning these numbers into reality.

Touches on the Ball:

1. Lee Desmond - 1537 touches.
2. Danny Crisostomo - 904 touches.
3. Jared Timmer - 878 touches.

Passes Completed:

1. Lee Desmond - 1285 passes completed (1125 short passes, 160 long passes).
2. Danny Crisostomo - 770 passes completed (711 short passes, 59 long passes).
3. Jared Timmer - 754 passes completed (680 short passes, 74 long passes).

Average Passing Accuracy (minimum 200 passes):

1. Danny Crisostomo - 89.32% average passing accuracy on 770 passes completed.
2. Jared Timmer - 88.46% average passing accuracy on 754 passes completed.
3. Pep Casas - 86.60% average passing accuracy on 616 passes completed.

In my last update, I praised Mark-Anthony Kaye for stepping up in the passing department, as some of the team's defenders were out with injuries. Well, now Mark-Anthony is down with an injury. So, the next man up is Danny Crisostomo. I don't think I've had a chance to talk about Crisostomo in one of these stats updates, as that Republic midfield is crowded and is regularly rotated. Crisostomo doesn't have the flashiest of games and is not a player that will catch the headlines. But he is dependable in the middle of the park and will get the job done. And sometimes you just need those players that bring a silent presence to the park. I also did mention Jared Timmer's inclusion in the lineup last time, ever since recovering from injury. From the last check-in, Timmer has surged from just within the top 10 players for passes completed to now being in the top 3. That Republic backline keeps humming along as the backbone of this squad. And with Freddy Kleeman coming back to the bench recently, that is another dependable player who can step in to keep that backline moving.

Chances Created:

1. Memo Rodriguez - 31 chances created.
2. Mayele Malango - 17 chances created.
3. Arturo Rodriguez - 15 chances created.

Memo Rodriguez has excelled in the past 5 matches. At the last update, Memo tallied 14 chances created over the first 15 matches of the season. Since then, he has more than doubled that total in the next 5 matches. He was injured for a lengthy period of time, but this demonstrates that Memo has only gotten stronger ever since returning to the starting lineup. In the three-match stretch from playing against Jacksonville to Pittsburgh, Memo averaged 5 chances created per match. Memo is the only Republic player on the league leaderboard for chances created, currently tied for 18th. He has since cooled off, but I think this squad will go as far as Memo can go. And his ability to create multiple chances will be needed when the Republic faces the league's elite teams. If you are curious as to where Jack Gurr ranks, he is currently just off the leaderboard with 13 chances created. The opportunities are there for the Republic they just need someone to harvest all the chances and convert on them.

Tackles:

1. Mark-Anthony Kaye - 41 tackles committed.
2. Michel Benitez - 29 tackles committed.
3. Danny Crisostomo - 23 tackles committed.

Fouls Won:

1. Ryan Spaulding - 28 fouls won.
2. Arturo Rodriguez - 25 fouls won.
3. Memo Rodriguez - 21 fouls won.

Duels Won:

1. Lee Desmond - 106 duels won on a 66% duel win rate.
2. Mark-Anthony Kaye - 87 duels won on a 54% duel win rate.
3. Forster Ajago - 66 duels won on a 38% duel win rate.

This area really is a mixed bag right now, as both tackle leaders are currently injured. It is interesting that nobody has overtaken Benitez's spot in the tackles category. I do expect to see Freddy Kleeman return to the charts here once he gets back to match fitness.

Yellow Cards:

1. Aaron Essel - 8 yellow cards.
2. Danny Crisostomo - 4 yellow cards.
3. Michel Benitez, Freddy Kleeman, Mark-Anthony Kaye, Arturo Rodriguez, Forster Ajago - 3 yellow cards each.

Apologies for this one. I missed a yellow card for Aaron Essel in the last stats update. I missed the one for the Charleston match on July 18th. And then he reached the suspension threshold in the subsequent match after earning his 8th yellow card in the Oakland match. Essel served his 1-game suspension during the Republic's match against Jacksonville. Afterward, he has been making appearances off the bench and hasn't been given a yellow card since.

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).