Mr. Nice Guy: who are the cleanest (and dirtiest) players in the USL?
Examining the data and the eye test to acknowledge by-the-book soccer
Every season, the NHL hands out the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for the player who best combines a high level of play with consistent “gentlemanly conduct.” Typically, the award goes to a good-to-great player who accrues very few penalty minutes, but the concept sparked a question for me: who’s the cleanest player in the USL?
Talking about sportsmanship can be tricky and subjective, so let’s start with the numbers. At the time of writing, about 500 players have participated in 500 minutes of USL Championship action this year. Only 19 of those players have avoided a card.
Immediately, you notice that the majority of no-card players are substitutes, were sold or added midseason, or went through a lengthy injury. With that in mind, I’m left with three standouts: Rodrigo Da Costa, Sebastian Guenzatti, and Sam Gleadle.
Da Costa has the most minutes in the books, and he’s only committed 16 fouls all year, but he’s a striker in a side that isn’t all that aggressive in the press. Guenzatti also hovers around the 2,600 minute mark, but he’s a striker by name only. You can excuse the 25 fouls given that he’s doing the dirty work in the midfield.
If anyone steals the show here, it’s Gleadle. The Monterey winger and wing back has only committed 12 fouls in 2023 despite getting box-to-box with the best of ‘em. Gleadle is also willing to get physical, having attempted 212 duels this year, the fourth-most of any Monterey player.
Who’s fouling the least on a minute-for-minute basis? Petar Petrovic, another winger-wing back like Gleadle, only commits a foul once every four or five games. He tops the pile.
Owen Lambe is a standout. He became a stalwart for Orange County just before their 12-match winning streak, starting at right back. Zach Carroll deserves a mention too, having only committed 11 fouls in more than 2,000 minutes while under constant pressure in the Las Vegas back line. The veteran center back has been crucial to keeping the Lights in games.
Who overlaps on both charts? Lewis Hilton, and Lewis Hilton alone. The Rowdies central midfielder missed a large swathe of the season out injured, but to foul so infrequently as a No. 6 is no mean feat. Hilton’s defensive positioning is one of the standout features of his game, and it clearly goes a long way.
Context matters, especially when it comes to style. A team that aggressively flies into tackles as part of a strategy is going to have less low-foul types; if you make a leaderboard while at such a club, it means something.
Gleadle’s Monterey team and Hilton’s Rowdies are low-action, ranking near-bottom for fouls and cards alike. Guenzatti and Petrovic represent middle-of-the-road offenders.
Looking at the dirtiest teams in the pile, you can still find a few good eggs. Danny Griffin only has 23 fouls for a highly defensive, highly aggressive Riverhounds side. Carter Manley has committed just nine fouls and gone cardless in almost 800 minutes in San Antonio’s back line.
Long story short, if I’ve got a ballot for the hypothetical USL Lady Bing, I’ve got a clear top three:
Sebastian Guenzatti
Sam Gleadle
Lewis Hilton
Just to give some visual evidence, I went and grabbed clips of the last fouls I could muster up for Gleadle and Guenzatti. We’ll start in Monterey.
Brutal stuff, eh? In actuality, Gleadle comes in cleanly from behind to jostle the ball carrier. I don’t want to say the Las Vegas player here dives, but, uh…
What about Guenzatti? To be clear, I went and found whatever action was listed as a foul, and that doesn’t mean it’s a missed tackle or violent challenge. Without further ado, we go to Indy.
Yep, it’s a handball. Guenzatti isn’t even making physical contact with another player! Of course, the legendary USL forward has put in his fair share of crunching challenges, but he mostly strikes a perfect balance between competitive energy and laudable behavior. Sebastian Guenzatti is - for my taste - the cleanest player in the league.
As a bonus, I figured I’d throw in a chart from the other end of the spectrum. For USL fans of a certain intensity, the names here won’t be overly surprising.
Congratulations Phillip Goodrum, our leader in the clubhouse for the USL lead in both fouls and cards! I unabashedly love Goodrum’s game, and that tendency to fight hard for loose balls and press like a demon is why he’s so great. Juan Agudelo isn’t far behind for total fouls, but he lacks the sharp edge that you need to really rack up yellows.
Elsewhere, you’re seeing plenty of physical central midfielders and center backs by and large. That’s no surprise; No. 6s and central defenders face the most dribblers and are responsible for putting in the most challenges.
My big takeaway? Carlos Harvey is having a wildly clean season given his track record.
I was expecting Arnold Lopez on the dirtiest