Team Average Rating: 7.0
Starting XI
LW — Mohammed Sofo: 5.9
Sofo was uninspiring in his first match of the 2026 season. Playing 66 minutes before being subbed off, he only accumulated 30 touches with 4 of them being inside the opponents box. He went 0/2 on crosses and 0/1 on long balls. He was dispossessed 4 times and caught offside once. He won 4 of his 11 ground duels coming in at 36% and completed 12 of his 15 pass attempts for an 80% rate. He might still have a lingering issue with his ankle injury but hopefully that all clears up soon and he can get into the form he showed at the beginning of last season.
ST — Julian Hall: 6.5
Back into his more natural role after his escapades in the midfield against CF Montreal, Hall played better but should have done more. He played the full 90 taking 1 shot on target which was considered a big chance and had an xG of 0.75. Those are ones you look at and you really can't have your striker missing. Outside of that he had 34 touches, 5 of them inside the opponents box, dribbled successfully the one time he attempted to and was dispossessed twice. He took on 4 ground duels and won half of them. The seeming starboy of RBNY has been a mixed bag after his breakout 3 goals in two games to start the season, but has now failed to score in either of the two following matches. Still plenty of time for him to find his consistency.
RW — Jorge Ruvalcaba: 6.4
In this game Ruvalcaba found himself slotted onto the right hand side of the tactic due to the absence of Cade Cowell. Maybe this is the switch that he needs to finally get his first goal or assist. Not this time. It was more of what he has shown on the left flank, getting into the positions down the pitch but the end product is lacking. He played the full 90 minutes having 54 touches and completing 31 of his 37 pass attempts. He created 2 chances but only had a single shot on target with his other two missing. He went 0/2 on dribble attempts and was dispossessed once. He only won a single one of his eight attempted ground duels amounting to 12%. I don't know if this is just a case of needing to acclimate to the team, or just trying too hard and not finding your groove but right now something is not clicking. The attack is sorely missing dominant wing play from both Cowell and Ruvalcaba and both of them will be instrumental to this teams success.
CM — Emil Forsberg: 7.1
Forsberg is a weird player to me in this current state. I know he is a great player, but sometimes I feel he's lost a step. Then the next moment I see him taking a player on, turning around him and I see the player I expect him to be again. He had 67 touches completed 38 of his 44 passes, 6 passes into the final third, had 1 shot on target, 1 off target, and one blocked. He missed a huge chance that he himself would tell you he should make. Completed 2 out of his 4 dribble attempts, inaccurately crossed the ball only 2 out of the 7 times he tried for a 29% rate and won 50% of his ground duels going 4/8. Game by game he's going to show flashes of what he can and can't do anymore and we're going to see what teenager can pick up what he lost.
CM — Adri Mehmeti: 7.7
The 16 year old wonder kid continues his run of successful performances, forgetting matchday 3. Playing the full 90 he had 99 touches, completed 84% of his passes going 71/85 while creating 2 chances. He made a team leading 16 passes into the final third, won 3 of his 6 attempted ground duels and used his height to win 5 out of 6 aerial duels. Being the true box to box midfielder he is, his defensive duties weren't forgotten either, he had two tackles, three clearances, three interceptions and 7 recoveries. The tactic seems to live and die by the performance of Mehmeti. When he is in control the team flows. It's a lot of pressure to put on a 16 year old so he could definitely use some help in the final third.
CM — Ronald Donkor: 6.4
I personally felt watching the game this rating was a little harsh, but I can understand it looking at the stats. Ronald played 77 minutes coming back from injury and had 54 touches, completing 38 of his 43 pass attempts which was good for 88%. He created two chances with one of them considered to be a big chance and he took no shots in the game. He took a single touch in the opponents box, had 5 passes into the final third, went 1/3 on crosses and 1/1 on long balls. He was never dispossessed; he went 2/7 in ground duels and lost both of his two aerial duels. We at South Ward Signal truly believe Ronald is an underrated talent for this squad and we have for a couple seasons, so this beginning break out isn't a surprise. He unfortunately picked up a hamstring knock that kept him out of the CF Montreal game and potentially took him out of this one. He has that extra flair and decisiveness that keeps opposing defenses guessing.
LB — Matthew Dos Santos: 6.8
In his second appearance since signing his 3 year homegrown contract Dos Santos didn't stand out for the bad or for the good. He had a fine game. He played 77 minutes completing 37 of his 48 pass attempts. With his 84 touches he didn't create a single chance, went 0/7 on crosses and 0/1 on dribble attempts. He won 1 of his 3 ground duels and 3 of his 5 aerial duels. It was a very uninspired performance overall and Dos Santos definitely needs to increase his performance on the attacking side of the ball to continue with the lofty expectations that were placed on him with his break out games that earned him his homegrown deal at 17 years of age.
CB — Robert Voloder: 8.0
Voloder surprised in this game compared to the last where he put up a 5.9. He commanded the defense and took control from the offset and didn't look out of place. Playing the full match he had 116 touches and completing 82 of 91 passes for 90%. He had 13 passes into the final third and went 4/7 on long balls. 3 tackles, 8 clearances including 4 headed, 2 interceptions, and 10 recoveries rounded out a very solid defensive day for Voloder. He also won 6 of his 11 ground duels and 3 of his 6 aerial duels. He had the highest rating on the team. Good performances might be necessary if Justin Che is going to be sidelined for any amount of time when he was taken off with an apparent hamstring injury.
CB — Justin Che: 7.9
The surprise of the season for us so far put in another fantastic shift, looking to play another full 90 but unfortunately was cut short when he was running back to defend and pulled what appeared to be his hamstring. Before this he had 104 touches, completed 94% of his passes going 80/85, creating a big chance and blocking 1 shot. He had 12 passes into the final third and was 4/8 on long balls. Defensively he had 3 tackles, 3 clearances, 2 of them headed, 1 interception and 8 recoveries. He won all 4 of his ground duels and 2 of his 3 aerial duels. Through 4 matchdays Che has averaged a 7.54 rating, and that's including the beating against CF Montreal. He has been absolutely vital to this tactic defensively and I can't see how his presence won't be missed.
RB — Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty: 6.7
JMR had a very similar game to Dos Santos. He didn't necessarily put a foot wrong, but he didn't stand out or step up on any occasion to push the team towards three points. 85 touches and completing 54 of his 63 pass attempts. He had 5 passes into the final third, went 1/7 on crosses and 0/4 on long balls. On defense he didn't complete a single tackle but had one block, one clearance, one interception, and 3 recoveries. He won 1 of his 3 ground duels and lost his one attempt at an aerial duel. Can't complain about his performance this week, the only ask would be crosses but that's an ask on the team as a whole. When the team combined completed 13% of their crosses it's hard to get mad about someone who completed 14% of theirs. It comes down to instructions at this point.
GK — Ethan Horvath: 7.3
Horvath had a solid game that did enough to keep us in it to steal a point at the end. He made a gorgeous diving stop on a free kick that easily could have been a goal on a lot of other MLS keepers. He may look back and think he could have played the opening goal sequence differently but it's hard to fault him for it. He made 5 saves overall and completed 23 of his 25 passes when asked. Nothing out of this world, but that wasn't asked of him. These are the solid games you need week in and week out from an established keeper to compete.
Substitutes
LW/RW — Tanner Rosborough: 6.4
Rosborough came in and played 24 minutes with 23 touches. Only attempting 17 passes and completing 13 of them. His blocked shot eventually led to the Choupo-Moting goal, a factor of right place right time but it all counts. The 17 year old didn't stand out but I'm not sure this is his level yet. With depth concerns and injury issues he is placed here and he does enough.
LB — Omar Valencia: 6.5
The biggest question surrounding Valencia is how far down the depth chart he falls with the loan arrival of Joyeux Bungi. That is yet to be seen. For now Valencia played 13 minutes and had 19 touches. Went 8/10 on his passes with 1 successful dribble and 0/3 on crosses. He was the one to be called on to take the last corner set piece that eventually led to a Choupo-Moting equalizer. He didn't have time to make much of an impact but he put the ball in the mixer and a goal came out of it, that has to count for something.
ST — Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting: 7.3
EMCM came in and only played 13 minutes and even in those 13 minutes I wouldn't say he looked great. He had only 5 touches, went 0/3 on pass attempts. Sometimes though none of that matters, he tallied a single shot, and that single shot went into the top right corner of the goal in the dying breaths of the game. He may not fit into the system that Michael Bradley has brought into New York Red Bull this season, it's faster and at a break neck intensity. Those days may be long behind Choupo-Moting. He has shown that he can score goals when he has the opportunity, you don't score 17 goals by accident. This isn't your fathers MLS, there is some real talent and scoring that many means something. This could potentially be the spark he needs. Maybe he is still relegated to the super sub role, only time will tell. For now we celebrate his first goal of the season, and stealing a point when defeat was all but certain.
CB — Tim Parker: No Rating
Tim Parker had one minute of logged game time, not much to say. Touched the ball twice, both times just clearing it out of the zone. He isn't the same player he was when he was on the MLS best XI in 2023, but it's always nice to see a Tim Parker cameo.