Which Goat Scores the Most Goals Per Game?

As a companion to the posts I have done on which defender earns the most points per start for Chivas USA, I thought it would be useful to do the same on the offensive end. Since goals are needed to get victories and sometimes draws, obviously the defense is not solely responsible if the team wins or loses. But I am changing the parameters of this topic a bit. Defenders have scored goals as well as midfielders and strikers, and nicking a goal as a substitute does happen (although relatively rarely around Chivatown). So with this article, I will be looking at how many goals and assists Chivas players have scored so far this season and calculated their goals per game rate.

Here's the team's record and goals scored total to this point in the season: 21 games, 26 points; Record: 6-7-8; Goals scored: 27, Assists: 28; Team goals per game rate: 1.29

The players with the best goals per game rate, in descending order, after the jump

Jimmy Conrad: 2 games played (2 started). Goals: 1, Assists: 0. Goals per game: 0.5. Involved in 4% of Chivas goals.

Justin Braun:  20 games played (16 started). Goals: 7, Assists: 3. Goals per game: 0.35. Involved in 37% of Chivas goals.

Nick LaBrocca: 21 games played (21 started). Goals: 6, Assists: 3. Goals per game: 0.29. Involved in 33% of Chivas goals.

Alejandro Moreno: 11 games played (11 started). Goals: 3, Assists: 2. Goals per game: 0.27. Involved in 19% of Chivas goals.

Marcos Mondaini: 14 games played (14 started). Goals: 3, Assists: 0. Goals per game: 0.21. Involved in 11% of Chivas goals.

Ben Zemanski: 20 games played (17 started). Goals: 2, Assists: 3. Goals per game: 0.1. Involved in 19% of Chivas goals.

Andrew Boyens: 8 games played (7 started). Goals: 1, Assists: 0. Goals per game: 0.125. Involved in 4% of Chivas goals.

Mariano Trujillo: 8 games played (0 starts). Goals: 1, Assists: 0. Goals per game: 0.125. Involved in 4% of Chivas goals.

Michael Umana: 11 games played (10 started). Goals: 1, Assists: 0. Goals per game: 0.09. Involved in 4% of Chivas goals.

Michael Lahoud: 14 games played (13 started). Goals: 1, Assists: 1. Goals per game: 0.07. Involved in 7% of Chivas goals.

Jorge Flores: 18 games played (17 started). Goals: 1, Assists: 1. Goals per game: 0.05. Involved in 7% of Chivas goals.

Ante Jazic: 15 games played (15 started). Goals: 0, Assists: 5. Goals per game: 0. Involved in 19% of Chivas goals.

Heath Pearce: 21 games played (21 started). Goals: 0, Assists: 3. Goals per game: 0. Involved in 11% of Chivas goals.

Blair Gavin: 9 games played (4 started). Goals: 0, Assists: 2. Goals per game: 0. Involved in 7% of Chivas goals.

Francisco Mendoza: 12 games played (2 started). Goals: 0, Assists: 2. Goals per game. Involved in 7% of Chivas goals.

Gerson Mayen: 4 games played (1 started). Goals: 0, Assists: 1. Goals per game: 0. Involved in 4% of Chivas goals.

Paulo Nagamura: 8 games played (5 started). Goals: 0, Assists: 1. Goals per game: 0. Involved in 4% of Chivas goals.

Simon Elliott: 15 games played (13 started). Goals: 0, Assists: 1. Goals per game: 0. Involved in 4% of Chivas goals.

Although Conrad tops the list, I think it is safe to say he would not be scoring a goal every other game if he was healthy, so we can discount his goals per game rate. Braun and LaBrocca top the list and have provided the most goals by volume, and they are pitching in a considerable amount of the team's goals. Lets compare Chivas' numbers to a couple of the league's top scorers and assists guys:

Thierry Henry: 18 games played (18 started). Goals: 11, Assists: 4. Goals per game: 0.61. Involved in 41% of New York Red Bulls goals.

Brek Shea: 21 games played (21 started). Goals: 9, Assists: 1. Goals per game: 0.43. Involved in 34% of FC Dallas goals.

Brad Davis: 21 games played (21 started). Goals: 3, Assists: 9. Goals per game: 0.14. Involved in 50% of Houston Dynamo goals.

With those three players' statistics, we get some perspective. Clearly, the Red Bulls are quite dependent on Henry, and Houston absolutely needs Davis in order to get goals, but LaBrocca and Braun are not that far behind Shea statistically. Still, it is a double-edged sword to rely on one or a couple of players. Obviously, given New York's struggles, one could discount Henry's contributions, but imagine if he was not on the team? They might be struggling to be in playoff position. A game changer like Henry, Shea, or Davis is essential on any team, and the closest Chivas have to that at this point is LaBrocca. Remember, despite his high averages, Braun has only scored in three games so far this season, so the jury is out on if he can contribute goals regularly this season. One nice surprise is that Jazic has contributed five assists this season, the most on the team. As a left back, his offensive help means he's been taking care of business on the offensive end and provides a spark that most of the rest of the defense can't.

One more tidbit to contribute to this discussion: Chivas are only one of two teams (the other being San Jose) to not have a penalty kick attempt yet this season. On the one hand, it is nice to know Chivas are in the top 10 in the league in team goals scored, without having any PKs. Yet I think this is also another piece of evidence that the Goats need a dynamic striker who can earn penalties for his team. I don't want to get in a quagmire of a discussion about which penalties in MLS are warranted and which are called because of dives, but nobody on this team looks capable of earning penalties on a regular basis. I don't want Chivas to change their tactics to facilitate this, but I think a team with a dangerous striker that other teams cannot contain will help Chivas get easy scoring opportunities on PKs.

What do you think of the rankings? Are the Goats pulling their weight on the offensive end? Sound off below!