2025 ASI Summit
Recap
A day at the American Soccer Insights Summit: The latest and greatest in soccer analytics
Akshay Easwaran, American Soccer Analysis
The future of soccer is data-driven: American Soccer Insights Summit shows what numbers can do
Phil West, Verde All Day
Schedule
Master of Ceremonies: Jen Cooper (Rice ’90)
Friday, January 31, 2025
1:00p Registration
2:00p Afternoon Session 1
2:00p Summit Welcome
2:15p Brian Greenwood and Tyler Richardett (American Soccer Analysis)
“Building an Analytics Operation: Lessons Learned through an Oral History of American Soccer Analysis”
2:40p Alejandro Dávila (Director of Analysis, Mazatlán FC)
“Building a Data-Oriented Culture on a Budget”
3:05p Afternoon Break
Enjoy and coffee and tea from Common Bond
3:35p Afternoon Session 2
3:35p Hayden Van Brewer and Matt Cohen (SkillCorner)
“Yes, But WHEN Do They Run? An Investigation of Off-Ball Runs and Phases of Play”
4:00p Kushal Gupta (Rice University & src | ftbl)
“Rice Soccer Analytics: From Insights to Impact”
4:15p Interactive Round Table Discussions
5:00p Friday Content Concludes
5:30p Networking Reception: Women in Soccer Analytics
All Summit participants are welcome. RSVP is required by January 24.
Saturday, February 1, 2025
8:00a Breakfast and Registration
Enjoy breakfast tacos from Black Walnut Cafe and coffee/tea from Common Bond
9:00a Morning Sesssion 1
9:00a Saturday Welcome
Opening Industry Keynote
9:10a Ethan Creagar and Pat Onstad (Data Scientist and General Manager, Houston Dynamo FC)
“Bridging Insights and Decisions in Soccer Operations”
9:50a Lucas Kimball (Atlético Clube de Portugal)
“Tracking Off-Ball Runs: Analyzing a Defender’s Responsibilities and Abilities in Space”
10:00a Arielle Dror (Director of Data & Analytics, Bay FC)
“Speedrunning an Analytics Department in 50 Days”
10:25a Lori He (Second Spectrum)
“Evaluating the Wide Attack”
10:35a Morning Break
Enjoy and coffee and tea from Common Bond
11:05a Morning Session 2
Academic Keynote
11:05a Stefan Szymanski (Professor of Sport Management, University of Michigan)
“Soccer Analytics: Science or Alchemy”
code/data
11:45a Sebastian Bush, Theo Schmidt, Caleb Heller, Nick Rovelli (Syracuse University)
“Dual Dependency: Analyzing the Winger and Wingback Relationship”
11:55a John Muller (Football writer, The Athletic, FiveThirtyEight, and more)
“Numbers Talk — Now Make Them Tell a Story”
12:20p Joseph Sosa, James Zhong, Trey Hibbard (Auburn University)
“Quantifying Midfielders Efficiency”
12:30p Lunch
Enjoy a selection of lunch options from Local Foods
1:30p Afternoon Session 1
1:30p Tianyu Guan (Assistant Professor of Statistics, York University)
“Soccer Analytics Using Event Data and Tracking Data”
1:55p Ben Thorpe (Yale University), Adam Cohen (Duke University)
“Hold the Line: Strategic Insights into High Line Defense in Professional Women’s Soccer”
2:05p Weining Shen (Associate Professor of Statistics, UC Irvine)
“Large Language Models in Sports Analytics”
2:30p Rob Oakley (Temple University)
“1v1 Defending Beyond Tackles and Interceptions”
2:40p Sachin Narayanan (Doctoral Candidate, Florida State University)
“Beyond the Expected: Tailoring Analytics for Women’s Soccer”
3:05p Afternoon Break
Enjoy coffee, tea and pastries from Common Bond
3:45p Afternoon Session 2
3:45p Lydia Jackson (Machine Learning Engineer, Teamworks/Zelus)
“Building Shiny Apps for Rapid Prototyping”
4:10p Alvaro Botto Barilli, Jonathan Hamil (University of Texas)
“The Role of Athleticism in Defensive Transition Match-ups”
Closing Industry Keynote
4:20p Zayne M. Thomajan (General Manager, Chicago Fire FC)
5:00p Expected Own Goals Live Podcast
5:40p Summit Concludes
Sponsors
The Summit was primarily funded by a grant from the Office of Research at Rice and by a gift from a private donor. We are grateful for the support from our partners listed below.
We thank Reata Cellars for donating wine for the Women in Soccer Analytics Networking Reception.
Organizers
Sam Gregory (US Soccer)
Ravi Ramineni (src | ftbl)
Sarah Rudd (src | ftbl)
Seth Davidson (Rice University)
Zefa Tullis-Thompson (Rice University)
Rose Graves (Rice University)
Tom Stallings (Rice University)
Guanyu Hu (UTHealth Houston)
Scott Powers (Rice University)
