Hello again, waterfowl enthusiasts! Storylines is back and feeling like now would be a perfect time to discuss a valuable characteristic that can be crucial to one’s trajectory for career success. That characteristic is time management, and it is an incredibly beneficial trait, not only for the individual employee, but also for their employer’s bottom line. Within our very organization is an individual that has been exemplary in their short time with the company, as he’s made the most of his opportunities, demonstrating an increase in efficiency that’s been downright inspiring to his managers and colleagues. At this time, we’d like to recognize Tanitoluwa “Tani” Oluwaseyi for his hard work and dedication in his short time with our team.
How short of a time exactly? Well, aside from all the blood, sweat, and tears spent getting to this level of the profession, Tani Oluwaseyi has spent just 514 minutes on the pitch as part of the Loons’ first-team in 2024. Yeah, sounds a bit ridiculous on the surface, but even in such a small sample size, Oluwaseyi’s play has been one of the most impressive revelations for the 2024 Loons. And, now, the rest of Major League Soccer is beginning to sit up and take notice of the quality of the Loons’ 2022 first-round SuperDraft pick.
It's worth noting that Oluwaseyi’s knack for finding the net isn’t something that happened overnight, and odds are, you didn’t have the streaming package that included St. John’s men’s soccer, MLS Next PRO, or USL matches over the past few years. Now, if you are one of the sickos that had that streaming bundle, you already understand just how much of a scoring threat the Nigerian-born striker has been at every level of his career prior to the 2024 season. And, when you take a closer look at how he compares with the rest of the league’s forwards, in just 514 minutes of action this season, it shouldn’t be as surprising that the 24-year old is catching eyeballs across the league:
Statistic | Per 90 | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
Non-Penalty Goals | 1.05 | 99th Percentile |
Non-Penalty Expected Goals (npxG) | 0.87 | 99th Percentile |
Shots Total | 3.49 | 88th Percentile |
Assists | 0.52 | 99th Percentile |
Exp. Assisted Goals (xAG) | 0.26 | 98th Percentile |
Non-Penalty Exp. + Exp. Assisted (npxG + xAG) | 1.15 | 99th Percentile |
Not bad, kid. Not bad at all.
In previous seasons, the Loons haven’t necessarily lacked talent in the scoring department. If anything, they lacked the type of scoring consistency that could be depended on to make an impact, game in, and game out. But, in just 514 minutes, and on the biggest stage yet in his career, Tani Oluwaseyi is developing into that guy, or dat dude, or HIM...or however you prefer to address the Loons' breakout star of 2024.
Come Wednesday night, the Loons will need that consistent scoring threat if they hope to return from La-La Land with a positive result against an LAFC squad that has shaken off their early season rust. But, if Tani can exhibit the kind of time management he has in just 514 minutes for the first-team in 2024, then I can’t wait to see what minutes 515 and beyond hold for this club’s quest to stay near the top of the Western Conference for the foreseeable future. As they say, time will tell.
