Michael Parkhurst came to the Columbus Crew over the offseason with the pedigree of a top defender, and the Providence native has lived up to that reputation. A mainstay in central defense for the Crew, Parkhurst has helped the club to the tune of 1.32 goals against per match, a figure that ranks seventh in MLS.
Individually, Parkhurst's 45 interceptions lead the club and his 88 clearances rank second, as do his nine blocked shots. Where Parkhurst really shines, however, is in his passing statistics. The Crew has been a passing and possession dynamo in 2014, and a lot of that is because of Parkhurst's steady distributive presence when the Black & Gold build out of the back.
No defender in MLS has completed more passes than the Crew centerback, who is tied with Colorado's Drew Moor in that regard. Among defenders with 10 matches played, Parkhurst's passing accuracy ranks third. As the chart below shows, his accuracy is also well ahead of other defenders who are close behind in number of passes completed.
<u>Player</u> |
<u>Passes Completed</u> |
<u>Passes Attempted</u> |
<u>Passing Percentage</u> |
<u>Touches</u> |
<strong>Michael Parkhurst</strong> |
<strong>744</strong> |
<strong>863</strong> |
<strong>86.2%</strong> |
<strong>1143</strong> |
Drew Moor |
744 |
901 |
82.6% |
1146 |
Seth Sinovic |
654 |
784 |
83.4% |
1264 |
Chris Wingert |
610 |
777 |
78.5% |
1152 |
Raymon Gaddis |
599 |
772 |
77.6% |
1349 |
Shane O'Neill |
584 |
699 |
83.6% |
957 |
Amobi Okugo |
581 |
705 |
82.4% |
970 |
Aurelien Collin |
557 |
666 |
83.6% |
900 |
Matt Besler |
554 |
640 |
86.6% |
849 |
Matt Hedges |
552 |
652 |
84.7% |
956 |
He also ranks fifth among all League defenders in touches, indicitave of his poise and movement along the backline for Columbus.
Parkhurst has shown
versatility when asked
, specifically in shifting out to rightback against D.C. United. His game-reading skills and intelligence have
been on display all season
, and the MLS All-Stars will surely benefit from his presence against FC Bayern München on August 6.
