Castrol Index Releases Latest Major League Soccer Results

The Official Performance Index Results for August 2011

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Sep 09, 2011, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, Sept. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Castrol, the official sponsor of Major League Soccer (MLS) has released its latest Castrol Index for MLS. The results below reflect every 2011 MLS season match, through August 30. Jamison Olave of Real Salt Lake has triumphed as the top player on this month's leader board.


Rank	Last Month Rank	Up/Down	Player	Position	Team	Minutes	Score/10
1	6	5	Jamison Olave	Defender	Real Salt Lake	1317	9.28
2	2	0	Thierry Henry	Forward	New York Red Bulls	1788	9.21
3	5	2	Chance Myers	Defender	Sporting Kansas City	1594	9.12
4	11	7	Alvaro Fernandez	Midfielder	Seattle Sounders FC	1409	9.11
5	1	-4	Landon Donovan	Forward	Los Angeles Galaxy	1598	9.07
6	3	-3	George John	Defender	FC Dallas	2151	9.05
7	8	1	Omar Gonzalez	Defender	Los Angeles Galaxy	1969	9.01
8	7	-1	Carlos Valdes	Defender	Philadelphia Union	2070	8.85
9	26	17	Mike Magee	Midfielder	Los Angeles Galaxy	1467	8.81
10	9	-1	Chris Wondolowski	Forward	San Jose Earthquakes	1952	8.75

Olave's move to the top position in August can be attributed to his consistent defending and the significant amount of time he spends as an attacker. Additionally, he ranks first for making key interceptions during his time on the pitch.

Like Olave, Chance Myers of Sporting Kansas City is another defender who also does a fair amount of attacking, ranking third on this month's Castrol Index. The sum total of their defensive and attacking game play has helped them earn their top spots. As this month's rankings resulted in several defenders falling in the top 10 demonstrates that the share of attacking and defending is more balanced in MLS compared to other soccer leagues around the world. Adept defenders who have made significant contributions to game progression, both Olave and Myers underscore the importance of being a team player at every level.

Castrol's team of performance analysts use the latest technology to provide data for the 2011 MLS season. In assessing every player's actions for net positive or negative impact on a team's ability to score or concede a goal, they log more than 1,800 player movements per match, examining the merits of every action. The Castrol Index operates on the philosophy that not all passes are created equal; a player's quality is more than just the goals and shots he generates. Each player is awarded a score out of 10 to determine the best performing players in MLS over the season.

"We are excited to see another player earn the top ranking this month on the Castrol Index, especially having played the least amount of minutes compared to the other players within in the top ten," said Tracy Drelich-Knauer, Associate Promotions & Sponsorship Manager. "It's impressive to see the range of skills by certain players on both sides of the field and how valuable that it is to a player's score on the Index."

The Castrol Index is updated monthly with the next release scheduled for early October.

To view the full Castrol Index, visit www.MLSsoccer.com/castrolindex. Fans can also join the Castrol Index discussion on Castrol's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/castrolusa.

About the Castrol Index

The Castrol Index, a proprietary technology that objectively ranks a player's performance, was launched in 2008 with Castrol's official sponsorship of the UEFA Euro2008™ tournament. It was further expanded and refined in partnership with FIFA for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ and is now used the world over—supporting the 5 major European Leagues. This innovative tool analyzes and tracks every players move, providing statistical data and insightful analysis to fans, players and coaches to enhance their engagement with the game.

About Castrol

BP Lubricants USA Inc. markets premium lubricants and business–building programs directly to independent lube operators, service providers, new car dealers and leading retailers. Our leadership brands include Castrol® GTX® — a premium conventional motor oil; Castrol® GTX® High–Mileage™ - a premium synthetic blend designed for vehicles with over 75,000 miles; the Castrol® EDGE ® line of advanced full-synthetic super premium motor oils that offer unsurpassed strength and performance; as well as our range of commercial transport lubricants. To find out more about Castrol products and programs, please call 1–888–CASTROL or log on to www.castrol.com/us.

About Major League Soccer

Headquartered in New York City, Major League Soccer is the top-flight professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. MLS features many stars from the U.S., Canada, and around the world. Major League Soccer's 16th season, which will feature 18 clubs each playing 34 regular season matches, kicked off on Tuesday, March 15, 2011. The 18 clubs are: Chicago Fire; Chivas USA; 2010 MLS Cup champion Colorado Rapids; Columbus Crew; D.C. United; FC Dallas; Houston Dynamo; LA Galaxy; New York Red Bulls; New England Revolution; Philadelphia Union; Real Salt Lake; San Jose Earthquakes; Seattle Sounders FC; Sporting Kansas City; Toronto FC; and, in their inaugural seasons, Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps. An expansion team in Montreal will debut in 2012. For more information about MLS, log on to the League's official website at www.MLSsoccer.com.

SOURCE Castrol