NetSI Sport is a research initiative that applies tools and theoretical insights from network science and complex systems to the analysis of sports data. By exploring the intersection of sports, networks, data science and behavioral science, the research team seeks to move beyond traditional summary statistics to uncover the hidden dynamics underlying professional games. NetSI Sport studies performance, coordination, and strategy, and how team- and player-specific signatures are imprinted in interaction networks, with the goal to advance sports analytics through a complex-systems perspective that goes beyond individual sports and offers broadly applicable insights into team dynamics.
Course offering
Topics
Goal scoring dynamics
Analysis of temporal goal-scoring patterns across European leagues, and study on impact of first goal on match outcomes
Comparison of women’s and men’s elite football gameplay
Analysis of men’s and women’s gameplay during the past 5 seasons (using stats and pitch representation networks)
Network of events
Analysis of style-of-play of teams through network representation of match actions
Off-ball impact of players in women’s soccer
Study about how support networks shape opportunities
The language of soccer
Analysis of team gameplay as a system of communication
Transformers and soccer data
Analysis of football sequences to learn the syntax of gameplay
Complex Intelligence
What makes a team a “team”—the whole is more than the sum of singles
Coaches imprint and signature
How much coaches impact on teams style-of-play
Football organization and complexity
Complexity of football (soccer) organization and team performance
Featured news
Feb 10, 2026
Passing got faster and more accurate in top soccer leagues, study finds
via
Phys.org
Northeastern Global News
NetSI News
Northeastern Global News
Phys.org
Feb 10, 2026
Passing got faster and more accurate in top soccer leagues, study finds
via
Phys.org
Feb 9, 2026
Soccer passing is harder, shorter and sharper across pro leagues, new research finds
via
Northeastern Global News
Northeastern Global News
NetSI News
Northeastern Global News
Feb 9, 2026
Soccer passing is harder, shorter and sharper across pro leagues, new research finds
via
Northeastern Global News
