There was nothing to particularly suggest any stops were pulled out for RSL’s 1-0 win over D.C. United on Saturday. No, it was a routine, efficient win from Kreis's men; one in which a fair few opportunities were created, one was put away, and a strong defensive effort kept the opponent at bay.
D.C. United presented strong opposition — considering their fight for form as the season comes to its closing moments, this was to be expected. The mentality on hand was exactly what was needed: Control the affair, don't allow too many strong chances, and close the game out. It represented a return to what Jason Kreis calls "Real Salt Lake soccer," and he'll have been pleased with the nature of the win.
Midfielders and shooting
RSL have this season struggled to involve most of the midfield in goal scoring action. While it is perhaps too soon to say, Will Johnson's headed goal in the second half represents a shift in that. Of course, one goal does not a trend make, but there were some interesting numbers to bubble out of the weekend's match.
The four midfielders involved (plus Yordany Alvarez, on late for Saborio, but only for a scant few minutes) took seven of the 13 shots on the night, with six of those being on target. You may recall that only just over 25 percent of the club's shots on the season have come from three in the midfield (Johnson, Morales and Beckerman), while 54 percent have come from Saborio, Espindola, and Paulo.
Additionally, just under half of RSL's shots came from outside the box — those midfielders, again, did some good work in the attack. This was especially important given that Paulo Jr. took no shots, and Saborio took only two — a testament, perhaps, to the strong work in the center of defense for United.
Goals, shots, and how they are conceded
Despite some solid defensive work on the night, D.C. United took a number of shots from distance — seven overall, about 2.3 more than RSL concede from outside the box on average. The seven shots conceded inside the box were only slightly more than the 6.3 average, but by avoiding a goal concession, improved the rate slightly to 30/176. It's still a 17 percent shots-faced-to-goals-conceded ratio, and it's hardly one of the better marks in the league. (Before the weekend, Columbus Crew held the lowest ratio at 11 percent, while Colorado Rapids were the worst at 22 percent.)
Stepping up
On most given match days, you'll find most of RSL's interceptions coming from Kyle Beckerman and the center backs, but the D.C. match saw our two full backs stepping up. Nat Borchers led the effort with five, while Chris Wingert and Tony Beltran had four each — all significantly better than average (2.1, 2.0, and 1.9, respectively). The midfield was less involved in this regard, perhaps owing to a more concentrated effort in attack.
