Stats: Midfield bite defines Seattle v RSL match-up

I don't often post in the afternoon, but after getting caught up in work all day and not writing in the morning, it sort of became a necessity. So, alas, my apologies, all. Let's go through some stats, shall we? We've got a long week-and-a-half ahead of us, and though it'll be offset by this nice little match at BYU (I'm going — are you?), it will certainly be trying. Not as trying as, say, getting a degree at Bovine University, but you know. There's that.

Stats!

• Our passing — 334/470, or 71% — wasn't great. Had we lost, I might have called it woeful. Thankfully, we didn't lose this one. However, while our passing was a bit off, it wasn't miserable for everyone.
• Kyle Beckerman successfully completed 47/58 passes, or 81 percent. This is about normal for the guy. Interestingly, he made no key passes, but a glance at the chalkboards reveals that he was indeed sitting back further and distributing from right around the midfield line. He also made 4/6 tackles. Quite a chap, that one.
• Ned Grabavoy, too, was effective in the pass, going 39/47, or 83 percent success. He was once again a player that made things tick over, and he took up wide positions as ably as you'd expect. In defense, he made 4/5 tackles.
• Fabian Espindola, goalscorer extraordinaire, was successful in 2 of his 5 dribbles, which, considering the support he had — a necessary evil, I suppose, of being forced into a more defensive outlook — isn't a bad record.
• When Chris Schuler came on, he played more like a classic defensive full back but also got into good positions in a makeshift back three. With Tony Beltran able to push up further, we were given good room for attacking movement on the right flank, and it was a combination down that side that helped to create the goal. Schuler importantly made six interceptions — a mark of his intelligent play.
• Perhaps a reason we lacked a little attacking thrust at times was because our midfielders were playing at their defensive best. With the back four having only one successful tackle of four attempts, it was clear that they weren't being tested too much. This is largely because of the midfield effort: The five players who spent time in the midfield (save Luis Gil, the sixth, who played in the most attacking role) made 12/18 tackles, six interceptions, six clearances, blocked five crosses, and made 20 recoveries. Remarkable stuff, that.

Right, that's all I have today. Come back tomorrow, when I'm sure to ramble about something or other.