RSL vs. Portland quick stats: Sunny only misplaced one pass, and more

That was a fun match, wasn’t it? Here are some quick statistical musings that make this a particularly fun match to break down.

Passing

Of Sunny’s 54 attempted passes, only one went astray. He ended the match with just over 98 percent passing accuracy.

He wasn’t the only player to keep a good passing accuracy rate, though. Jefferson Savarino (51 passes, 88.2 percent success), Albert Rusnak (65, 86.2 percent), Joao Plata (56, 89.3 percent) and Tony Beltran (51, 86.3 percent) each had over 85 percent passing accuracy, and each had over 50 passes attempted.

Winning

For the first time since 2013, Real Salt Lake won on turf. That last win? It came in Portland in the 2013 Western Conference Final. What a series that was, huh? This is the match that most resembled those 2013 contests, and man, it was a lot of fun not being awful in Portland.

For the first time since May 2014, Real Salt Lake won two consecutive road matches. And it’s the widest goal difference (7) across any consecutive wins, home or away, since June 2013 (8 over four matches). If you’re limiting it to only two consecutive wins, it’s our widest goal difference ever. We did hit six a number of times, but that’s a nice little note for the record books.

Shooting and Key Passes

Joao Plata took eight shots. Five were on target. That’s fiery stuff. I’d like to see just a little more clinical shooting, simply because he definitely had a hat trick within his grasp, and I think he deserves it.

Danilo Acosta had the assist on Plata’s second goal, and it really was a brilliant pass through the middle. I know he’s been good at left back, but maybe he’s starting to develop into that defensive midfielder we need in a few years.

Albert Rusnak had six key passes. Wasn’t he just fantastic? That chipped pass to Savarino for the Rusnak goal/own goal/Jake Gleeson goal was the stuff dreams are made of.