Five quick numbers that explain Seattle’s 2-1 win over D.C. United

The Sounders haven’t had the best start to the season, so picking up three points at home against one of the last-place team in the Eastern conference could be a huge momentum-swinger for Seattle.

Obviously the goals are the only numbers that really matter in the end, but a few others stand out on the stat sheet that tell the story of Saturday’s match.

105 - Number of touches by Nicolas Lodeiro

By pushing Lodeiro back into a deeper midfield position, head coach Brian Schmetzer placed his best passer further from goal than usual—but it allowed the Uruguayan to exercise his creativity on a different level. With other creative players like Harry Shipp and Victor Rodriguez (and later, Magnus Wolff Eikrem) in front of him, Lodeiro was able to pull the strings from deep and control how the game flowed. It worked, as Lodeiro also had 92.9% passing accuracy during the match.

60% - Percentage of Duels won by the Sounders

Duels won can occasionally be an overrated stat; Schmetzer admitted in the post-game press conference that it’s much more important when combined with a good performance overall. But it does show that the Sounders bossed the match physically, controlling the ball and winning it back in important areas. Instead of getting pushed around like they have at times this season, the Sounders rarely looked like the second-best team on the night.

5 - Tackles won by Cristian Roldan

The midfielder was everywhere on the night, going from deep central midfield to right attacking midfield to right-back, never looking out of place. His cross while playing right-back assisted the winning goal, and he had the most successful tackles of any player on the pitch. Pretty impressive.

7 - Total shots by Clint Dempsey

Despite the team’s win, it wasn’t exactly a night to remember for Dempsey. He looked out of sorts all night, losing the ball often and hitting a number of wayward shots. It was perhaps highlighted by this unfortunate moment.

21 - Minutes played by Magnus Wolff Eikrem

This stat isn’t notable on its own, but combined with the fact that he had 3 shots, 1 shot on goal, 1 chance created, and of course his 1 goal... that’s not bad at all. He had an instant impact, scoring the winning goal and looking dangerous for all 21 of those minutes. A lot of players took advantage of today’s match to impress the coaching staff, but Wolff Eikrem sent a clear message to Schmetzer with his 21 minutes against D.C.

Quote of the night...