As the clock neared the 90-minute mark on Sunday, Real Salt Lake called on Nick Rimando to make a key save to preserve a point in a scoreless draw against rival Sporting Kansas City at a crucial point of the season. With Dom Dwyer – he of 50 goals in the last three seasons – lurking for a header that would have put Kansas City in the lead Rimando ranged to his left and swiped the shot off the bounce to knock it clear for the save to capture the clean sheet as RSL inched closer to the playoffs.
It was hardly the first time Rimando made a key save to preserve a result in his 10 seasons with RSL. He did, after all, earn MLS Cup MVP honors in 2009 after RSL won in a shootout against the LA Galaxy. For the Claret-and-Cobalt, it further emphasized the assurance that the club places in Rimando, the all-time MLS leader in most goalkeeping categories.
“That’s what we expect. He’s the best goalkeeper in the league and he’s been it for a while,” RSL captain Kyle Beckerman said. “We’re lucky to have him and we just like to help him out on the other end and get a goal and take a bit of the pressure off the defense.”
Technically speaking, it was another signature save for Rimando. An athletic shot-stopper who often seems to come out of nowhere to make near-impossible saves look routine, Rimando has six shutouts this season to give him 129 in his career, including 93 in 10 seasons with RSL.
RSL Head Coach Jeff Cassar has been with the club for all of Rimando’s tenure outside of the first few months and saw in that pivotal save something that he’s seen throughout his time working with Rimando.
"I thought his footwork and his position was great and that's extremely key in goalkeeping, is getting yourself in the right position to make multiple saves,” Cassar said after the match. “I thought Nick did a great job of that tonight. I thought he was in great shape, great angles and came up very big for us when we needed it."
Over the last five matches, Rimando has two shutouts and four goals allowed. However, RSL hasn’t been able to garner more than a draw in any of those matches. With the playoffs now on the line, his teammates know that they can still rely on him in those crucial situations, but also that the offense must be up to the task as well.
“He’s been solid all year,” midfielder Luke Mulholland said. “The other team just can’t knock on the door too many times or they’ll answer and score a goal so I think we need to step up in the goal-scoring department and get ourselves a couple of goals next week.”
Added Beckerman, “I think getting shutouts at the end of the season is a good thing and we just need to find a way to score a goal and get on the winning side of a game. We’ll work hard this week and see if we can pull it out next week.”
Real Salt Lake meets Seattle Sounders FC on Sunday in a nationally televised Decision Day match on ESPN. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. MT from CenturyLink Field – the site of Rimando’s MLS Cup MVP performance.
