On Sunday, Real Salt Lake earned its second shutout in four matches to start the 2015 season. It was the second clean sheet in the young season for goalkeeper Nick Rimando for the 117th shutout in his MLS career.
Afterward, Rimando said the defensive performance in front of him set a high standard for how the team will need to defend all season.
“Yesterday was an eye-opener to how good we can be defensively,” Rimando said Monday on The Bill & OC Show on ESPN 700. “It set a pretty high mark for what we need to do to play like we did. We took a step in the right direction and we’ve got to continue that.”
In the match, RSL limited the San Jose Earthquakes to three shots on goal in the match. The defense held Chris Wondolowski without a shot for just the third time since September of 2010 – one of the other occurrences also came against RSL in 2011.
That defensive prowess not only helped keep San Jose off the board, but also triggered the offense.
“The effort in front of me was fantastic. The commitment on the defensive side really created all of our chances offensively. It’s good to see the commitment in front of me – my back four, but also the guys in the midfield and the forwards really put the work in,” Rimando said. “That’s the kind of team effort that you need to grind out those points.”
For more of Rimando’s appearance on Monday evening, click here.
