This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sandy — Nick Rimando was not surprised at the quality of his counterpart playing for New England on Saturday.
Odds are, Matt Reis, a staple at New England, would have said the same.
Although only three goals were scored in RSL's 2-1 victory against the Revolution, it was the quality of the goal keeping that kept the game tight.
Real forward Alvaro Saborio scored twice, but at least three other times Reis made classy stops to deny the RSL forward.
"Two fantastic players on display tonight that played to the top of their potential," RSL coach Jason Kreis said.
The two keepers combined for 14 saves. Rimando had a less stressful Saturday, but came up big with a pair of stops within seconds of each other in the 71st minute.
"Nick Rimando, keeps doing it every single year, and I just can't understand why he isn't the goal keeper of the year every year," RSL defender Nat Borchers said afterward. "Tonight he was fantastic. I think he deserves Man of the Match, no questions asked. He kept us in the game. We don't get three points without him."
Even the New England coach was impressed.
"We had a couple chances, we sensed that we could at least get an equalizer, but we give credit where credit is due," coach Jay Heaps said. "Rimando had a nice game, he had some good saves, kept their guys where they are."
For Rimando, it was just business as usual — stay low and be ready for anything.
It's easy when shots are constant, but when the chances bloom suddenly, that's when the job becomes a bit more difficult.
"It's hardest not to be in the game and all of a sudden the ball comes," Rimando said. "Matt's a proven goal keeper in this league. It easily could have been 5-1. I saw him make those kind of saves in college. I'm not surprised."
— Martin Renzhofer
Twitter:@tribmarty