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On a squad filled with youngsters and first-timers, it was the elder statesman of the group who reminded the world why he's still very much in an important conversation. Real Salt Lake's Nick Rimando starred in the second half of a 1-0 win over the Czech Republic in Prague Wednesday keeping his name in the hat for the No. 1 keeper spot with the U.S. men's national team.

With incumbent Tim Howard taking a year-long hiatus, Rimando and Aston Villa's Brad Guzan have been dubbed as the two primary candidates to vie for Howard's spot. Rimando's four second-half saves to preserve another impressive road win in Europe for the U.S. was arguably the highlight of the 90 minutes.

"They kept it clean, they lead the defense, they were loud, they played out of the back, the kept things calm," said U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann in the post-game quote sheet. "And when you get more shots on goal, like what happened to Nick, you can shine a bit more. Both go into the future fighting for the number one spot. It's a bit easier with friendly games. We can rotate them no big deal. Both have a tremendous amount of respect for one another and Tim Howard and whoever comes through the ranks as well."

Major League Soccer's all-time shutout king hopped on a transatlantic flight after going 90 minutes in RSL's 1-1 road draw at San Jose Saturday as the lone MLS representative called in for the match. While Guzan went the first 45 against the Czechs, Rimando was tasked with holding fort as international friendly rules allow several more subs than the usual three. He did so with several point-blank saves.

"I think being up [on the road] they were going to throw guys forward," Rimando said in the quote sheet. "At times it felt like [the Czech Republic] had four, five guys up front and dumping balls. We need to have a little bit more of a mature effort at the end. Keep the ball, possess it and not invite the pressure as much. But, we dealt with it and got the shutout."

When asked about the No. 1 goalkeeper position, Rimando said: "There's a spot open. [Klinsmann] wants to create competition at every position and tonight was an opportunity for both [Brad Guzan and I] to go in and show what we can bring to the team. I think he knows what we're capable of and for Brad going out tonight and having a great first half then for me to contribute to the team in a win felt good."

I asked RSL coach Jeff Cassar Wednesday if Rimando would be available for Saturday's match against FC Dallas at Rio Tinto Stadium after another transatlantic return.

"We just said that we'd touch base after the game, whether it be through texts or wait until we see him here in the states," Cassar said. "We'll see how it goes. We feel comfortable if Nick says he's good to go and feels great and can perform at his level, great. If not, we have Jeff [Attinella] and we feel extremely confident with him as well."

As Rimando and Guzan jockey for the top spot between the posts, the USMNT next hits the pitch on Oct. 10 against Ecuador in East Hartford, Conn. The match will be Landon Donovan's final in a U.S. jersey. Following that outing, the U.S. are slated to face Honduras on Oct. 14 in Boca Raton, Fla.

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'Another good test for our club' • Three weeks ago, RSL was in first place in the Western Conference. Players and coaches knew Seattle and L.A. had games in hand and that the probability of staying atop the West three weeks later might be a difficult task. Since RSL beat Seattle 2-1 on Aug. 16, the Sounders have gone 3-0-1 in their next four matches and are now the first MLS club to eclipse the 50-point mark in 2014 at 51 points in 26 matches. L.A. has won four straight and is in second place with 48 points. RSL is 11-5-10 with 43 points through its first 26.

Saturday against FC Dallas is another start to try and march back atop the West.

"Well, you look sometimes and teams have games in hand, so there's points out there for some of the other teams like Seattle and L.A. had some extra games to play," midfielder Ned Grabavoy said. "They took care of their business and they kind of jumped back up to the top. For us, I think we're just trying to get better each game and I try to peak and get into the playoffs at the right time. For us, obviously it's a very big matchup against an opponent that will most likely be around come playoff time. Another good test for our club."

Captain Kyle Beckerman says he's always stuck to entertaining trophy chases until the last five games of the regular season. If you're in it, go for it. But he said there's no sense in looking too far ahead with too many games remaining on the schedule.

"I think I've always said it's about getting to the last five games and if you're in the talk, then you really have a chance," he said. "Right now, these are huge games and we all know that. This is just to see if we can give ourselves a chance for those last five games. These are opportunities right now, if we can get some wins here, than we can be in the talk at the end. We know it's a little ways away and a lot of things can happen before then."

-Chris Kamrani

Twitter: @chriskamrani