New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando was named the Player of the Week on Monday for the opening week of the 2014 Major League Soccer season.
Rimando held the Los Angeles Galaxy scoreless on Saturday night and made nine saves to preserve a 1-0 win for his club. In the 38th minute, Galaxy forward Robbie Keane slotted a ball behind the Salt Lake defense to teammate Landon Donovan, who was looking for his MLS-record 135 goal; however, Rimando denied Donovan's shot from just outside the six-yard box with a quick dive to his left.
With Salt Lake up 1-0 in fourth minute of stoppage time, a penalty kick was called in favor of the Galaxy. Keane stepped up to the spot and shot the ball to the lower left corner, but Rimando successfully saved the shot with a dive to his right and preserved the win for Salt Lake..
The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season by a panel of journalists from the North America Soccer Reporters (NASR). The group consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.