Acquired
RSL: Acquired via trade from NY for a 2008 MLS SuperDraft pick and 2009 MLS Supplemental Draft pick on 2/23/07
NY: Acquired via trade from RSL on 2/9/07 for future considerations
RSL: Acquired via trade along with MF Freddy Adu from DC for GK Jay Nolly, a major player allocation and future considerations on 12/11/06
DC: Selected third in the 2002 MLS Allocation Draft on 2/12/02
MIA: Selected in third round (35th overall) of the 2000 MLS SuperDraft on 2/06/00
How do you cap one of your best regular seasons in a decorated 10-year career? How about play the role of hero not once, but twice, in the post-season, thus catapulting your club to its first-ever title – and yourself to “cult hero” status (at least in Utah). That’s how Nick Rimando’s 2009 played out, as the veteran netminder stepped up his game when Real Salt Lake needed him to the most, improving his goals against average from a more than respectable 1.14 during the regular season to an incredible 0.64 during the MLS Cup Playoffs. That latter figure didn’t even account for Rimando’s greatest feats, successfully defending six of 14 shots from the penalty spot combined in dramatic, seven-round shootout victories at Chicago in the Eastern Conference Final and over the LA Galaxy in MLS Cup 2009.
If Peyton Manning’s second Super Bowl ring would have cemented himself among the top three or so in the “best all-time QB” argument, then that same stance should stand for Rimando’s inclusion among Major League Soccer’s “crème-de-le-crème” between the posts since he actually got the job done. And when you combine his championship pedigree (two MLS Cup crowns, a U.S. Open Cup title, and an NCAA College Cup as a UCLA freshman) with the numbers (fifth all-time in shutouts, sixth in wins, saves, games played, starts, and minute played in goal), it’s an argument that makes more and more sense. So what more is there to play for? Plenty, as Rimando will be charged with helping create the consistent success Head Coach Jason Kreis demands from his team this season, which is the only way the fan-favorite can continue his chase for more rings.
MLS Career
2009: His 1.14 GAA was the third lowest of his 10-year MLS career, while his 10 wins (10-10-6) were T-3rd (6th season w/ double-digit wins) and his 9 shutouts ranking second-most (11 SHO in 2005) … Finished among MLS’ Top 10 with a 1.14 GAA (8th), 9 shutouts (T-5th), and 10 wins (T-5th) … Ranks 6th all-time amongst MLS goalkeepers with 92 wins; 228 games played and started; 20,673 minutes played; and 888 saves while placing T-5th with 60 shutouts … Now RSL’s career leader with 83 games started and ranks 2nd in club history with 83 games played (A. Williams – 128 ) … Missed 3 games with a L 3rd finger laceration, suffered late in first half on 5/02 @ COL … Stopped both PK attempts faced in regular season play in 2009 … PK save of Brad Davis on 6/20 @ HOU in the 74th minute temporarily kept RSL in the lead what was an eventual 1-1 draw … His PK stop on Jeff Cunningham on 7/24 v DAL (71’) was the 13th in 42 attempts on his goal during his career (31%) … Contributed the game-winning assist on 8/08 v. SEA, his long goal kick converted by Findley for the lone goal in a 1-0 win … The assist was the 6th of his career, tying Marcus Hahnemann for the most by a GK in MLS history … Saw his home shutout streak snapped at 383 minutes on 9/12 v. CHI (Rolfe – 44’) … His 60th career clean sheet in the regular season finale on 10/24 v. COL placed him T-5th on MLS’ all-time list in the category w/ Pat Onstad (HOU) … Performed heroically in RSL’s four-game run to the MLS Cup 2009 crown, posting an undefeated 2-0-2 record, impressive 0.64 GAA and a pair of shutouts across 420 minutes of action … Picked up wins over Columbus in both Eastern Conf. Semifinal Series contests against the defending MLS Cup Champions on 10/31 @ RSL and 11/05 @ CLB … Engineered RSL’s Eastern Conf. Championship triumph on 11/14 @ CHI, making 6 saves in regulation & OT to preserve visitors’ end of 0-0 draw before saving 3 of the Fire’s 7 PK attempts, seeing the Utahns through to a 5-4 PK win and their first MLS Cup appearance. … Saved his best for last in MLS Cup 2009 on 11/22 v. LA at Seattle’s Qwest Field, again being thrown into penalties, this time after a 1-1 draw … Forced a miss out of Landon Donovan and saved shots by Jovan Kirovski and Edson Buddle, the latter also coming in the 7th round and precluding Russell’s championship clincher in the 5-4 shootout triumph … Now one of only two players on RSL roster to win multiple MLS Cup titles (w/ Grabavoy), this after first winning the 2004 crown with DC in his lone prior final appearance.
2008: One of four ‘keepers to play every minute for his squad in 2008 (w/ Busch, Cannon & Hartman) … Only RSL player to log all 2,700 minutes in 2008 and one of two RSL members (w/ Beckerman) to start all 30 contests … Finished season in top six across MLS with 10 wins (T-5th), 8 shutouts (5th) and a 1.30 GAA (T-6th) … Broke or tied RSL single-season records in wins (tied w/ Garlick, 2006), shutouts, and a .500 winning % … Owned 2nd longest shutout streak of the 2008 MLS season at 355 minutes (6/28 @ KC – 7/28 v. TOR), breaking his own club record in the category for the second time during the season (284 minutes from 5/31 v. SJ through 6/21 v. NE) … One of two ‘keepers to post a pair of shutouts streaks in the season’s top 10 (w/ Hartman – KC) … Named MLS Player of the Month for July after going 2-0-2 with 3 shutouts & 1 GA in four games … Played 5 minutes in midfield for the RSL Reserves on 8/06 @ DAL … Made 200th MLS regular season start & appearance on 10/09 v. NY, just two games after becoming the 6th ‘keeper in League history to reach the 800-save plateau (9/27 @ SJ) … His 1.00 GAA during RSL’s three-game appearance in the MLS Cup Playoffs marked the stingiest performance of his four career postseason runs … Has stopped 11 of the 40 PK’s faced in his career (27.5% save percentage).
2007: Finished season among MLS leaders with 146 saves (1st), 76.4 save % (2nd), 1.37 GAA (7th) and 7 shutouts (7th) … His 146 saves in just 27 games were tops in MLS by 26 saves and also shattered the RSL single-season record (112 by D.J. Countess, 2005) … Made a career-high 13 SVS on 6/02 @ NE … 13 saves tied him for the fourth-most stops in an MLS contest … Also stopped 12 shots in a scoreless draw on 9/15 @ TFC … Acquired, traded, then re-acquired by RSL during the off-season, he final deal bringing Rimando back to Utah from NYRB in exchange for a 2008 MLS SuperDraft pick and 2009 MLS Supplemental Draft pick on 2/23/07.
2006: Made just two appearances in a back-up role behind Troy Perkins after overcoming nagging injuries during the first half of the season … Stayed sharp in MLS Reserve Division play, allowing only four goals in eight starts in which he posted an impressive 0.57 GAA and 5-2-0 record, the five wins leading all ‘keepers in RD action.
2005: Returned to full strength and had one of his best seasons, notching a career-high 11 shutouts while maintaining an impressive 1.17 GAA and tying his career-best of 15 wins … Notched an assist on 9/10 at FC Dallas when he sent a long punt to Jamil Walker, whose subsequent pass led to a goal by Santino Quaranta in D.C.’s 2-1 win … That season, broke DC’s club records for games played in goal, games started in goal, minutes played in goal, saves, and shutouts.
2004: A right knee injury limited Rimando to just 13 appearances – all starts … Still managed to record a 7-3-3 record and a career-best and club-record 1.00 GAA … After returning from a torn ACL in 2003, experienced other injury difficulties and opted to have surgery during the mid-season All-Star break to repair the meniscus in his right knee … Gave United momentum going into the 2004 MLS Cup Playoffs by posting three shutouts in the team’s final six games, including a scoreless streak of 274 minutes down the stretch … Went 4-0-0 in postseason play, his 1.15 GAA helping United to its fifth MLS Cup crown.
2003: Logged 2,318 minutes, stretching his cumulative minutes played to 6,016 dating back to July 4th of 2001 … The mark fell just 50 minutes short of the MLS all-time record for consecutive minutes played when he limped off of the turf at Giants Stadium with a torn ACL on 9/25 at MET … Equaled a DC team single-season record with seven shutouts.
2002: Recorded club-record seven shutouts and United’s single-season record for saves (131) … Only player on DC to log every minute (2,588) during the 2002 season, which also ranked tops in MLS … One of six players recognized as MLS Player of the Week on multiple occasions (Weeks 15 & 27).
2001: Set several team records for Miami Fusion FC in his first full season, including wins (15) and shutouts (5) … Posted a 15-5-5 record and 1.29 GAA, numbers that helped Miami garner the 2001 Supporters Shield … Earned a starting nod in the MLS All-Star Game and an invite to Bruce Arena’s U.S. National Team training camp.
2000: Made five saves and recorded a shutout in his MLS debut for MIA, a 1-0 overtime win vs. DC on 5/10 … Finalist for the Nickelodeon GAS Play of the Year for a one-handed save on DC’s Bobby Convey’s shot on 8/05 … Recorded a game-winning assist on 5/13 vs. COL in a 2-1 victory … Posted a 2-1-0 record in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and made a PK save in the Final on 10/21 at CHI.
U.S. Men’s National Teams
U.S. MNT: Has allowed only one goal in his four career caps (two starts) for the U.S. Men’s National Team … Ended six-and-a-half-year span between caps on 2/24/10 v. El Salvador and earned the win from the 2-1 friendly triumph at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa … Also made 18-man roster on 1/23/10 v. Honduras as starter Troy Perkins’ back-up … Participated in Bob Bradley’s extended training camps in January and February, marking his first activity with the U.S. Senior side since joining RSL prior to the 2007 season … Earned a pair of caps in 2003, including a 2-0 victory over Wales on 5/26 in which he registered his first complete shutout and start for the U.S. senior side … Made his senior international debut on 11/17/02 vs. El Salvador, coming on at the half and combining with Tim Howard to post a 2-0 shutout win on his home turf of RFK Stadium … U.S. Under-20’s: Made 31 caps for the U.S. Under-20 squad across 1998-99 … Was a member of the U.S. U-20 National Team that went 2-2-0 at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship in Nigeria … U.S. Under-17s: Was a member of the USA’s U-17 squad that competed in the 1995 U-17 World Cup in Ecuador.
College
Finished his three years at UCLA with an impressive 0.67 GAA, the second-best mark in Bruin history … 1999: Culminated his final season with UCLA by receiving NSCAA All-Far West First-Team and College Soccer Online All-American Honorable Mention honors … Tallied 19 wins in 22 games while maintaining a 0.78 GAA in helping UCLA reach the NCAA College Cup Semifinals … 1998: Named NSCAA Second-Team All-American, Second-Team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and First-Team All-Far West as a sophomore … Recorded 11 shutouts to earn Team Co-Defensive MVP honors and help the Bruins to a second straight NCAA College Cup appearance … 1997: Earned All-MPSF Honorable Mention honors as a freshman … Held a shutout streak of 450 minutes to begin the season … Registered a 0.17 GAA and four shutouts as a freshman.
Personal
Lives in Salt Lake City with wife, Jacqui; 2-year-old son, Jett Nicholas; and newborn daughter Benny Rose … Enjoys hitting the local dog parks with his two dogs, Cassius & Marley … Runs his popular “Nick is My Homeboy” blog and is an avid social media user, as demonstrated by his plentiful Facebook and Twitter updates … Proud of his Southern California roots, where his parents still live in his hometown of Montclair … A huge music fan, sees as many concerts as possible and enjoys listening to Jack Johnson, Rancid, AFI, Rise Against and Ben Harper … A self-proclaimed “perfect slowdancer”.
