Nick Rimando put Real Salt Lake in the driver's seat on the way to the CONCACAF Champions League final.
Real's goalkeeper made six saves, and Alvaro Saborio and Fabian Espindola each scored a goal to lead Real Salt Lake to a 2-0 win over Costa Rican club Deportivo Saprissa on Tuesday night in the first leg of their semifinal.
Salt Lake takes a valuable two-goal lead into the second leg of the total goals series in Costa Rica next month.
''For me, tonight was Nick Rimando's time to be special,'' Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis said. ''He had some incredibly clutch saves for us.''
Saborio gave RSL a 1-0 lead in the 9th minute when he latched onto a touch pass from Andy Williams, spun around and, as he slid forward, blasted the ball inside the left post.
The goal helped erase a frustrating near-miss for Salt Lake in the 6th minute when Nat Borchers put a running header in the back of the net, only to have the goal waved off after he was called for a foul on the play.
Espindola tacked on a second goal for Real in the 56th minute. This time, Williams sent a long pass down the middle of the field and Espindola raced to meet it. He gathered the ball, cut back at the top of the penalty area and fired a shot down the middle to create the two-goal advantage.
''It's our home field,'' midfielder Will Johnson said. ''We have to be aggressive. We have to have the right mindset. We have to take advantage of this home field, which we did.''
Real Salt Lake is 13-5-5 all-time in international competition and hasn't lost a home match in any since 2009.
''It was great,'' Rimando said. ''Again, there's no goals going in the back of the net - the defense has done their job.''
