"He made some great saves on both ends on pretty good shots by us," said Ellinger. "To have that one go in, it's nice to have that happen every once in a while."

At the other end, Salt Lake keeper Scott Garlick was even better in his first game back after serving a yellow-card suspension against New York.

In the 22nd minute, Garlick made a point-blank save on a Chris Albright header just outside the 6-yard box. In the 79th minute, after L.A.'s Landon Donovan played a fantastic through ball to Alan Gordon, Garlick came racing off his line and barely deflected Gordon's shot near the top of the box.

Cobi Jones had a crack at the rebound, but his 25-yard, off-balance shot soared into the stands.

The shutout was RSL's first since a 0-0 draw with Chivas USA on July 4.

"We've made a lot of strong gains this year: coming together as a team, playing better soccer, finishing our chances," said Ellinger. "Tonight I thought we played well start to finish."

Ellinger was particularly pleased with the play of Williams, who has contributed mightily to RSL's 6-2-1 record since the midway point of the season.

"He's playing at a different level right now," said Ellinger. "He's one of several guys who've raised their level in the last six weeks, and it's why we have a chance to make the playoffs right now."

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E-mail: jedward@desnews.com