Countess proving worth in Real goal

A month into the season, Real Salt Lake goalkeeper D.J. Countess is already well on his way to making the organization look brilliant for selecting him with the fourth pick in the expansion draft.

Some questioned why coach John Ellinger would gamble on a player who came with so many underachieving question marks. Ellinger and assistant coach Peter Mellor don't have to defend their decision any longer.

Even though Real has surrendered eight goals in five games, without Countess' acrobatic saves in the first month of the season, that total could easily be twice as much.

"Right now he's not perfect, he'll tell you that, but he's obviously doing very well for us," said Ellinger. "He's kept us in games."

So far this season, Countess has saved 30 of the 38 shots he's faced, for a league-best save percentage of 76.9.

In comparison, Colorado's Joe Cannon took home goalkeeper of the year honors last year with an 80.2 save percentage, and was followed by Columbus' Jon Busch who saved 78.1 percent. Every other keeper was lower than 76 percent.

"I still have a long ways to go," said Countess. "I have to continue to build and strengthen my game every single day and learn from my mistakes and grow from each opportunity."

RSL (1-2-2) might not have a single point in the standings if it weren't for Countess.

In the season opener at the MetroStars, Countess saved a breakaway shot by Sergio Galvan Rey in the 18th minute, and then a made a quick reactionary save on John Wolyniec in the 60th minute to preserve the 0-0 tie.

Two weeks later in RSL's home opener, Countess made a handful of saves to preserve the club's inaugural 1-0 victory.

Both of those performances paled in comparison to his heroics last Saturday. Facing San Jose, one of the most potent offensive attacks in the league, Countess faced a staggering 15 shots, while turning away 13 of them.

"Honestly, I had no idea," said Countess. "When somebody told me I had 13 saves, I was shocked."

San Jose could've easily scored five or six goals in Salt Lake, but instead the Earthquakes had to settle for a 2-2 tie, and left Rice-Eccles Stadium wondering 'what if.'