Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Nick Rimando, former RSL goalkeeper, was elected to the 2025 National Soccer Hall of Fame.
- Rimando holds MLS records for minutes, games, wins, clean sheets, and saves.
- The induction ceremony is set for May 3, 2025, in Frisco, Texas.
SALT LAKE CITY — It was fitting that Real Salt Lake legend Nick Rimando learned he would be receiving the highest honor in American soccer right where he earned it: on the pitch.
Rimando was visiting with fellow former RSL man Brian Dunseth ahead of Tuesday's "Warm the Soles" event at America First Field, where over 650 pairs of new shoes were to be given to Midvale Elementary School students.
Suddenly, Rimando's family emerged from the player tunnel he walked down hundreds of times and Dunseth pulled out a scarf to break the news.
"You've been inducted into the 2025 National Soccer Hall of Fame."
Dunseth draped the scarf around Rimando's neck and his family handed him a box with the official "Class of 2025" plaque — a class that includes Women's World Cup winners Mary Harvey and Carli Lloyd and former MLS deputy commissioner Mark Abbott — and the surprise was a success.
A moment @NickRimando will always remember ❤️
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) December 3, 2024
His hard work & sacrifice landed him a spot in the @soccerhof. pic.twitter.com/g35JlCC646
"I had no idea," Rimando said. "This is so cool. It means so much to me. All the hard work and sacrifice."
The official announcement from the Hall of Fame included a superlative that has followed Rimando since his retirement in 2019, calling him "the greatest goalkeeper in MLS history."
And you'd be hard-pressed to prove them wrong.
Rimando holds league records for total minutes (46,336), games played (514), career wins (223), clean sheets (154), saves (1,712) and penalty kick saves (59).
The Montclair, California, native played college soccer at UCLA before moving to MLS in 2000: first with Miami Fusion, then D.C. United, and finally Real Salt Lake, where he anchored the defense for 13 years and won an MLS Cup in 2009.
Rimando remained in Utah after his retirement as a player and has worked as a goalkeeper coach for both the RSL Academy and Real Monarchs.
He made 22 appearances for the U.S. men's national team, including starting for the 2013 Gold Cup-winning squad and traveling to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil as a backup keeper.
Recent inductees into the National Soccer Hall of Fame include national team legends Tim Howard and Landon Donovan from the men's squad and Abby Wambach and Hope Solo from the women's side.
The induction will take place on May 3, 2025, at the Hall of Fame Museum in Frisco, Texas.
