Montreal ‘keeper makes 14 saves in loss to LAFC
A series of unfortunate events have made life difficult for the Montreal Impact over the last three games: two early sending offs, subsequent suspensions, and injuries have riddled the Bleu-blanc-noir’s starting 11, culminating in three straight losses for the club after earning two consecutive wins.
It hasn’t been the easiest of stretches for the Montreal club defensively, but the man between the posts has been turning heads with his elevated play. Evan Bush made 14 saves against LAFC this Saturday, and another eight against the Red Bulls the Saturday before that.
“It’s frustrating for sure, but we have to come back to training and figure out how to go forward,” said Bush. “I’ve felt good for a number of weeks now since the start of the season. It’s crazy because we’ve given up 12 goals in the last three games, and I feel like I made a lot of good saves. It’s something I’m going to have to continue to do until we get this straightened out.”
The Ohio native has faced five penalty shots this year and managed to save two of them, including one against LAFC that kept the score at 2-1 in the first half, following Víctor Cabrera’s red card. The Impact even managed to score before the end of the half to make it 3-1, but four unanswered goals after the break gave LAFC the away win, their fourth in six games.
“The score is not a testament to Evan’s performance,” said midfielder Samuel Piette. “He had a great game. If it wasn’t for him, it could’ve been 10-3 or more. Hats off to him, but we need to support him better and play better in front of him.”
One of those saves was on Carlos Vela, the Mexican striker who started the season with four goals and added another against the Impact on Friday. Alone in front of Bush, Vela thought he’d score easily, but his shot from the six-yard box was clipped by Bush’s foot, who smothered the ball immediately afterwards. It was another big save for the American goalkeeeper that left Stade Saputo’s spectators in awe.
“Evan kept us in the game,” said head coach Rémi Garde. “No one can deny that he saved us in more than one situation. He’s saved us too many times for us to have anything bad to say about his performances.”
“It’s disappointing, because he had such a good first half, and a good game in general,” said defender Rudy Camacho. “It’s disappointing for him and for the team to have allowed five goals anyway. We need to work hard on this moving forward.”
Bush leads the league with 39 saves so far this year, managing two shutouts in the process as well, in 1-0 wins against Toronto FC and Seattle Sounders FC. The Impact will train in Montreal this week before hitting the road for a game in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday at 1pm (TVA Sports, 98,5fm, TSN Radio 690).
