Sometimes, MLSsoccer.com's Goal of the Week and Save of the Week nominees are populated with stunning scores and breathtaking stops, wowing the hardcore and neutrals alike with the skill and spectacle. And sometimes plays that are good, but not necessarily incredible, make the cut. Like this week, when the New England Revolution's A.J. Soares' stop on the Montreal Impact's Marco di Vaio made it as a possible Save of the Week.
That isn't to say that Soares' stop wasn't pretty special, because it was. The problem is that he created the problem in the first place. Sure, you can blame a lack of pressure on the Impact player who sent in the pass to di Vaio, but it was Soares' poor positioning relative to the rest of his back line that let the Italian beat the offside trap and fly in on Bobby Shuttleworth in a one-on-one situation. Soares' recovery was phenomenal, but it didn't need to happen in the first place.
It also seems even more ridiculous since Steve Neumann's epic stop last week that salvaged three points against D.C. did not make the cut in Week 12.
Based on my eye, Corey Ashe is going to win this week's Save of the Week competition, and his closest competition will be Jon Busch, but don't forget to go vote for A.J. anyway. Regardless of whether or not it was the best save this week, he's a Rev, and Revs should get our votes.