Joe Bendik started 73 games for Toronto FC from 2013-15 but lost his starting job to Chris Konopka at the end of the 2015 season. His option was subsequently declined and his rights were traded to Orlando City SC.
The 27-year-old wasted no time making himself at home in Orlando, starting all 30 games for the club this season. He has won Save of the Week an astonishing 11 times in 2016 and places sixth in the Audi Player Index among goalkeepers. Part of the reason the Index ranks him highly are the two penalties Bendik has saved this season, tied for the most in MLS, each of which earned him 335 points.
Toronto FC and Orlando City have split the season series so far, but one club will have the chance to take the series in a high-stakes game on Wednesday night (7:30 pm ET, FS1 in US | TSN in Canada).
Bendik's replacement in Toronto, Clint Irwin, is No. 9 on the list while Portland's Jake Gleeson tops the rankings by averaging 531 points per game.
Here are the top 10 goalkeepers in MLS this season (minimum 10 games at the position), according to the Audi Player Index. The scores are the average of each player's Audi Index score per game:
RANKING |
SCORE |
PLAYER |
CLUB |
1 |
531 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/jake-gleeson" style="color:#000;border-bottom:1px dotted #909090;">Jake Gleeson</a> |
POR |
2 |
488 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/tim-howard" style="color:#000;border-bottom:1px dotted #909090;">Tim Howard</a> |
COL |
3 |
466 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/steve-clark" style="color:#000;border-bottom:1px dotted #909090;">Steve Clark</a> |
CLB |
4 |
461 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/matt-lampson" style="color:#000;border-bottom:1px dotted #909090;">Matt Lampson</a> |
CHI |
5 |
450 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/brian-rowe" style="color:#000;border-bottom:1px dotted #909090;">Brian Rowe</a> |
LA |
6 |
433 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/joe-bendik" style="color:#000;border-bottom:1px dotted #909090;">Joe Bendik</a> |
ORL |
7 |
429 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/david-bingham" style="color:#000;border-bottom:1px dotted #909090;">David Bingham</a> |
SJ |
8 |
425 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/josh-saunders" style="color:#000;border-bottom:1px dotted #909090;">Josh Saunders</a> |
NYC |
9 |
411 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/clint-irwin" style="color:#000;border-bottom:1px dotted #909090;">Clint Irwin</a> |
TOR |
10 |
409 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/joe-willis" style="color:#000;border-bottom:1px dotted #909090;">Joe Willis</a> |
HOU |
