It was a deflating result for the Portland Timbers in the race to make the postseason in their debut season in MLS, but the loss to the New York Red Bulls last Saturday had at least one silver lining.
Timbers goalkeeper Troy Perkins was rewarded with the MLS Save of the Week honors in Week 28 for his 60th-minute effort to keep Red Bulls forward Thierry Henry off the board.
With his team down 1-0 on the road, the veteran Perkins used a reaction save on the Frenchman's close-range, first-time effort to keep his team in the match. The Timbers eventually lost 2-0, but they remain in the postseason hunt, just two points off the pace heading into this weekend.
Perkins claims his league-leading fourth Save of the Week award this season, receiving double the votes of LA netminder Josh Saunders, whose decisive late-game stop on Andres Mendoza allowed the Galaxy to win the match moments later.
Tally Hall's finger-tip deflection on Brek Shea (18 percent), Jon Busch's kick save against Colorado (10 percent) and Dan Kennedy's stone-cold block on Toronto's Danny Koevermans (1.4 percent) rounded out the Top 5 in Week 28 voting.
Watch: Perkins stones Henry
Final Results
1. Troy Perkins, POR (vs. NY), 47.7%
2. Josh Saunders, LA (vs. CLB), 22.9%
3. Tally Hall, HOU (vs. DAL), 18%
4. Jon Busch, SJ (vs. COL), 10%
5. Dan Kennedy, CHV (vs. TOR), 1.4%
MLS Save of the Week Winners
<strong>Week 1</strong><br><a href="/news/article/rimandos-double-stop-wins-save-week" target="_blank">Nick Rimando, RSL</a> |
<strong>Week 2</strong><br><a href="/news/article/2011/04/22/timbers-gleeson-wins-second-save-week" target="_blank">Jake Gleeson, Portland</a> |
<strong>Week 3</strong><br><a href="/news/article/2011/april/08/keller-tops-hall-save-week-honor">Kasey Keller, Seattle</a> |
<strong>Week 4</strong><br><a href="/news/article/2011/04/15/keller-wins-second-straight-save-week-nod">Kasey Keller, Seattle</a> |
<strong>Week 5</strong><br><a href="/news/article/2011/04/22/timbers-gleeson-wins-second-save-week">Jake Gleeson, Portland</a> |
<strong>Week 6</strong><br><a href="/news/article/2011/04/29/las-ricketts-wins-mls-save-week">Donovan Rickets, LA</a> |
<strong>Week 7</strong><br><a href="/news/article/2011/05/06/revs-shuttleworth-takes-honor-save-week">Bobby Shuttleworth, NE</a> |
<strong>Week 8</strong><br><a href="/news/article/2011/05/13/reams-last-gasp-effort-new-york-wins-save-week">Tim Ream, New York</a> |
<strong>Week 9</strong><br><a href="/news/article/2011/05/20/frei-rescues-toronto-fc-wins-save-week">Stefan Frei, Toronto</a> |
<strong>Week 10</strong><br><a href="/news/article/2011/05/27/perkins-edges-tight-field-win-save-week">Troy Perkins, Portland</a> |
<strong>Week 11</strong><br><a href="/news/article/2011/06/03/delagarza-donovan-combine-earn-save-week">DeLaGarza/Donovan, LA</a> |
<strong>Week 12</strong><br><a href="/news/article/2011/06/10/keller-wins-third-save-week-nod">Kasey Keller, Seattle</a> |
<strong>Week 13</strong><br><a href="/news/article/2011/06/17/suttons-acrobatics-garner-mls-save-week-honors">Greg Sutton, New York</a> |
<strong>Week 14</strong><br><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/06/24/tainio-bicycles-his-way-mls-save-week">Teemu Tainio, New York</a> |
<strong>Week 15</strong><br><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/07/01/magee-wins-save-week-heroics-la-shutout">Mike Magee, LA</a> |
<strong>Week 16</strong><br><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/07/08/perks-denial-montero-pk-wins-mls-save-week">Brian Perk, LA</a> |
<strong>Week 17</strong><br><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/07/15/perkins-quick-reactions-earn-mls-save-week">Troy Perkins, Portland</a> |
<strong>Week 18</strong><br><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/07/22/perkins-kick-saves-his-way-mls-save-week">Troy Perkins, Portland</a> |
<strong>Week 19</strong><br><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/07/29/flying-save-earns-nielsen-save-week-honors">Jimmy Nielsen, Sporting KC</a> |
<strong>Week 20</strong><br><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/08/05/gruenebaums-left-handed-stop-wins-mls-save-week">Andy Gruenebaum, Columbus</a> |
<strong>Week 21</strong><br><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/08/12/nielsens-double-stop-wins-save-week">Jimmy Nielsen, Sporting KC</a> |
<strong>Week 22</strong><br><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/08/19/last-gasp-save-tfcs-kocic-earns-save-week" target="_blank">Milos Kocic, Toronto</a> |
<strong>Week 23</strong><br><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/08/26/last-gasp-save-seattles-keller-earns-save-week" target="_blank">Kasey Keller, Seattle</a> |
<strong>Week 24</strong><br><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/09/02/rsls-rimando-wins-save-week">Nick Rimando, RSL</a> |
<strong>Week 25</strong><br><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/09/09/nielsens-stop-donovan-wins-save-week" target="_blank">Jimmy Nielsen, Sporting KC</a> |
<strong>Week 26</strong><br><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/09/16/cannons-stop-agudelo-wins-save-week" target="_blank">Joe Cannon, Vancouver</a> |
<strong>Week 27</strong><br><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/09/23/macmaths-heroic-dive-union-earns-save-week" target="_blank">Zac MacMath, Philadelphia</a> |
<strong>Week 28</strong><br><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/09/30/timbers-perkins-claims-mls-save-week" target="_blank">Troy Perkins, Portland</a> |
<strong>Week 29</strong><br><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/sotw">TBD</a> |
<strong>Week 30</strong><br><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/sotw">TBD</a> |