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Easy does it Keller records shutout in first U.S. appearance of 2001
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Kasey Keller hasn't picked up any showy habits in the Spanish first division. Keller, a veteran of nine seasons in England, got his first start for the United States this year in the Americans' 1-0 win over Costa Rica in a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday night. He didn't have to be flashy -- he made his six saves simply by being in the right spot every time the Central Americans took a shot. "His position was excellent," U.S. coach Bruce Arena said. "He did a great job of moving across his line and cutting off the angles." If that makes his job look easy, Keller said, so be it. "To me, that's what goalkeeping is," said Keller, in his second season with Rayo Vallecano. "It's funny, because in Spain it's almost the opposite. There's some flamboyance, but that's not my game. I've been in England too long." Keller's shutout, his third in a row in qualifying, came after Brad Friedel played in a 2-0 win over Mexico and a 2-1 win at Honduras. "Kasey's been around long enough with this program," defender Jeff Agoos said. "He's a senior pro, and we knew it wasn't going to be a problem." Keller, making his 47th appearance with the national team, was available for the United States' 2-0 win over Mexico on Feb. 28, but Arena didn't invite him to camp. "The Mexico game was the exact same travel schedule that I had for this game, but Bruce didn't feel comfortable inviting me," Keller said. "I had tried to assure him that wasn't going to be a problem, that it wasn't going to affect me, and you saw that obviously it didn't." Keller, who started two of the United States' three losses in World Cup 1998, stopped short of saying he should be the regular starter ahead of Friedel, who stayed in England this week with Blackburn Rovers, which is trying to gain promotion to the Premier League. "I got an opportunity to play, and I played," Keller said. "I didn't get to play the last two games, and the team got two good results. Now we go from there. I go back and try to pick up a few more wins for Rayo before the season ends, and then we see what happens in June."
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