USL Championship fans vote on Week 17-18 Save of the Week nominees

USL Championship put Daniel Namani’s diving stop in El Paso and Eric Dick’s reaction save for Pittsburgh at the center of its Week 17-18 Save of the Week vote, with fan voting open through Friday, July 11 at 12 p.m. ET. The ballot also included Brooks Thompson of Lexington SC and Jackson Lee of Rhode Island FC, but the two headliners came from games that swung on a single keeper moment.

Namani’s nomination carried extra weight because it came in his first USL Championship regular-season appearance. The 28-year-old first-year professional made the most of his debut for San Antonio FC in a 2-1 road win over El Paso Locomotive FC, throwing himself to the turf to deny a shot and keep the match from turning early. San Antonio later said Namani had already played two full USL Jägermeister Cup matches that season, but this was the night his league debut became part of the result. El Paso eventually equalized after an initial blocked shot by Namani in the 67th minute, then Alex Crognale settled the rivalry in San Antonio’s favor with the winner in the 83rd minute.

Dick’s nomination came in a different kind of pressure game, one where the save was less dramatic in shape but just as decisive in effect. His stop against New Mexico United on July 4 helped secure his sixth clean sheet of the 2026 regular season for Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, and it fit the profile of a goalkeeper who has already built a reputation on making the right play before the moment explodes. Dick won USL Championship Goalkeeper of the Year and the Golden Glove after a first season in Pittsburgh that produced a 0.69 goals-against average, a league-high 14 shutouts, a 79.1 percent save percentage, 68 saves and a 10.44 Goals Prevented mark. He later joined Indy Eleven for the 2026 season after helping Pittsburgh win its first league title in 26 years and earning 2025 Championship Final MVP honors.

That contrast is what makes the ballot interesting. Namani’s stop was all reflex, a full-extension dive that erased a dangerous chance in a match San Antonio still had to finish. Dick’s was more about reading the play and being in the right spot before New Mexico could cash in, the kind of save that protects a clean sheet instead of chasing one back. In a week built around pressure moments, the league’s keeper vote showed how one save can change a rivalry result, preserve a shutout, or keep a team in front long enough for the winning goal to arrive.