Curaçao GK ties Howard's WC save record in draw

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He covers college football, soccer and tennis. He has been at ESPN since 2019.Follow on XMultiple AuthorsEmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsKANSAS CITY, Mo.

-- Curaçao goalkeeper Eloy Room made 15 saves to equal the men's World Cup record and help earn the island nation its first-ever World Cup point with a 0-0 draw against heavily favored Ecuador on Saturday.The 37-year-old Room, whose shutout of Jamaica last November sent Curaçao to their first World Cup, bounced back from a 7-1 loss to Germany with one of the finest performances by a goalkeeper in tournament history.His save total is tied for the most in a World Cup game -- since saves became an official stat in 1966 -- according to ESPN Research, matching the mark set by Tim Howard of the United States against Belgium on July 1, 2014.

Room, a former MLS Cup winner with the Columbus Crew, plays for Miami FC in the U.S. second-tier USL Championship.

His save tally is the most in a World Cup game by a keeper who kept a shutout, and it also stands alone as the most in a World Cup game that did not go to extra time.Ecuador's 15 shots on goal were also the most in a men's World Cup match without scoring since at least 1966.Howard's performance, which FIFA credits with 16 saves, earned him a call from then-U.

S. President Barack Obama and the moniker "Secretary of Defense." It remains to be seen what honors await Room, though there were some distinguished names watching on in Kansas City.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands were in attendance after watching the Dutch team rout Sweden earlier in the day. Curaçao, the smallest World Cup team ever in population and size, is a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, making the king and queen the heads of state.Joining them in the pro-Ecuador crowd at the home of the Kansas City Chiefs were Kansas City Royals players Bobby Witt Jr.

, Salvador Perez and Starling Marte.Room set the tone early, making a huge stop on an Enner Valencia breakaway in the third minute, then he stopped Valencia on another golden opportunity in the 20th minute.Ecuador began to ramp up the degree of difficulty in the second half, forcing short-range stops of Gonzalo Plata in the 59th minute, Valencia again in the 65th and substitute Kevin Rodríguez in the 66th.

In all, Ecuador's attempted shots were worth 3.08 expected goals (xG), but they scored on none of them. Meanwhile, though Ecuador's Hernán Galíndez faced only three shots on goal, he had to make a pair of massive saves on efforts from Leandro Bacuna and Livano Comenencia -- Curacao's goalscorer against Germany -- to assure things remained even.