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Ricardo Rodriguez free kick freezes Tim Howard during Europa League match

Tim Howard became a household name this summer thanks to his brilliant play for the U.S. men's national team in the FIFA World Cup. His record-breaking 16 save performance against Belgium inspired this GIF from Yahoo Sports' social editor Eric Orvieto.

The effort also inspired a meme #thingstimhowardcouldsave that swept the internet. Howard was back on the pitch Thursday for his club team, Everton of the English Premier League, as they hosted the Bundesliga's Wolfsburg in the opening match of their first Europa League campaign since 2010. The 35-year-old was his normal stellar self, making 12 saves in a 4-1 victory — except for one notable exception.

Ricardo Rodriguez's free kick in stoppage time froze Howard. The defender, who starred for Switzerland in Brazil this past summer, was stopped cold by the veteran keeper on a free kick earlier in the match. But Rodriguez left Howard flat-footed in the waning moments. Seeing one of the world's top goalies appear so vulnerable was a somewhat jarring sight for soccer fans. But it was all good. With the win, Everton continued its undefeated record against German teams in European competition. Next up in the Europa League for the EPL club is Russian side FC Krasnodar on Oct. 2.