In several sports with goalkeepers or goaltenders protecting nets, or goals, a save is credited to a goaltender that stops the playing object from entering the goal. These sports include football, ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

, and lacrosse

Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...

, among others.

In ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

, a goaltender

Goaltender

In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...

 is credited with a save when they prevent a shot

Shot (ice hockey)

A shot in ice hockey is an attempt by a player to score a goal by striking the puck with their stick in the direction of the net.-Shovel:The shovel shot is the simplest most basic shot in a shooter's arsenal. Its execution is simply a shoveling motion to push the puck in the desired direction...

 by the opponent from entering the net. A goaltender's efficiency in stopping shots, the save percentage

Save percentage

Save percentage is an ice hockey and lacrosse statistic that represents the percentage of shots on goal a goaltender stops...

, is calculated as a percentage of shots stopped divided by shots on goal

Shot on goal

In ice hockey, a shot on goal is a shot that will enter the goal if it is not stopped by the goaltender. A shot on goal must result in either a goal or a save....

.