Bill Hamid's time tending to the DC United goal started long before this series does. In September 2009, he became the first ever DC United Academy player to sign with the first team. At the time, in 2010, Hamid set the record for the youngest goalkeeper to win a match in MLS. He solidified himself as the team's starting goalkeeper prior to the 2014 season. In 2014, DC United finished atop the Eastern Conference table with 59 points. Hamid kept 10 clean sheets during the season, the second most of his career. On July 30th against Toronto FC, he played his best game of the season statically, saving all 8 of the shots he faced. His best save of the day was a shutdown of Dominic Oduro from point blank range. Hamid earned the greatest honor of MLS goalkeepers in his first year of qualification for this series, the 2014 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award. DCU was shockingly eliminated by the New York Red Bulls in the first round.
Hamid was being selected for United States National Team rosters as well during these years. The man from Annandale, Virginia ended up with eight total caps for his country. In 2015, Hamid registered another 8 save clean sheet, this time against the Montreal Impact. Among his saves was an incredible 1v1 stop to deny Andres Romero up close. DC was headed to the playoffs once again after finishing fourth in the East. In their first playoff match, Hamid hit the 8-save mark again, but it was not a clean sheet this time and RBNY knocked them out for a second consecutive year. During the 2015 season, Hamid had his highest saves per game number of this time period, with 4.04 (101 total saves). In 2016, DC United finished in the exact same fourth position. On October 16th, Hamid posted another 8 saves against NYCFC, including an acrobatic stop on Jack Harrison and an outstretched denial of Diego Martinez. DC only continued the playoff disappointment, losing in the knockout game against Montreal.
In 2017, Hamid nearly matched his 2015 4.04 saves per game with a slightly lower 4.01. After sustained regular season success for the past years, DC folded during this season. They finished dead last in the East, losing 20 matches. Hamid kept 6 clean sheets in the 14 matches they managed to not lose in. Hamid did not have any real notable games, he never hit 8 saves in a match this time around, though he got to 7 a couple of times. After the 2017 season, Hamid joined Danish side FC Mitjylland, but played just one match before rejoining DC. In the 2018 season, Hamid and DCU returned to their signature fourth place in the Eastern Conference. He joined the club in the summer, registering one 8-save game in the second half of the campaign. In the playoffs, DC was unsurprisingly at this point, a first round exit at the hands of Columbus.
In 2019, Hamid kept a whopping 14 clean sheets, far more than he had ever registered in a season. On May 15th, he posted an unthinkable performance, saving 12 out of 12 of Toronto FC's attempts. Hamid's prettiest save of the day was a tip over the bar on an Auro Jr. attempt. His big night set the club record for saves in a single match. TFC took 36 shots in total, yet Hamid kept a clean sheet at BMO Field. DC United qualified for the playoffs, setting up a matchup with none other than the same Toronto FC at BMO Field. In the playoff match, Hamid actually matched his 12 save total from last time out, the only occasions he hit even double digit saves during the time period of this series up to this point. Though, it was less impressive that Toronto FC scored four goals in the first half of extra time. Hamid played a great match in regulation, playing to a 1-1 draw. His defense left him out to dry, conceding four goals in 16 minutes, Hamid could only watch the season dissipate.
That crushing extra time loss seemingly sent DC United into the spiral downwards that they currently find themselves in. In 2020, Hamid kept two clean sheets for the third worst team in Major League Soccer. DC finished 13th. In 2021, the club performed much better, but still missed the playoffs by a single point. His highest save count in a match was 9, except NYCFC still scored six times in the match. This season was just about the end of Bill Hamid's reign in between the Audi Field pipes. In 2022, he played ten matches before being forced to undergo left hand surgery. His last ever match for the club was a fitting 4-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls, commemorative of the fall of DCU. He is the most iconic goalkeeper in club history, with the franchise record in clean sheets with 89, and saves with 976. He ended up joining USL's Memphis 901 and playing 10 matches there before calling it quits, though he has not actually retired at this point. He is not that old either for GK standards at 32. Regardless of if he plays again or not, Bill Hamid has been undoubtedly one of the premier MLS goalkeepers in the last decade, placing him at #68.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | CS | SAVES/PG |
2022 | DC | 859 | 2 | 3.5 |
2021 | DC | 1,817 | 8 | 2.86 |
2020 | DC | 1,530 | 2 | 3.24 |
2019 | DC | 2,970 | 14 | 3.85 |
2018 | DC | 1,260 | 5 | 3.71 |
2017 | DC | 2,160 | 6 | 4.01 |
2016 | DC | 1,800 | 5 | 3.45 |
2015 | DC | 2,250 | 8 | 4.04 |
2014 | DC | 2,700 | 10 | 3.7 |
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