WASHINGTON – At the final whistle of Saturday’s 3-0 win over Toronto, three of D.C. United’s back four were rookies: Ethan White, Perry Kitchen and Chris Korb. Add left back Marc Burch and 20-year-old goalie Bill Hamid to the mix, and the defensive core had an average age of just 21.
When asked after Tuesday’s training session about having three rookies in defense, it hadn’t even registered with head coach Ben Olsen.
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“I didn’t even know that, and I think that tells you I have pretty good confidence in those three,” he said.
The impressive progression of all four youngsters has been one of many positive developments at the early stages of the MLS season for D.C. United. Ethan White made his second start after joining from the University of Maryland, and intervened in the second half with a goal line clearance to keep the shutout. Home Grown signing Hamid has started the last two league games in goal after a long recovery from offseason shoulder surgery.
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Korb, a product of Akron, has provided cover for the injured Jed Zayner on the right in four straight games, and his college teammate Kitchen entered as a sub for Dejan Jakovic.
According to Hamid, there’s confidence in each and every one of the defenders at the back, and these young players have proven what they are capable of.
“Everybody has already proven what can they do, and we even got guys in the reserve squad that can step in and do the job,” he said. “We have faith in every single player. Our back line is young, but you see it’s a very athletic back line. [We] got the right mix.”
