When D.C. United take on archrivals New York Red Bulls on Sunday (3 PM ET on ESPN), two of the best goalkeepers in MLS will be on display in Bill Hamid and Luis Robles. Hamid currently ranks 4th in the league in save percentage (78.3%), while Robles is tied for the lead in shutouts with seven.
Hamid, United’s first-ever Homegrown signing, made his 150th appearance for the club last weekend in a 2-0 win over Portland and was nominated for the Phillips 66 Save of the Week. The 25-year-old netminder has made 512 saves and kept 42 clean sheets since signing with the Black-and-Red in 2009 and has become one of the top goalkeepers in MLS, ranking in the top five in saves during each of the last two seasons.
“It’s a big confidence booster to get three points, especially against the reigning champs,” said Hamid after making three important saves in the victory last Saturday. “We’ve got to take it in stride, but...we have to reach in and focus on the task ahead because New York is coming to town and they are not an easy team to take advantage of.”
Hamid’s opposite number on Sunday is a highly accomplished MLS goalkeeper in his own right. Luis Robles has been a steady presence between the sticks for the Red Bulls since joining the team in 2012. The Arizona native won the 2015 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award, making 86 saves and winning a career-high 18 games. Robles’ greatest asset, however, is his reliability - he has started and played every minute of every MLS match for New York since September 29th, 2012, a streak of 144 straight matches (including postseason).
Both teams will need their goalkeeper to be at his best in the 86th all-time meeting between the two rivals on Sunday. Hamid may be called into action often against the league’s highest-scoring offense, and Robles will have his hands full against a United attack that has found the back of the net in each of its last four games at RFK Stadium. The outcome of the second Atlantic Cup matchup of 2016 could ultimately be determined by which goalkeeper has the better night, neither of whom will be easy for the opposition to beat.
