Following his start in Sunday's 3-1 win over Atlanta United, goalkeeper Bill Hamid has now played the fourth most regular season games all-time for D.C. United. Hamid also currently sits in third place all-time for regular season minutes played for United.
Prior to Sunday's match, the Homegrown goalkeeper was tied with former defender Bobby Boswell for 188 regular season matches all-time in the Black-and-Red, but his last appearance pushed him into fourth place. Should Hamid continue starting for United, he will pass legend Marco Etcheverry in three more matches, and with four more 90-minute performances, he will pass current head coach Ben Olsen in all-time minutes played for the District. The goalkeeper could also pass Olsen's mark of 221 regular season games during the 2019 season.
Hamid's return to the District has coincided with a strong run of form for the Black-and-Red, in part thanks to the goalkeeper's leadership, reliability, and skill in bailing out the backline in times of trouble. The Homegrown recorded the first-ever shutout at Audi Field in the 2-0 win over New England on August 19, and came up with six huge saves in the September 2 win over Atlanta.
"Each game that he gets out here, he's going to get better," Olsen said of Hamid after the Atlanta match. "We're a good enough team that we're going to continue to score goals and if he can save us one or two times a night, it's a huge boost."
"I love having Bill behind me," defensive midfielder Russell Canouse noted after Hamid's first start since returning the District this summer. "Last year, coming in, he gave me confidence in midfield to do my work on and off the ball, and [against Portland] it just felt normal. It was good for Bill tonight to get back in there."
Hamid is the only active player in the top five for both all-time minutes and games played for United. See below for the top fives for each category.
Minutes:
- Jaime Moreno: 25,276
- Ben Olsen: 17,098
- Bill Hamid: 16,809
- Bobby Boswell: 16,544
- Marco Etcheverry: 16,304
Games:
- Jaime Moreno: 329
- Ben Olsen: 221
- Marco Etcheverry: 191
- Bill Hamid: 189
- Bobby Boswell: 188
