It has been said that ‘A keeper cannot win you a game, he can only keep you in it.’ That held true on October 1, when DC United goalkeeper Bill Hamid kept his team in contention and led them to their third Open Cup title with a 1-0 win over Real Salt Lake in one of the great underdog stories in the 100-year history of the tournament. For his efforts, Hamid has been named TheCup.us Player of the Round for the 2013 Final.
Hamid becomes the third DC player to win Player of Round in this year’s tournament. Dwayne De Rosario won the award in Round 4, while backup goalkeeper Joe Willis was voted the top performer of the Semifinals. This marks the first time since the award was established in 2006 that two goalkeepers from the same team won Player of the Round in the same tournament.
The Player of the Round award is voted on by the staff at TheCup.us and a select panel from the North American Soccer Reporters.
The Final was Hamid’s first start for United in the 2013 Open Cup, as Joe Willis started the four previous games. Hamid did not appear to show any rust or trepidation, however, turning in six saves and making his presence known early. Despite being outshot by one of the highest scoring teams in MLS, the United academy product pitched a shutout, allowing for Lewis Neal’s decisive goal to be the difference and handing the Black-and-Red the 100th Lamar Hunt US Open Cup title.
Despite a historically bad regular season in which United finished dead last in the league, the club was able to put all of that behind them thanks to Hamid’s performance in goal. DC United lifted the trophy and also earned $250,000 in prize money and a berth in the 2014/15 CONCACAF Champions’ League.
2013 TheCup.us Player of the Round Honors
Final: Bill Hamid (DC United)
Semifinals: Joe Willis (DC United)
Quarterfinals: Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers)
Fourth Round: Dwayne De Rosario (DC United)
Third Round: Frederic Piquionne (Portland Timbers)
Second Round: Brandon Fricke (Des Moines Menace)
First Round: David Geno (Seattle Sounders U23)
Preliminary Round: Gustavo Villalobos (FC Hasental)