Photo by Jose L. Argueta/ISIphotos.com
By AVI CREDITOR
BOYDS, Md. -- As far as season debuts go, Bill Hamid's had it all.
In his first competitive appearance of the season, D.C. United's 20-year-old Homegrown goalkeeper had a few shaky moments. He also made a number of confident saves and decisions. Most importantly, he turned in an impressive display in a penalty-kick shootout as D.C. United defeated the Philadelphia Union, 2-2 (4-2 in penalty kicks), in a U.S. Open Cup qualifier Wednesday night at the Maryland SoccerPlex.
"I felt extremely comfortable," Hamid said. "I'm happy that there was a good crowd out there, because you always need that atmosphere as well to get you to the next level skill-wise. I felt relaxed and felt calm and was surprised I didn't have any butterflies. I was very confident coming into this game."
Hamid stopped Roger Torres' attempt from the penalty spot with a kick save, watched Jack McInerney sky his high and wide and guessed correctly on the two that got by him. D.C., meanwhile, was 4-for-4 from the spot, with Designated Player Branko Boskovic supplying the clincher to keep the team's Open Cup hopes alive.
"He gave me a little advice," said Hamid, who missed most of the preseason while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and appeared in two reserve matches before Wednesday night. "I was kind of taking a peek over at him, and he was giving me advice on the type of players they are, and we talked about it before, so it worked out well."
Each team scored in extra time after playing to a 1-1 draw in regulation, the last three minutes of which the Union played a man down after Carlos Valdes was sent off for receiving a second yellow card.
After a scoreless first 15 minutes of extra time, Daniel Woolard put United ahead in the 111th minute on a second-chance opportunity from the left after Stephen King played a ball to the far post from the right.
The Union answered right back, though, as an unmarked Brian Carroll had a wayward header off a corner kick fall directly to him in the 118th minute. His initial side volley was saved by Hamid, but the save richocheted off Woolard and into the goal to level the score and send the match to penalty kicks.
Sebastien Le Toux and Chris Pontius each made their respective penalties before McInerney overpowered his attempt. Brandon Barklage gave D.C. the edge by making his, and Hamid read Torres perfectly to all but seal the penalty round.
"(Hamid) was great in PKs," D.C. United coach Ben Olsen said. "He had a moment or two where you saw a little rust, but overall he was pretty good today."
Andy Najar and Kyle Nakazawa swapped makes before Boskovic clinched the match with a confident conversion.
"I'm glad we won, but I still think we've got to win that game outright," Olsen said. "We've got to be a little bit savvier in how we deal with games and manage games. Up a man when we get that second goal, it shouldn't be an issue anymore."
Carlos Ruiz opened the scoring in the 19th minute, when Sheanon Williams' laser of a throw-in from the right soared through the penalty area directly to him. Ruiz took a touch to settle before finishing from close range.
United responded just before halftime, though, as Josh Wolff headed home the equalizer after a bounding ball in the area made its way to him off a corner kick. D.C. Homegrown Player Ethan White, making his first first-team appearance, had his initial shot off the corner saved before a few deflections put the ball in Wolff's path.
"We're not losing the first and second, but the third and fourth ball, which bounces around. We have to be better with that," said Union coach Peter Nowak, who was sent off for being on the field after Carroll's goal and had a number of disagreements with referee Andrew Chapin and his staff throughout the night.
With the win, D.C. United advances to the next qualifying round where it will face the New England Revolution back at the Maryland SoccerPlex on April 26. The winner of that match will play at Sporting Kansas City -- a 1-0 winner in extra time over the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday -- in a final qualification bout for one of the two remaining MLS spots in the Open Cup field of 40.
NOTES: D.C. defender Rodrigo Brasesco had to be taken off prior to halftime with an undisclosed injury...Ruiz limped off with an apparent upper left leg injury, though it did not appear to be serious...D.C. had 16 corner kicks, including four during second-half stoppage time...Wolff wore the captain's armband with Dax McCarty inactive...When Williams was subbed off, Union rookie Michael Farfan shifted from the midfield to right back.
LINEUPS
DCU - Hamid, Barklage, Brasesco (Jakovic, 41), White, Woolard, Najar, King, Fred (Pontius, 89), Boskovic, Ngwenya, Wolff (Brettschneider, 45).
Unused subs: Willis, Korb, Morsink, Shanosky.
PHI - Mondragon, Williams (Mwanga 73), Valdes, Califf, Harvey, Farfan, Nakazawa, Carroll, Daniel (Torres, 66), Le Toux, Ruiz (McInerney, 80).
Unused subs: Holder, Pfeffer, Richter, Agorsor.
