William Hesmer (born November 23, 1981 in Wilson, North Carolina) is a retired American soccer player who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Career

College

Hesmer played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United K ...

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

from 2000 to 2003, establishing himself as one of the nation's best goalkeepers at that level. As a junior, Hesmer was named an NSCAA second team All-American, and as a senior was named a first team All-American.

Professional

After graduating from college, Hesmer was drafted 17th overall in the

2004 MLS SuperDraft The 2004 MLS SuperDraft, held in Charlotte, North Carolina on January 16, 2004, was the fifth incarnation of the annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The draft was most notable at the time for the selection of one of the youngest athletes in Am ...

by Kansas City Wizards. However, with

Tony Meola Antonio Michael "Tony" Meola (; ; born February 21, 1969) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. He represented the United States national team at the 1990, 1994, and 2002 World Cups. From 1996 to 2006, he ...

starting in goal, and the very experienced

Bo Oshoniyi Adegboyega "Bo" Oshoniyi (born November 3, 1971) is a retired American soccer goalkeeper who spent eight seasons in Major League Soccer. He is now the head men's soccer coach at Dartmouth College. Career Oshoniyi's Nigerian father drowned whe ...

as his backup, Hesmer was not able to establish himself, and finished the MLS season without playing a single minute, although he did take to the field – for one single minute in a game against

Rochester Raging Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

– during a brief loan spell with the Richmond Kickers in the A-League. In the 2006 season, Hesmer earned a handful of appearances, but did not make an impact on the first team. He was selected in the

2006 MLS Expansion Draft The 2006 MLS Expansion Draft, held on November 17, 2006 was a special draft for MLS expansion team Toronto FC. Toronto FC selected 10 players from a pool of players from current MLS clubs. Format * Only one player could be selected from each team ...

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

, but was only with the club for a matter of hours before being dealt to

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

for a partial allocation. The 2007 season saw Hesmer establish himself as the first team keeper for the Crew. He started 20 matches for the Columbus club. In the 2008 season Hesmer stopped penalty kicks in each of the Crew's first two matches, as well as a third against New England on May 8. He has been called into camp for the United States National Team but has yet to receive a cap. He surpassed

Jon Busch Jon Busch (born August 18, 1976) is an American professional soccer coach and former player, who played as a goalkeeper. Busch is currently the goalkeeping coach for USL Championship club Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. He is best remembered for ...

as the

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

's all-time

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

leader by earning his 26th in a 1–0 triumph over Kansas City Wizards at CommunityAmerica Ballpark on May 23, 2010. Hesmer became the third goalkeeper in MLS history to score a goal in a 2–2 draw with

BMO Field BMO Field is an outdoor stadium located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which is home to Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Constructed on the site of the former ...

on October 16, 2010. With the Crew trailing 2–1 in second-half stoppage time, he sprinted to the center of the Toronto FC penalty area as an extra attacker while an Eddie Gaven

corner kick A corner kick is the method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored and having last been touched by a member of the defending team. The kick is take ...

was in mid-flight. The ball was headed by

Chad Marshall Chad Marshall (born August 22, 1984) is an American former professional soccer player. During his 16-year career, he played for Columbus Crew and Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer. He was a three-time MLS Defender of the Year Award wi ...

back to Hesmer, who was given enough time to trap, set and fire it into the net. A fractured right

shoulder The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder mak ...

resulting from a collision with

Danny Califf Daniel Benjamin Califf (born March 17, 1980 in Orange, California) is an American retired soccer player. Career Youth and College Califf (pronounced kāl'ĭ-f) started his youth career in soccer for Canyon Hills Soccer Association, playing on t ...

in the 85th minute of a 3–1 victory over Philadelphia Union in the regular season finale at

Columbus Crew Stadium Historic Crew Stadium, previously known as Columbus Crew Stadium and Mapfre Stadium, is a soccer-specific stadium in Columbus, Ohio, United States. It primarily served as the home stadium of the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer from 1999 ...

on October 24, 2010 forced Hesmer to miss the playoffs. He made his 100th league appearance for the Crew on March 26, 2011, keeping a clean sheet in a 0–0 tie with

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

. An ankle sprain suffered during the first day of preseason training, sidelined Hesmer to begin the 2012 season. During the rehabilitation period, he made what would be his final appearance in the Black & Gold, starting and playing the first half for the Crew reserves in a 2–1 loss to the Montreal Impact reserves, following the Crew senior squad's home opener on March 24, 2012 at

. In April, Hesmer was forced to undergo surgery on his right hip, which had been initially injured three years earlier, costing him the remainder of the season. At the end of the year, Columbus declined his 2013 contract option and Hesmer chose to enter the

2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft The two-stage 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 7, 2012 (Stage 1) and December 14, 2012 (Stage 2). All 19 Major League Soccer clubs were eligible to participate. The Stage 1 and Stage 2 Drafts were conducted in the same order as the t ...

. On December 14, 2012, he was selected by

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...

in stage two of the draft. Despite being selected, Hesmer didn't sign with the Galaxy and opted to retire on February 19, 2013. Will was signed to a 1-day contract with the

Carolina Railhawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games ...

as a backup goalkeeper for their June 24, 2014 Open Cup match against the LA Galaxy. His post-career plans involve working in wealth management for

Raymond James Raymond James Financial, Inc. is an American multinational independent investment bank and financial services company providing financial services to individuals, corporations, and municipalities through its subsidiary companies that engage pri ...

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southe ...

Honors

Columbus Crew

* Major League Soccer MLS Cup (1):

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

* Major League Soccer Supporter's Shield (2):

, 2009 * Major League Soccer Eastern Conference Playoff (1):

* Major League Soccer Eastern Conference Regular Season (2):

, 2009

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hesmer, William 1981 births Living people People from Wilson, North Carolina American soccer players Association football goalkeepers Soccer players from North Carolina Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer players Sporting Kansas City players Richmond Kickers players Columbus Crew players A-League (1995–2004) players Major League Soccer players Sporting Kansas City draft picks All-American men's college soccer players