D.C. United announced today that Bill Hamid and Perry Kitchen have been called-up to the U-23 U.S. Men's National Team upcoming training camp. Both players will join Caleb Porter's squad in Dallas, Texas from February 19-March 1.
Hamid recently earned his first cap with the full U.S. Men's National Team when he earned a clean sheet in the team's 1-0 win over Venezuela in Glendale, Ariz. United's netminder was called up several times in 2011, serving as Tim Howard's backup in games against Mexico (Aug. 10), Costa Rica (Sept. 2), Belgium (Sept. 6), Honduras (Oct. 8), Ecuador (Oct. 11), France (Nov. 11), and Slovenia (Nov. 15). In each case, the D.C. United Academy product was on the 18-man roster, but did not see the field. Additionally, Hamid was one of 28 players that Head Coach Caleb Porter called into a training camp in Lakewood Ranch, Fla. that took place December 15-23.
In his second full season with D.C. United, Hamid became the first-choice goalkeeper after recovering from an offseason shoulder surgery. He went on to play 28 matches (28 starts) during the 2011 MLS campaign, putting together a record of 7-9-10 and compiling seven shutouts, while maintaining a goals-against average of 1.39.
Kitchen was most recently called-up by Porter for the U-23's training camp last November in Germany. He also featured prominently for the U.S. U-20 Men's National Team in 2011, starting three matches and registering 270 minutes of action to help the team reach the CONCACAF U-20 Championship Quarterfinals. The young defensive midfielder was also the captain of the U.S. U-17 National Team residency program and competed in the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Nigeria.
Kitchen was originally selected by D.C. United in the first round (third overall) of the 2011 MLS SuperDraft. He participated in 31 matches (30 starts) for United during his rookie campaign, registering one goal. Kitchen became the first rookie in United's 16-year history to lead the team in minutes played (2,726) during the 2011 season.
Kitchen previously played under Head Coach Porter at the University of Akron, where the two helped the Zips capture its first-ever NCAA National Championship in 2010.
