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Hamill Takes Deliberate Path to National Prowess
10/7/2021 3:50:00 PM | Men's Soccer
By Alex McKeon, Duke Athletic Communications
DURHAM – The making of a special season can come from a variety of places. It can come from the right mix of players, a collective team identity, strong coaching and much more. But to take the next step, a special season will open the spotlight to those who have been waiting for a chance to take center stage. For Duke men's soccer, one of those is senior goalkeeper Eliot Hamill.
A native of Scarsdale, N.Y., Hamill has seen his national profile rise in 2021, thanks to eye-popping statistics. His save percentage of 0.912 leads the nation, while he ranks third in goals against average (0.367) and 10th in shutouts (5), to lead the ACC in all categories. He has taken home ACC Defensive Player of the Week on three occasions and was named College Soccer News National Player of the Week on September 21.
But behind the numbers is a diligent student-athlete who has finally seen his hard work pay off in what has become a dizzying 2021.
The start of his junior year was part of a whirlwind for college athletics, with adjusted or outright cancelled athletic schedules due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. For Duke men's soccer, that meant a divided season, with action in both the fall of 2020 and the spring of 2021. At halfway point of the year, Hamill had been behind goalkeeper Will Pulisic on the depth chart, without playing a single regular season collegiate game. Â
That all changed when Pulisic made the decision to pursue professional opportunities following graduation in December, opening the door for Hamill to make his debut in February. From that point on, the ascent has been rapid, with Hamill jumping out to a record of 7-1-0 as starter in his first full season this fall. It would be easy to throw immediate praise to Hamill, but he is quick to credit those around him in helping him achieve his quick success.
"As a team, we are performing really well, and I think we have been feeding off of each other's performances," said Hamill. "All of the guys playing in front of me have been so bought in and given everything to the team every game and that helps me. Seeing those guys putting in tackles, winning 50-50's, picking up second balls, it's just energy that you can feed off of and so I think that's helped me perform."
The Blue Devils have been bought in as a defensive unit this season, allowing just three goals, with only two in regulation. Head coach John Kerr has seen a well-connected squad on defense that has prominently featured players like Amir Daley, Antino Lopez, Lewis McGarvey, Ruben Mesalles and Ian Murphy. However, Hamill has served as a key communicator, while making several terrific saves along the way, while leading with his communication and emotional brand of soccer.
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Hamill has been able to earn the trust of his teammates and the coaching staff quickly and was named one of five team captains before the start of this season. He credits the earning of trust from the team to the same diligence he's used to climb the depth chart at Duke.
"I think that's just done in your day-to-day actions," said Hamill. "You try and do all the little things right, get to the training room early, get in the locker room early, get out to training early, take every training session seriously and don't ever take anything for granted. I think that's what is really important and as a goalkeeper crew, we work really hard to compete and push each other. All three of us could all step in and play and that's important. I think that the team has all the confidence in all three of us goalkeepers at this point because a lot of times we will be the first guys out there, the three of us putting in some extra work with Kyle [Renfro] and we really try and be as prepared as possible, overprepared and ready for anything and I think that's how, as a group, we gain the confidence of the team."
While continuing to put in the hours to keep improving, Hamill had to battle the doubts that began to creep in following multiple seasons on the bench. He's been able to lean on several people in his personal life to maintain his fiery and emotional brand of play that has made him a key figure every time he steps onto the pitch.
"Like any player, I think confidence is a really important aspect of your performance and just like anyone it comes and goes," said Hamill. "Sometimes it's hard and keeping that mentality can be tough, but my parents and my family have been so supportive, and they've really helped me keep that confidence, especially when I wasn't playing my freshman and sophomore year. My high school and club coach, my club coach for my whole life, Winston Buddle, he was someone that I talked to a lot my freshman year, coming in and making adjustments and he's always believed in me and been so supportive of me. I think that's one of the things that really helped me keep my confidence. Then also, my class, the guys I came in here with, the seven of them, especially freshman year when I was making that big adjustment and a lot of those guys coming from big academy teams and I was coming from a club team. Those guys would always push me on and tell me that they believed in me and some of the older guys too. My teammates have been there for me, so I think that's really helped me keep my confidence when things weren't going great and now that things are going better, it's easier obviously, but it's important to have people you can rely on when things aren't going right and keep your confidence."
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With all of the work beginning to pay off, Hamill wants to keep his focus on the remainder of the season but admits the recognition has been gratifying.
"I don't know, it's sometimes hard to believe. Seeing ACC Defensive Player of the Week or College Soccer News National Player of the Week – I don't know, there were times where I didn't think I'd ever play and seeing those things, it means a lot. It feels really special."
For the remainder of the season, Hamill is hoping to continue his strong play and help lead a maturing group back into the national spotlight. The Blue Devils are set to end the ACC slate with several perennial powerhouses, including No. 13 Pittsburgh and No. 21 Clemson.
"I think the focus is to keep the defensive ball rolling. We want to keep getting clean sheets and I think that's the focus. We want to be a team that doesn't concede goals and a team that doesn't concede goals wins championships. We're taking it game-by-game, but we do have big goals for this team and I think they are achievable."
Â
#GoDuke
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DURHAM – The making of a special season can come from a variety of places. It can come from the right mix of players, a collective team identity, strong coaching and much more. But to take the next step, a special season will open the spotlight to those who have been waiting for a chance to take center stage. For Duke men's soccer, one of those is senior goalkeeper Eliot Hamill.
A native of Scarsdale, N.Y., Hamill has seen his national profile rise in 2021, thanks to eye-popping statistics. His save percentage of 0.912 leads the nation, while he ranks third in goals against average (0.367) and 10th in shutouts (5), to lead the ACC in all categories. He has taken home ACC Defensive Player of the Week on three occasions and was named College Soccer News National Player of the Week on September 21.
But behind the numbers is a diligent student-athlete who has finally seen his hard work pay off in what has become a dizzying 2021.
The start of his junior year was part of a whirlwind for college athletics, with adjusted or outright cancelled athletic schedules due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. For Duke men's soccer, that meant a divided season, with action in both the fall of 2020 and the spring of 2021. At halfway point of the year, Hamill had been behind goalkeeper Will Pulisic on the depth chart, without playing a single regular season collegiate game. Â
That all changed when Pulisic made the decision to pursue professional opportunities following graduation in December, opening the door for Hamill to make his debut in February. From that point on, the ascent has been rapid, with Hamill jumping out to a record of 7-1-0 as starter in his first full season this fall. It would be easy to throw immediate praise to Hamill, but he is quick to credit those around him in helping him achieve his quick success.
"As a team, we are performing really well, and I think we have been feeding off of each other's performances," said Hamill. "All of the guys playing in front of me have been so bought in and given everything to the team every game and that helps me. Seeing those guys putting in tackles, winning 50-50's, picking up second balls, it's just energy that you can feed off of and so I think that's helped me perform."
The Blue Devils have been bought in as a defensive unit this season, allowing just three goals, with only two in regulation. Head coach John Kerr has seen a well-connected squad on defense that has prominently featured players like Amir Daley, Antino Lopez, Lewis McGarvey, Ruben Mesalles and Ian Murphy. However, Hamill has served as a key communicator, while making several terrific saves along the way, while leading with his communication and emotional brand of soccer.
Â
Hamill has been able to earn the trust of his teammates and the coaching staff quickly and was named one of five team captains before the start of this season. He credits the earning of trust from the team to the same diligence he's used to climb the depth chart at Duke.
"I think that's just done in your day-to-day actions," said Hamill. "You try and do all the little things right, get to the training room early, get in the locker room early, get out to training early, take every training session seriously and don't ever take anything for granted. I think that's what is really important and as a goalkeeper crew, we work really hard to compete and push each other. All three of us could all step in and play and that's important. I think that the team has all the confidence in all three of us goalkeepers at this point because a lot of times we will be the first guys out there, the three of us putting in some extra work with Kyle [Renfro] and we really try and be as prepared as possible, overprepared and ready for anything and I think that's how, as a group, we gain the confidence of the team."
While continuing to put in the hours to keep improving, Hamill had to battle the doubts that began to creep in following multiple seasons on the bench. He's been able to lean on several people in his personal life to maintain his fiery and emotional brand of play that has made him a key figure every time he steps onto the pitch.
"Like any player, I think confidence is a really important aspect of your performance and just like anyone it comes and goes," said Hamill. "Sometimes it's hard and keeping that mentality can be tough, but my parents and my family have been so supportive, and they've really helped me keep that confidence, especially when I wasn't playing my freshman and sophomore year. My high school and club coach, my club coach for my whole life, Winston Buddle, he was someone that I talked to a lot my freshman year, coming in and making adjustments and he's always believed in me and been so supportive of me. I think that's one of the things that really helped me keep my confidence. Then also, my class, the guys I came in here with, the seven of them, especially freshman year when I was making that big adjustment and a lot of those guys coming from big academy teams and I was coming from a club team. Those guys would always push me on and tell me that they believed in me and some of the older guys too. My teammates have been there for me, so I think that's really helped me keep my confidence when things weren't going great and now that things are going better, it's easier obviously, but it's important to have people you can rely on when things aren't going right and keep your confidence."
Â
With all of the work beginning to pay off, Hamill wants to keep his focus on the remainder of the season but admits the recognition has been gratifying.
"I don't know, it's sometimes hard to believe. Seeing ACC Defensive Player of the Week or College Soccer News National Player of the Week – I don't know, there were times where I didn't think I'd ever play and seeing those things, it means a lot. It feels really special."
For the remainder of the season, Hamill is hoping to continue his strong play and help lead a maturing group back into the national spotlight. The Blue Devils are set to end the ACC slate with several perennial powerhouses, including No. 13 Pittsburgh and No. 21 Clemson.
"I think the focus is to keep the defensive ball rolling. We want to keep getting clean sheets and I think that's the focus. We want to be a team that doesn't concede goals and a team that doesn't concede goals wins championships. We're taking it game-by-game, but we do have big goals for this team and I think they are achievable."
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#GoDuke
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Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
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/ Men's Soccer
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/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's Soccer
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/ Men's Soccer
GK
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