Hailing from deep inside Amish country, 22-year-old Travis Worra has been D.C. United's backup's backup in goal. The undrafted rookie turned a preseason trial into a contract. He had played for the University of New Hampshire, where he won America East Goalkeeper of the Year in 2013.
He is our third string goalkeeper, subbing for Andrew Dykstra as necessary and spending some time on loan for the Richmond Kickers, where he got decent reviews. In MLS play, it was necessary for Worra to stand in for Dykstra and Hamid. Once.
It was April 25, 2015. United was in Vancouver. Bill Hamid was recovering from an injury. Dykstra had been in goal all night, letting in a Pedro Morales goal just 70 seconds after the starting whistle. United had tied it up soon after, and then Dykstra went down. Shaking his head, he couldn't continue. The game was 1-1.
On came Worra. Worra held a clean sheet with one critical save, allowing Chris Rolfe to ultimately seal a road win for DC. Throughout his 32 minutes on the field, Worra could be seen directing his defense and basically being a boss. No nerves on this guy, despite thousands of Whitecap fans screaming their heads off for blood.
And that, as they say, was that. B&RU covered the whole episode right here.
If Bill Hamid wanders off to the EPL, Worra may be in a position to make a move for some serious playing time. What say you? Bring him back?