William Hesmer
Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame 2020 Class: William Hesmer
6/12/2020 12:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer
The Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame recently held its annual meeting and selected the newest members of the Hall of Fame. The new inductees will be introduced one per day this week exclusively on GoDeacs.Com.
When a college student-athlete excels at the highest level of their sport, they become an All-American.
When a college student-athlete excels at the highest level in the classroom, they become an Academic All-American.
When a college student-athlete excels at the highest level to become both an All-American and an Academic All-American, then they are William Hesmer.
Rare are those athletes who can compete at the elite level, both academically and athletically. Only six student-athletes in the history of Wake Forest University have earned both All-America and Academic All-America honors.
And that excellence is what earned William Hesmer election into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame induction class of 2020. He will be one of six new inductees that comprise the 47th Hall of Fame induction class. The date of the induction is pending while the world deals with the Covid-19 pandemic.
"It is a surreal and humbling honor to be voted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame," said Hesmer. "This moment does not happen without the many teammates, coaches, athletic trainers, doctors, equipment managers, professors, classmates and academic support staff who believed in me and gave me their all as I attempted to maximize my potential on and off the field. But most of all, I am nowhere without the unconditional love, sacrifice and support of my parents, Russell & Janet, and siblings, Anna, Jane and David. To them, I am forever grateful and share this honor with them as well as the entire Wake Forest University community."
Hesmer's career at Wake Forest stands as an example to every other student-athlete. He was a three-time All-ACC selection and one of just seven goalkeepers at the time to make three All-ACC teams. A two-year captain, he ranked 10th in ACC history in goals against average. At the time of his graduation, Hesmer held the Wake Forest career records for shutouts and goals against average. Few can match his career record of 37-12-6 as a collegiate goalkeeper.
As a freshman in 2000, fresh out of Hunt High School in Wilson, N.C., William started the final three games of the regular season after working through an injury suffered early in the season. Hesmer stopped three penalty kicks in the shootout to beat Clemson in the opening round of the ACC Tournament and went on to earn All-ACC Tournament honors.
As a sophomore, Hesmer helped the Deacons to seven shutouts and a berth in the ACC Tournament Semifinals. Once again, he stopped two penalty kicks in helping the Deacs beat Duke in the quarterfinal.
He was a captain and an All-American as both a junior and a senior and earned Academic All-America honors following his senior season in 2003. During his junior campaign he was a part of nine shutouts and a first team All-ACC selection.
Hesmer was having another stellar season as a senior until he was hurt in a collision against Davidson late in the regular season. A thigh injury required surgery and he missed the regular season finale, the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament due to the injury. The Deacons were ranked No. 3 in the nation at the time with a 13-3 record.
Following the 2003 season, Hesmer was tabbed as a semifinalist for the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy, the highest individual award in college soccer.
And he topped his senior year by receiving the ACC's Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship.
And to think Hesmer's first recruiting trip to Wake Forest was as a football player. As in the oblong kind of football.
"I started off as a kicker my sophomore year (of high school), then my junior year I played receiver and cornerback, then by my senior year the only time I ever came off the field was for the punt team," Hesmer told MLSnet.com in 2008. "I couldn't punt a football for some reason. I can punt a soccer ball but I could not punt a football.
"Soccer games were normally Tuesday and Thursday and I played Friday night football," continued Hesmer. "It worked out. My high school coaches were great. I would train with the soccer team the first hour-and-a-half then go from that and practice with the football team the next hour-and-a-half, two hours then stay after extra and kick. I don't know when I did a lot of my studying but somehow I managed to still make it through. It was hectic. Looking back on it, it was crazy."
Hesmer was selected in the 2004 MLS Superdraft by the Kansas City Wizards, the 17th player selected overall and the second goalkeeper. But he found it difficult to get on the field and played sparingly until he became the starting goalkeeper for the Columbus Crew in 2007. His perseverance through his trying early career paid off in 2008 with a 3-1 win over the New York Red Bulls and an MLS Cup championship. He shared that championship title with his former Deacon teammate Brian Carroll.
And there were still more career milestones. In 2010 Hesmer recorded his 26th career MLS shutout to become the Crew's all-time leader. In the same year, he became just the second goalkeeper in MLS history to score a goal when he did so against Toronto FC.
In 2008, William was a member of the U.S. Men's National Team and he was named the Wilson Daily Times Athlete of the Decade in 2010. He was inducted into the North Carolina Soccer Hall of Fame in 2014.
Hemer retired from professional soccer following the 2013 season. During his playing days, he continued to take classes and even interned in the financial industry. Today, he lives in Raleigh and is a financial advisor with Raymond James. He and his wife Tacey are the parents of two children.
Surely, there's another All-America team waiting in William Hesmer's future.
When a college student-athlete excels at the highest level of their sport, they become an All-American.
When a college student-athlete excels at the highest level in the classroom, they become an Academic All-American.
When a college student-athlete excels at the highest level to become both an All-American and an Academic All-American, then they are William Hesmer.
Rare are those athletes who can compete at the elite level, both academically and athletically. Only six student-athletes in the history of Wake Forest University have earned both All-America and Academic All-America honors.
And that excellence is what earned William Hesmer election into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame induction class of 2020. He will be one of six new inductees that comprise the 47th Hall of Fame induction class. The date of the induction is pending while the world deals with the Covid-19 pandemic.
"It is a surreal and humbling honor to be voted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame," said Hesmer. "This moment does not happen without the many teammates, coaches, athletic trainers, doctors, equipment managers, professors, classmates and academic support staff who believed in me and gave me their all as I attempted to maximize my potential on and off the field. But most of all, I am nowhere without the unconditional love, sacrifice and support of my parents, Russell & Janet, and siblings, Anna, Jane and David. To them, I am forever grateful and share this honor with them as well as the entire Wake Forest University community."
Hesmer's career at Wake Forest stands as an example to every other student-athlete. He was a three-time All-ACC selection and one of just seven goalkeepers at the time to make three All-ACC teams. A two-year captain, he ranked 10th in ACC history in goals against average. At the time of his graduation, Hesmer held the Wake Forest career records for shutouts and goals against average. Few can match his career record of 37-12-6 as a collegiate goalkeeper.
As a freshman in 2000, fresh out of Hunt High School in Wilson, N.C., William started the final three games of the regular season after working through an injury suffered early in the season. Hesmer stopped three penalty kicks in the shootout to beat Clemson in the opening round of the ACC Tournament and went on to earn All-ACC Tournament honors.
As a sophomore, Hesmer helped the Deacons to seven shutouts and a berth in the ACC Tournament Semifinals. Once again, he stopped two penalty kicks in helping the Deacs beat Duke in the quarterfinal.
He was a captain and an All-American as both a junior and a senior and earned Academic All-America honors following his senior season in 2003. During his junior campaign he was a part of nine shutouts and a first team All-ACC selection.
Hesmer was having another stellar season as a senior until he was hurt in a collision against Davidson late in the regular season. A thigh injury required surgery and he missed the regular season finale, the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament due to the injury. The Deacons were ranked No. 3 in the nation at the time with a 13-3 record.
Following the 2003 season, Hesmer was tabbed as a semifinalist for the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy, the highest individual award in college soccer.
And he topped his senior year by receiving the ACC's Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship.
And to think Hesmer's first recruiting trip to Wake Forest was as a football player. As in the oblong kind of football.
"I started off as a kicker my sophomore year (of high school), then my junior year I played receiver and cornerback, then by my senior year the only time I ever came off the field was for the punt team," Hesmer told MLSnet.com in 2008. "I couldn't punt a football for some reason. I can punt a soccer ball but I could not punt a football.
"Soccer games were normally Tuesday and Thursday and I played Friday night football," continued Hesmer. "It worked out. My high school coaches were great. I would train with the soccer team the first hour-and-a-half then go from that and practice with the football team the next hour-and-a-half, two hours then stay after extra and kick. I don't know when I did a lot of my studying but somehow I managed to still make it through. It was hectic. Looking back on it, it was crazy."
Hesmer was selected in the 2004 MLS Superdraft by the Kansas City Wizards, the 17th player selected overall and the second goalkeeper. But he found it difficult to get on the field and played sparingly until he became the starting goalkeeper for the Columbus Crew in 2007. His perseverance through his trying early career paid off in 2008 with a 3-1 win over the New York Red Bulls and an MLS Cup championship. He shared that championship title with his former Deacon teammate Brian Carroll.
And there were still more career milestones. In 2010 Hesmer recorded his 26th career MLS shutout to become the Crew's all-time leader. In the same year, he became just the second goalkeeper in MLS history to score a goal when he did so against Toronto FC.
In 2008, William was a member of the U.S. Men's National Team and he was named the Wilson Daily Times Athlete of the Decade in 2010. He was inducted into the North Carolina Soccer Hall of Fame in 2014.
Hemer retired from professional soccer following the 2013 season. During his playing days, he continued to take classes and even interned in the financial industry. Today, he lives in Raleigh and is a financial advisor with Raymond James. He and his wife Tacey are the parents of two children.
Surely, there's another All-America team waiting in William Hesmer's future.
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