COLUMBUS -- Columbus Crew goalkeeper Will Hesmer was an Academic All-American at Wake Forest while earning a history degree, but somewhere along the way he must have taken a few public relations courses.
When Columbus coach Sigi Schmid called in the offseason and inquired about obtaining midfielder Brian Carroll in a trade, Hesmer was eager to praise his former college teammate.
"Sigi was looking for more of a consistent midfielder, a guy who is going to hold that hole and win balls. But not only win them, but find teammates out wide and move us quickly into the attack. Brian was a perfect addition for that," said Hesmer.
Schmid knew Hesmer wasn't just a friend pumping up Carroll.
"I've always liked Brian Carroll because he's steady," Schmid said. "There's not a lot of highs and lows in his game. If he has an off game it's still decent and when he has a great game it's better than decent. He doesn't have a lot of valleys in his game."
The Crew engineered a deal on Nov. 26 with San Jose for Carroll, who was claimed by the Earthquakes in the expansion draft from D.C. United. San Jose received Crew forward Kei Kamara.
"Kei was a good player but it was a humungous trade for our team in the sense of filling a need, especially since we were going to move Danny O'Rourke to center back," Hesmer said.
Actually, when Schmid had Hesmer on the phone he wanted to know what type of person Carroll is.
Uh, it's probably a good thing Hesmer -- a groomsman in Carroll's wedding -- didn't go into details about being roommates for two years on the Winston-Salem, N.C., campus.
"Animal House. That's actually what my mom nicknamed our college house -- me, BC and two other guys," said a grinning Hesmer. "It was a fun time. Every year we hosted one sorority for their initiation night so we'd get to be the only four honorary guys. That was always a good time to have 150 college girls in your house. Those days are behind us ... hopefully."
Carroll, who will be 27 on Sunday, turned pro a year earlier than Hesmer in 2003. Carroll played only U.S. Open Cup matches and friendlies for D.C. United his rookie season but started 26 matches in 2004 and all four playoff games when D.C. won MLS Cup. He also registered his first assist that season against the Crew on June 19.
He had two goals and 11 assists in 121 regular-season games for D.C. but was left unprotected after the 2007 season and was claimed by San Jose. Thus began his coast-to-coast-to-Midwest move -- all in 30 minutes from his living room.
Shortly after he was taken by San Jose he was informed of the trade.
"My agent did a pretty good job of finding out if that was going to happen, if there was a good possibility I would end up in Columbus," Carroll said. "When I found out I did get drafted by San Jose I thought I would be going to Columbus. It worked out. I'm in Columbus. It's great to be reunited (with Hesmer) and spend more time together, catch up on that year that I left school a year early."
As a defensive midfielder, Carroll does the dirty work that usually goes unnoticed. He's there to stop to the opposing attack from forming dangerous situations then acts as the conduit between the defenders and the offense when the ball is turned up field.
"You know every time out there you're going to get maximum work rate. He's a guy who covers a lot of ground and is intelligent," Schmid said. "He organizes us defensively. He's the one that's got to establish the line defensively. He gets the wide midfielders to tuck in at the right times. He orchestrates a lot of that out of the back and often times he's the first outlet out of the back with the defenders."
It's not surprising that Carroll does not often show up on the scoresheet: he has two assists and one shot on goal while playing all 1,440 minutes this season heading into Thursday's home match vs. Kansas City. Then again, he doesn't want to appear on a highlight reel when the other team scores.
"You look at Brian's position," Hesmer said. "I was telling him (Monday) on the golf course that the less he's mentioned the better. He should be getting All-Star consideration. No one is talking about him. He should get more credit. He deserves it but at the same time nobody is talking about him. That's great for him.
"Brian brings consistency. He brings the same performance every day. He's going to work his tail off every game. He's going to be in the right spot. He's a good communicator. He's smart. He knows the game really well. He's played for championship teams and he's played in the league for awhile. Guys who have been around the league are important."
The unassuming Carroll understands there is little glory in what he does and is fine with his role.
"When the team does well you don't really get recognized for that position but you know deep down that you had a good part to play in the team's success," he said. "I do relish the fact that when things are going well and we're winning everyone has an involvement in it, even the defensive midfielder. It's the name of the position. If you make a mistake it gets shown but if you do something well it doesn't really get seen."
Stoic Moreno providing Crew big lift
Jose - Lamps is the best pro
