Joe Willis

Joseph Mark Willis (born August 10, 1988) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Nashville SC.

Willis played high school soccer for Chaminade College Preparatory in St. Louis.

Willis played soccer for University of Denver from 2006 to 2010, serving as the starter from 2008 to 2010.

He was named the team's Most Valuable Player in 2008, and was named All-MPSF from 2008 to 2010.

While at Denver, he also played for the USL Premier Development League Real Colorado Foxes.

Willis was selected by D.C. United with the 50th pick in the third round of the 2011 MLS SuperDraft, and he signed a contract with the team on March 16, 2011.

Willis served as the backup goalie with Bill Hamid being the first choice goalie.

He made his MLS debut on August 13, 2011, recording a clean sheet in a 4–0 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

Willis made only 3 appearances in his first season.

For 2012, Willis became first choice goalkeeper while Bill Hamid was with the US U23 team for Olympic qualifying.

However Hamid retook the starting job on May 5, 2012, after Willis had made 9 starts.

On November 8, 2012, Willis came on as a substitute in a MLS Playoff match against New York Red Bulls after Hamid received a red card.

He denied Kenny Cooper from the spot on the striker's second attempt (the first penalty kick that was successfully converted by Cooper was ordered to be retaken due to an infringement on the part of Cooper's teammates) and managed to keep a clean sheet to help D.C. United get a 1–0 win, advancing them to the next Eastern Conference Finals.

With Hamid suspended, Willis started the next match.

However, this time he couldn't replicate his heroics as D.C. United fell to the Houston Dynamo 3–1.

Hamid returned for the second leg, but D.C. United drew 1–1 and was eliminated.

Willis remained the second choice goalie for 2013, only getting an extended run of games while Bill Hamid was with the United States national team for the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Willis made 5 starts before Hamid retook the starting job on August 10.

Willis enjoyed success in the 2013 U.S. Open Cup.

On May 28 he saved 2 penalties against the Richmond Kickers as D.C. United won on penalties.

Willis helped lead D.C. United to 3 more wins, including a clean sheet in the semi-finals, a 2–0 win over the Chicago Fire.

Despite his strong performances in the tournament, Willis was replaced by Hamid for the final.

D.C. United defeated Real Salt Lake in the final 1–0.

In 2014, Willis became third choice goalkeeper after losing his spot as the number 2 to Andrew Dykstra in preseason.

Willis was sent on loan to D.C. United's USL affiliate, the Richmond Kickers.

His first appearance of the season with D.C. United came in a CONCACAF Champions League match against Waterhouse on August 20, a 1–0 win for D.C. United.

Willis made 2 more appearances in the Champions League, both of them clean sheets against Tauro FC.

On December 8, 2014, Willis was traded to the Houston Dynamo along with Samuel Inkoom, in exchange for the rights for Andrew Driver (who moved to Europe and didn’t play for D.C.) and a fourth-round pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft.

On December 19, 2014 he signed a contract with the Dynamo.

Willis served as the backup to Tyler Deric for 2015 and appeared in only six games in his first year with Houston.

Willis got a chance to play early in 2016 with Deric missing time for an abdominal injury.

Deric returned in week 6, but he picked up a red card, with Willis coming in as a sub and starting the next game as Deric served his suspension.

Willis came in for Deric again on May 15 as Deric served a suspension for another red card.

Willis picked up his first career assist in the game when he hit a long goal kick that Giles Barnes ran onto and converted to score the game winning goal over Real Salt Lake.

Willis would fill in for Deric as he missed time with another abdominal injury and an elbow injury.

He performed well, winning MLS Save of the Week for a stop against the San Jose Earthquakes on August 19.

He also made the MLS Team of the Week for that game.

He ended the season with 5 clean sheets from 26 MLS appearances.

Willis's strong performances saw him named the Dynamo defensive player of the year.

Despite his good play, the Dynamo missed the playoffs again.