Rapids History By The Numbers: #18

At 18 we come to the last of the most-often used numbers.  Along with 2, 6, 7, and 10, 18 has been used a total of 16 times in club history.

Dusty Hudock (1996)
Paul Grafer (1997-1998)
Guillermo Jara (1999)
Jeff DiMario (2000)
Danny DeVall (2000)
Steven Herdsman (2001-2003)
David Castellanos (2004)
Guy Melamed (2005)
Aitor Karanka (2006)
Ugo Ihemelu (2007-2008)
Matt Pickens (2009-2013)
Marvin Chavez (2014)
Zat Knight (2014)
Zac MacMath (2015-2018)
Sam Raben (2019)
Jeremy Kelly (2020)

Yeah, this is another easy one. While Karanka has probably the best post-Rapids career out of anyone, the best Rapid to wear 18 is clearly Matt Pickens.  He's also worn it the longest.  He's the all time team leader in starts, appearances, and minutes in goal (and tip 10 overall in all of them).  He has the most wins (and losses) in goal in team history, as well as the most shutouts.  He's 4th all time in saves, and 3rd in goals against average, 0.01 behind Joe Cannon for second (Bouna Coundoul is 0.1 ahead of Cannon).  He also has the most important save in team history, saving a sure tying goal in the 120th minute of MLS Cup 2010 while shielded on the shot by Julian Baudet.

While I believe Joe Cannon is the best keeper in team history, a strong argument could be made for Matt Pickens.