Stefan Frei was born in Switzerland, but moved to the United States with his family at the age of 15. The goalkeeper lived in California, where he attended Cal for college soccer. After being named the MVP of the 2009 MLS Player Combine, he signed a Generation Adidas contract and was drafted No. 13 overall by Toronto FC. He spent his first five seasons with TFC, winning three Canadian Championships. Little did he know the team he started with would be the very team he would engage in an intense rivalry later on. In December of 2013, the Seattle Sounders acquired Frei in exchange for a conditional MLS SuperDraft pick.
Frei's first season for Seattle was one in which he played every single minute of every single game, all 3,060 of them. He kept 9 clean sheets on the year in 2014. His first match for the club was a 1-0 shutout win over Sporting Kansas City. He kept a 5-save clean sheet against Montreal early in his Sounders career. Despite losing in Vancouver, he made 6 saves, including a close-down of Kekuta Mannneh. That was his highest save total of the season. Seattle won the US Open Cup against Philadelphia, with the help of a Frei recovery save on Pedro Ribeiro. After claiming the 2014 Supporters' Shield, Seattle entered the playoff with high expectations. Frei won 20 games, which was the MLS record for goalkeeper wins. Seattle snuck past FC Dallas, but it was LA Galaxy who sent them home in 2014.
In 2015, he saved 3.58 shots per game, the highest mark of his career. He also registered 10 clean sheets. Frei set the club record of 111 saves and led the league in save percentage at 77.1%. On May 3rd, he made 8 stops against NYCFC, denying David Villa on the volley. In the very next match, he posted a 10-save game. The Sounders lost in Columbus, but he had an outstanding game, stopping a Kristinn Steindorsson effort late in the match. After that one, he kept 3 consecutive clean sheets. On September 9th, he had his best game of the season, completing an 8-save shutout against the Whitecaps. He made a stop on Octavio Rivero, before keeping a Christian Techera shot out of his net. Their playoff run was a reverse of 2014, as they beat the Galaxy and lost to FC Dallas.
The MLS Cup rivalry started in 2016. The Sounders finished fourth in the West. During the year, Frei took over club records in saves and wins. His best performances of the year came in the postseason, he is truly a big game player. In the knockout round, he got up high to keep Seth Sinovic's volley out, then stopped what would have been a worldie of a solo goal from Benny Feilhaber. He then kept a clean sheet against FC Dallas in the first leg, exacting their revenge in the series. The WCF was also won, as Frei saved Kevin Doyle's chance early in leg one. Seattle moved onto MLS Cup 2016 against Frei's former team in Toronto FC. His named is ingrained in the history books for what happened in that match. After going to extra time at 0-0, he made what is probably the most iconic save in MLS history. Jozy Altidore rose high for a header destined for the top right corner, but Frei re-aligned his feet, before reaching his arm backwards to slap the header out of harm's way. Seattle won MLS Cup on penalties, and Frei won MLS Cup MVP.
In 2017, Stefan Frei was named an MLS All-Star for the first time, and somehow the only time. MLS seriously needs to fix the selection process for that team. He kept 13 clean sheets, a career-high at the time. His 1.09 goals against average was second in the league. He kept four straight clean sheets during the summer. On September 27th, Frei denied a perfect free kick from Fredy Montero in the top corner, earning the #1 spot on the SportsCenter Top 10 that night. The Sounders finished second behind Portland. This was all setting up the incredible MLS Cup rematch. Frei made it back to the final against Toronto FC, without giving up a goal all postseason. His 624 minutes without giving up a playoff goal was a new record. In the final, he conceded at last. It was, though, probably his best game of the year, as he continually denied Sebastian Giovinco, here's another one. At long last, Jozy Altidore broke through and TFC took the cup in the rematch. Frei finished third for Goalkeeper of the Year.
The Seattle Sounders took a one-year break from MLS Cup in 2018. He set career-highs in saves with 114, as well as GAA at 1.03. On June 13th, he set a franchise record with 11 saves in a match against the Red Bulls. He somehow kept a Daniel Royer header on the goal line. Additionally, he stoned Florian Valot right in front. He won Save of the Year with a stop on Shkëlzen Gashi of Colorado. From July 21st to September 15th, he won every single game in the stretch, setting the MLS record in consecutive wins with 9. The Timbers upset Seattle in penalty kicks in the playoffs. Frei finished second in Goalkeeper of the Year voting, but still has somehow never won the award.
In 2019, Frei kept 10 clean sheets and played every minute of the season en route to a third edition of MLS Cup against Toronto. He set a new career-high of 116 saves. He moved into the top 10 in league history in saves, wins and clean sheets. He won his second Sounders Humanitarian of the Year, playing a huge role in granting Bheem Goyal's Make-A-Wish, as he played in goal for Seattle during a friendly with Dortmund. In March, Frei made 10 saves against the Chicago Fire. On September 29th, he clocked one of the best performances of his entire career. He saved all 10 shots he faced versus San Jose, including a leg save on a flick and a denial of a Florian Jungwirth overhead kick. Seattle's second place finish in the West set up another playoff run. They beat Dallas, RSL and LAFC. It was time to face TFC once again. In the 36th minute, he made an important strong-handed save on Nicolas Benezet. Seattle went on to hoist the cup again, winning 3-1.
Seattle finished in second place in the West in 2020. Frei gave up just 23 goals on the year. He played every minute of the shortened season. His standout match was an 8-save shutout of San Jose, in which he made a diving save on Jackson Yueill. The Sounders marched through the playoffs, beating all of LAFC, Dallas and Minnesota. This time MLS Cup was not against Toronto, but rather Columbus. Lucas Zelarayan's Crew claimed victory in the 2020 edition of the final.
In 2021, Frei missed 18 games due to a knee injury. He had his lowest shutout number with Seattle by far, keeping 4. The Sounders finished second, and he remained solid enough upon his return from injury. In the end, the 2021 Sounders went out to Real Salt Lake in the first round. His 2022 season had 5 clean sheets, just one more than the previous season despite playing 900 more minutes. It was an extremely ugly year for Seattle, if you only look at MLS play. The CONCACAF Champions League run was a whole different story. Frei won the CCL Golden Ball and Golden Glove, and was named to the tournament Best XI. His Seattle side became the first MLS team to win the CCL. He only had to make one save in the final, but it was a big one. The Sounders missed the playoffs for the first time.
After combining for 9 clean sheets across the past two seasons, Stefan Frei was reborn in 2023, setting a career-high of 14 clean sheets on the year. Seattle returned to the second place position in the Western Conference. His best game of the past regular season was on April 1st, a 7-save game against LA Galaxy. He made a double save on Tyler Boyd and Memo Rodriguez. The Sounders entered a best-of-3 series with FC Dallas in the first round of the 2023 postseason. In game one, Frei saved all 4 shots he faced, including a massive breakaway stuff on Jesus Ferreira. In game two, it was all Dallas. At the time of writing, on November 10th, Seattle and FC Dallas are set to enter a decisive game three that will decide who moves on. Stefan Frei is one of the greatest goalkeepers that Major League Soccer has ever seen, and probably ever will see. He has continued to do the job at a high level for a decade, and will look to continue doing so. Stefan Frei comes in at #30.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | CS | SAVES/PG |
2023 | SEA | 2,880 | 14 | 2.41 |
2022 | SEA | 2,430 | 5 | 3.15 |
2021 | SEA | 1,529 | 4 | 2.59 |
2020 | SEA | 1,980 | 6 | 2.73 |
2019 | SEA | 3,060 | 10 | 3.44 |
2018 | SEA | 2,970 | 7 | 3.48 |
2017 | SEA | 2,970 | 13 | 2.56 |
2016 | SEA | 2,970 | 8 | 2.76 |
2015 | SEA | 2,745 | 10 | 3.58 |
2014 | SEA | 3,060 | 9 | 3.0 |
Comments