Plenty of stars have donned a Sounders FC uniform since the club joined MLS in 2009, including some top-notch international talents such as Kasey Keller and Freddie Ljungberg.
Of all the players who have suited up for Seattle, current goalkeeper Stefan Frei owns the longest streak of minutes played without missing any time to start his Sounders career. Including the 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs, Frei has been in goal for 4,140 consecutive minutes since he joined the club.
For a keeper who played in just one game during the 2012 and 2013 seasons due to injuries and coaching decisions, the lengthy tenure as Seattle’s starter means a lot.
“One of my personal goals has been to reach a substantial amount of minutes played,” Frei said earlier this week. “Having had a serious injury before, I know how important it is to take care of your body. You’re always going to have nicks and bruises. Every player will tell you that there’s never a day where you don’t have anything. Let’s keep it at those nicks and bruises so I can keep playing.”
Frei is one of four MLS keepers who have started every match since the beginning of the 2014 season. If his streak lasts until the end of this regular season, the 29-year-old will have passed Keller for the most consecutive minutes played in a Sounders uniform.
How has Frei been able to keep the starting job that he earned right away? Steady improvements since the middle of last season have made it an easy decision for the technical staff.
After recording a career-high nine shutouts in 2014, Frei has four clean sheets from the first eight matches this season and is among the leaders in nearly every other statistical category. He tied a season high with eight saves in last week’s 3-1 win over New York City FC, which puts the Swiss keeper at a stellar save percentage of 81.3 percent for the season, ranking third in MLS.
“We stuck with him at a time where maybe some people thought we shouldn’t have, and it’s paid off for us,” Head Coach Sigi Schmid said on Wednesday. “He’s given us no reason – from the midway point of last season until now – to make a change.”
With Frei manning the net, Sounders FC has earned 16 points in its first eight matches, the highest points-per-game average in the Western Conference. The club is also tied for first in MLS with just six goals conceded and a 0.75 goals against average.
“I think we’ve done really well defensively, limiting opponents to just a handful of chances,” Frei said. “They’ve had to resort to either long shots or going out wide and trying to come in with crosses. So that’s a testament to the guys in front of me doing a really good job of funneling guys out wide and not allowing dangerous situations.”
Frei and the Sounders will put their three-game winning streak on the line Saturday at Columbus Crew SC. The match is set to kick off at 4:30 p.m. with local television coverage on Q13 FOX.
