MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. — Stefan Frei is nearing his way back toward full fitness.
The Seattle Sounders starting goalkeeper has been sidelined since January when he was sent home from United States national team camp with a sprained right ankle. He did not play in Seattle’s preseason trip to Tucson, Ariz., earlier this month, and he sat out against the Charleston Battery last Saturday in the Sounders’ first Carolina Challenge Cup match.
He has recently had a couple of full sessions with no issues and expects to see the field before the start of the regular season on March 4 at the Houston Dynamo (5:30 p.m. PT | Matchcenter).
“The goal is to probably get some minutes at the end of this tournament, possibly against Columbus,” Frei said. “That would be nice to get some minutes before the season starts. There’s no rush. For me it’s not beneficial and for the team it wouldn’t be beneficial [to rush back] because we’re in good hands with [Tyler Miller] and the season is so, so long.”
Whenever Frei does return, he’s looking forward to starting the 2017 season better than last year. In 2016, Seattle dropped its opening three matches and only won one of their first five.
Coming off their first MLS Cup win last December, Frei knows that other teams will be give Seattle their best shot week in and week out. How the Sounders respond will go a long way in determining how their title defense begins.
“…Teams will be gunning for us,” Frei said. “You can look at it as, ‘Oh gosh, we’re going to be under fire.’ Or you can look at it as a sign of respect that you can take advantage of. That should boost your confidence a little bit. We’d rather look at it from that angle.”
For now, Frei is focused on regaining his sharpness that carried Seattle down the home stretch of the regular season and through the MLS Cup Playoffs, culminating in the biggest save in Sounders franchise history. There’s still two weeks to go before the 2017 MLS regular season kicks off, so Frei is enjoying the opportunity to be playing again.
“I’m enjoying being out there, improving fitness, improving touches and overall being comfortable…,” Frei said. “[I’m] just happy to be back on the pitch and get the green light.”
