The Seattle Sounders walked away with a 1-1 home draw against LAFC on Saturday afternoon due in no small part to the sensational play of Stefan Frei.
The Sounders goalkeeper made six vital saves, including an incredible double save on the doorstep in the second half. The 36-year-old routinely makes the difficult look easy, and he put on a clinic against the Supporters’ Shield-leaders.
“Some saves today, we were all expecting to take the ball out of the net and bring it back to the center circle,” said midfielder Albert Rusnák. “[Frei] came up with some massive saves. He keeps making these saves game after game after game.”
After allowing 14 goals and failing to record a clean sheet in their first nine league matches this season, the Sounders have turned it up defensively since the end of their Concacaf Champions League title run. Seattle has allowed just four goals in its last six contests, including two shutouts, and Frei is a major reason why.
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"I did watch the highlight of those two saves in my coach’s office before I came out here [to the press conference],” Sounders Head Coach Brian Schmetzer said postgame. “They were unbelievable saves. He continues to keep us in games.”
Added Frei: “I’m happy that I was able to stay balanced, hold my ground and take the shots and react. Unfortunate that we weren’t able to get three points, but it was a difficult game against a good opponent.”
The Sounders have taken seven points from three matches so far in their five-game homestand. They know they have two major opportunities left at Lumen Field this month to continue to try and climb the Western Conference table after moving into a playoff position earlier this week.
Seattle will welcome Western Conference rivals Sporting Kansas City next Saturday (12 p.m. PT; ABC, ESPN Deportes, 93.3 KJR FM, El Rey 1360 AM | TICKETS) before a cross-conference match with CF Montréal. And the Sounders know, too, that they are never out of a match as long as No. 24 is between the goalposts.
“[Frei has] still got a lot of life in him,” said Schmetzer. “Hopefully we’ll be seeing him around for quite some time.”
