Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
In goalie Blake’s absence, Freese proves he belongs
Jim Curtin said it without drama and without remorse last Friday.
On Andre Blake’s first day back in training with the Union, after leading Jamaica to the semifinals of a third straight CONCACAF Gold Cup, Blake faced a quick turnaround before Saturday’s game with Orlando City. And that complication changed Curtin’s thinking not one iota.
Blake was back. Blake is an AllStar for the second time in his career. So Matt Freese, who was solid in deputizing for Blake, would head back to the bench. Simple as that.
“It’s a weird one for goalkeepers,” Curtin said. “(Freese) did his job and now you step aside as the All-Star comes back, and that’s the reality of pro sports. But to see his growth and improvement now is something that’s been good to watch.”
Freese’s return to the bench owes to little more than Blake being … well, Blake, one of the best goalkeepers in the Western Hemisphere. It also has to do with Freese being just 20 years old, an age where goalies are lucky to be getting minor-league minutes. With the dynamics of the position – you play one goalkeeper at a time, for all 90 minutes, and there’s no surer sign of dysfunction than rotating goalies – something has to give. In this instance, that’s Freese, without it necessarily reflecting on his performance.
“It was a really good opportunity,” said Freese, who was selected to play in the 2019 MLS Homegrown Game. “I think probably most importantly just to learn what (Blake) deals with every day and learn what I need to work on. I think it also helps to build confidence, just being in that setting and getting the first few games out of the way.”
The Episcopal Academy grad and 2016 Daily Times Player of the Year has started five games. Two came in late April-early May when Blake injured his groin, Freese capping the 3-0 win over Montreal without having to make a save, then stopping four shots in a 1-1 draw in Vancouver. Freese ended up on the injured list thanks to an oblique strain picked up in his next outing, a 2-0 win over Cincinnati May 1.
With Blake away on international duty, Freese got the call for a 1-1 draw in New England, a 4-2 loss in Yankee Stadium (which featured two penalties) and last Wednesday’s 3-1 victory in Orlando. He’s 1-1-2 on the season and allowed seven goals on 20 shots on target. He also started the 2-1 loss to D.C. United after extra time in the U.S. Open Cup.
“He did great,” Curtin said. “A 20-year-old goalkeeper, getting thrown into this thing, if you look at Matt, too, a lot of times on the road, where it’s a lot harder to play on the road in this league. He did his job. He stepped up in a big way. We took four points out of these three games – if we’re greedy, we could’ve taken a couple more, I think, out of these road games. But Matt was a big part of our success, got us through a real tough stretch of the season and now if Andre ever does have an injury, which I never want, we know that Matt is ready to step in and do the job.”
Games of any kind are valuable for Freese, who only has five career USL games under his belt, all this year. With the injuries (and the twoweek utilization of pool goalkeeper Charlie Lyon) the Union haven’t often had Freese to spare to Steel.
He possesses the shot-stopping ability, but the ancillary aspects of his game, like distribution and command of the box, can only be honed in game action. There’s no substitute for the speed at which MLS attackers move, and the challenge that he faced from New York City FC’s potency in particular is an eye-opener that can’t be replicated in training.
It says something that Curtin went with Freese over Carlos Miguel Coronel, who’s been solid in spot duty for the Union (2 GA on 11 shots, 4-0-0 record) and stellar for Steel. Though it makes sense for the club long-term – Coronel is just 22 but on a one-year loan from Red Bull Salzburg – it still highlights the regard in which Freese is held by Curtin and goalkeeping coach Oka Nikolov.
“It means a ton that Oka, Jim and Ernst (Tanner) have confidence in me,” Freese said. “It was something that I was preparing for, didn’t want to get too high, didn’t want to get too low, so just kept steady-faced and do what they wanted me to do.”
With the Union down to only two available keepers, it was likely that Freese would’ve gotten a call to a summer camp for the Under-23 team had the Union not needed him against D.C.. Freese certainly figures to be in the conversation for the starting job as that squad looks to qualify for next summer’s Tokyo Olympics.
Now that he’s gotten a taste of being a starter over an extended stretch, Freese can take the granular points from that experience to work on specifics in training and with the Steel.
“I’m excited to be able to now just focus on some of those small things that I learned during the games and do them and practice them on my own instead of maybe having to worry about 90 minutes every three or four days and hammering away at those little things,” Freese said. “… The most important thing for me is just continuing to get better in whatever environment I find myself in.”