Freese named to Olympic qualifying tournament team

Matt Freese has moved another step closer to representing the United States in the Olympics.

The Union homegrown goalie and Episcopal Academy grad was one of 20 players named to the squad for the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament this month in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Freese was included in the squad last year, which had reached Mexico before the tournament was called off due to the

COVID-19 pandemic. Sixteen players on the squad are based in the United States. Both Mark McKenzie and Brenden Aaronson, who were part of last year’s squad, are not on this year’s, with European players generally held out since the tournament is not within a FIFA window. Olympic soccer is an Under-23 tournament.

The U.S. squad is in a group with Mexico, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. It needs to finish in the top two to reach the semifinals. The semifinal winners advance to Tokyo, with the final on March 28.

Freese is one of three goalies, along with San Jose’s JT Marcinkowski and Real Salt Lake’s David Ochoa. Freese has played seven career MLS games, including a shutout in the season finale last year to clinch the Supporters’ Shield. Ochoa has played one MLS game, while Marcinkowski, who played at Georgetown, became the Earthquakes’ starter down the stretch. He has 16 career games. All three are Homegrown signings.

It’s a field where Freese, who spent time in camp with the senior team in January, can win the starting job.

“Matthew has done well with the Olympic team,” manager Jim Curtin said Wednesday. “He’ll be a guy that steps back in for us at some point. Our hope is that he will be part of that Olympic team moving forward after the great camp that he had with the full national team. Obviously they have a few injuries there. My last words to Matt were to fight for the top spot. You want to be the No. 1 obviously; do everything to make it hard on the coaches in their decisions.”

The length of the tournament means Freese will likely miss at least the first leg of the Union’s CONCACAF Champions League tie with Deportivo Saprissa on April 7.