Kelsey Richter ‘20, Asha Murray ‘20
Photo courtesy of Matthew Freese
Matt Freese ‘17 is now not only a name known by the Episcopal community but by the Major League Soccer community. Freese was a graduate in the likes of 2017. He served as Soccer Captain along with Accounting Warden his senior year. During his time at Episcopal, he received many accolades on and off the field.
During his senior season at EA, he was named Delaware County player of the year and was first team all-state and all-league. Freese ‘17 also competed on the U19 United States national team and trained with Manchester United. He was recognized as a National Merit Scholar with an honorable mention. Freese appreciates his time at EA. Freese says, “I am very lucky to have played for my school. Coach Knox is a great coach and the program as a whole is great. The team and the program were very beneficial to my growth as a player.”
After Episcopal, Freese continued both his athletic and academic career at Harvard University. Along with Harvard’s top tier academics, the team seemed like the best fit for him with its coaches and players. His freshman year, he didn’t see much time on the field: he appeared in three games during the 2017-18 season and recorded seven saves. His sophomore year, he was named Second Team All-Ivy and recorded seventy saves. Freese says, “My time at Harvard was a great opportunity to challenge myself on and off the field though we did not have the success we were hoping for.”
After his second season with Harvard, Freese was offered a spot with the Philadelphia Union and decide to leave Harvard and pursue his dream of becoming a professional soccer player. The biggest factor in his decision is the fact that Harvard is letting him return when he is finished with a professional sports career, “It was my dream and the Union gave me a spot and I couldn’t pass it up.”
When he was younger he was a player for the Union Academy team, thus, they have a right to sign Freese before any other Major League team. He had a conversation with teams overseas but ultimately Freese wanted to begin his professional career playing for Philadelphia.
Recently, Freese had his first start as a Union player. He said, “It was something the coaches prepared me really well for. I didn’t have to think about it too much. I just played and took it as if it was a normal practice.”