SEATTLE – Stefan Frei was arguably the most reliable player in any position for the Seattle Sounders last year, enjoying something of a career rebirth in his second year as a starter in the Emerald City.
But Frei – who was named the team’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2015 and posted a single-season club record for saves – was the first to take the blame in the Sounders’ 1-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City on Sunday at CenturyLink Field after a miscue in the second half on the game’s lone goal of the night.
SKC defender Nuno Andre Coelho grabbed the game-winner in the 72nd minute on an ambitious effort from 25 yards out, a shot that Frei humbly admitted he should have saved.
“Such is the life of a goalkeeper – you make a mistake and the whole team pays for it,” Frei said. “I saw the ball coming from the right, it had a bit of a bend, and maybe It didn’t bounce as high as I thought it was going to. But I mean, I got to save that.”
The soggy weather played a part too, as a sudden and saturating rainstorm drove through CenturyLink Field roughly an hour into the match. It was no coincidence SKC found their winner less than 15 minutes after the skies opened up, with Coelho’s shot skipping on the stadium’s slick new turf and beyond Frei’s outstretched arm.
“It seemed to skip past him, off the wet turf,” Schmid said. “I’m sure it’s one he’d like to face again, because I’m sure he feels he can save that. But he’s made a lot of saves for us.”
Frei was largely untested in the opener – he made three saves on the night, none better than a sliding kick save on SKC midfielder Connor Hallisey in the 21st minute – but echoed comments from a slew of players who said the wet turf changed the game over the final 30 minutes.
“It did,” he said. “It’s also a new ball, and I think the turf is still pretty new too, so it makes the ball pretty slippery. But no excuses though.”
SKC goalkeeper Tim Melia finished with just two saves on the night, but he noticed the difficult combination of wet weather and a new playing surface as well.
“It is a new turf and it’s one of the better turfs I’ve seen, but once it gets a little moist the ball skips off it a little bit,” Melia said. “You don’t trust the bounce. It causes problems.”
That was little consolation for Frei, who said the team’s first loss of the season will sting for well into next week.
“The battle with that mistake is not over for me,” Frei said. “This is where the hard work starts, to mentally get over that mistake. Only goalkeepers understand what goes through your mind, and the battle you have in your mind when something like this happens. Unfortunately it does happen, but the question is, how can you fight this mistake and bounce back from it and come next game you’re good to go?”
