Of all the roads to soccer stardom, goalkeeper Matt Freese has perhaps taken one of the more unconventional ones.
The career of the 28-year-old, who is now a key player for New York City FC and a World Cup star, began with a pair of Wawa breakfast sandwiches.
He joined the Philadelphia Union’s youth academy at 17 years old, but unlike the other teenagers, he wasn’t around all the time.
“It was a little bit unusual because I was playing high school soccer,” Freese tells Sports Illustrated. “I couldn’t do the academy full time. I wasn’t on the team ... so I would go to training in the morning at 8:00, 7:30 and then drive to school.
“I would get a Wawa breakfast sandwich on my way to school, go to two or three classes and then leave for my high school soccer game or high school soccer practice.”
He later adds, laughing: “I don’t know why I lied. I’d get two Wawa breakfast sandwiches. I’d eat them while I’m driving.”
Unlike the players Freese was training with on those cold mornings—and especially today’s top youth prospects, all of whom dedicate themselves from 12 or 13 years old to training full time within the newly established MLS Next youth academies (2020), Freese didn’t join the Union’s youth ranks full-time until his last semester of high school in 2017.
“To see the drastic difference between [my experience] and now, and obviously, that was still great training. It set the foundation. The coaches did an amazing job,” Freese explains. “... But to see the transition into what it is now, full-time residential, academy systems all over the country, is incredible.”
But that wasn’t the last time Freese diverged from the soccer status quo.
Becoming a Scholar
Unlike the majority of soccer stars around the globe, Freese went to college. Not just any college, either, but Harvard University, the oldest and most-esteemed institution of higher learning in the U.S.
“I wanted to go pro as soon as I could,” Freese admits, “and when I was 17 or 18, I started getting offers to go pro, talking to some European teams and potentially staying home with Philly [Union].”
“My parents wanted me to go to college,” Freese adds, speaking about the pair of highly educated scientists. “To at least do my first semester or two and see what happens.
“I spoke with them, and obviously, they’re your parents and you listen to what they say.”
The 6'4" goalkeeper had two highly successful seasons tending the net for the Crimson, recording 77 saves across his time. He was named Second Team All-Ivy his sophomore year and even conducted a research project on penalty kicks; however, he knew he couldn’t stay. He sat down with his parents to have the tough conversation.
“I told them, ’It’s time for me to leave,’” he recounts. “‘I’ll finish school eventually, but it’s time for me to commit my whole life to the game.’”
He eventually graduated from Harvard with a bachelor’s degree in economics, finishing his coursework online and walking across the stage at graduation in 2022.
Signing a Homegrown Deal
Upon leaving Harvard, the Wayne, Pa. native signed a Homegrown contract with the Union in 2018. He became the 10th Homegrown signing in club history and was joined on the active roster by fellow Homegrowns Auston Trusty, Brenden Aaronson and Mark McKenzie, three players he didn’t know would one day become his 2026 World Cup teammates.
Although he played in six games his rookie season (2019), which “as a goalkeeper is pretty much unheard of,” the transition to the pros was nonetheless challenging.
“You go from a three-month season where there is no formalized gym program,” Freese recalls of the collegiate level. “You’re on a bus for eight hours going to and from a game, and obviously, the level [in MLS] is a massive jump up as well. It’s a very difficult transition.
“My first year was full of really high highs and really low lows and a ton of injuries. My body wasn’t ready for an 11-month season where you’re getting killed every day.” He suffered two serious injuries that year, one to his abdominal muscles and another to the hamstring, missing a total of 23 games.
He found his strides in subsequent seasons, though, thanks to the additional opportunities he had for growth with the Union’s reserve squad. He made 31 appearances for Philadelphia Union II between 2019 and 2022. The team joined MLS NEXT Pro in 2022, the year that the reserve league launched.
“I would occasionally play NEXT Pro games,” Freese says.
“Every step along the journey, every step along the way throughout that journey was vital to prepare you for the next one,” he adds. “Even if in the moment you’re playing NEXT Pro games and thinking, ‘I’m ready for the MLS. I want to play MLS games,’ you learn when you finally get to that level and become a starter and play 100-plus games in the MLS, you realize, well, a lot of the lessons I’ve learned came from my academy days and my NEXT Pro days.
“It’s incredibly vital, even if you don’t realize it in the moment.”
He then signed a contract with New York City FC in 2023. He quickly became the club’s primary starter and was even named the 2024 club MVP. After 276 saves and 20 clean sheets across 83 total appearances, Freese earned a contract extension in 2025, set to remain with the Pigeons through the 2030 season. He received his first MLS All-Star nod this summer for his dominant start to the 2026 season.
“After very high highs and lows my rookie year, the next seven, eight years have gone much more smoothly,” he shares. “I learned how to really keep it consistent and never get too high. I never get too low.”
Another factor that has propelled Freese forward is his commitment to outworking everyone.
“What got me through difficult emotions was working hard and promising myself that there’s a bright future because of all the hard work I’m going to put forward,” he says.
“I never knew it was bright, but I believed I could make it bright,” he adds.
And he certainly did.
Taking Soccer’s Grandest Stage
Every step along the winding and rather unorthodox journey of Freese’s career led him to soccer’s grandest stage: the World Cup.
His success between the sticks for New York City FC earned him the attentions of U.S. men’s national team manager Mauricio Pochettino. He received his first senior call-up in January 2025 and his first cap that June in a friendly against Türkiye. He was then the designated starter for the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup later that month, playing all six matches en route to the final, a 2–1 loss to Mexico.
It had been a swift rise to the top for Freese. Just a year after making his debut for the Stars and Stripes, he found himself on soccer’s grandest stage, starting between the sticks at a home World Cup. He played in four of the USMNT’s five total matches, including both knockout stage games.
“Playing for the United States is really more than a dream come true,” Freese expresses. “It’s really difficult to put into words what it means to pull on that jersey and to be wearing No. 24 in a World Cup, when I was watching Tim Howard wear that number at World Cups growing up.
“It makes all the work, all the sacrifices that went into this career, in this job and chasing a dream, it makes all of that worth it ... I could have gone through even more, knowing what an honor it is and what it feels like to put on that jersey.”
It was largely a fairytale run for Freese’s USMNT across North America this summer. Fueled by the fervor of the home fans, the Stars and Stripes soared in the first two matches, winning out Group D with a game to spare, before defeating Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32, their first knockout stage victory in 24 years.
“Feeling the support from the fans was from another world,” Freese recalls. “Everywhere we looked, the fans wrapped their arms around us and supported us and cheered us on.”
It wasn’t all a dream, though. The USMNT, and especially Freese, faced incredible hardship in the round of 16 against Belgium, losing 4–1 to crash out of the tournament at the same stage that has bested them in recent editions. Freese whiffed a clearance just before the hour mark, handing the Belgians their third goal of the afternoon. It ended up being the one the visitors needed to run away with victory.
Belgium finds a third pic.twitter.com/0m1Hu4qzwR
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 7, 2026
Freese has experienced much criticism in the wake of that match—and no shortage of “boos.” It’s a harsh reality he has chosen to take in stride.
“Criticism is part of this job,” he admits. “If people weren’t criticizing you, then it means they didn’t care, and that’s also an honor. That’s weird to hear, I’m sure, but it’s an honor to get criticism because it means they care.
“It means the fans want more, and believe me, we want more too. We want to be the best team in the world. We want to win the World Cup.”
Freese even admitted to “agreeing” with the criticism. “I have high aspirations for myself and for every team that I’m on.” He is already turning his attentions to the 2030 World Cup, hoping to be on that global stage again to bring the USMNT greater success and do right by the fans.
“It was such an honor to play for [the fans],” Freese says. “That type of support pushes you in the hard moments, but it also motivates you to make them proud and to be back there in four years to have those moments with them again and hear their support.”
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