The Seattle Sounders thundered through Week 9, and now have completed a triple of Player of the Week, Goal of the Week, and Save of the Week. Around noon ET Friday, the MLS announced that fans voting had selected keeper Stefan Frei as the winner of the MLS Save of the Week.

Frei delivered a solid performance at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, holding New York City to one mere goal in a 3-1 Sounders victory. His key moment that won the Week 9 SOTW honor came at 76', when NYCFC's Kwadwo Poku ripped a low strike at net. Frei dove hard to his right to deflect the shot aside, at which point right back Tyrone Mears somehow managed to pull off a clearance and end New York City’s attacking possession.

Stefan Frei has now played 4,140 consecutive minutes as Seattle’s netminder, and that puts him close to the top of league and franchise history for most consecutive minutes played. Frei is proud to have achieved such a strong legacy at Sounders FC.

“One of my personal goals has been to reach a substantial amount of minutes played,” Frei said earlier this week. “Having had a serious injury before, I know how important it is to take care of your body. You’re always going to have nicks and bruises. Every player will tell you that there’s never a day where you don’t have anything. Let’s keep it at those nicks and bruises so I can keep playing.”


The final voting results clearly pointed to Frei winning. Here are the final percentages for each nominee:

1. Stefan Frei (SEA) 43.49%

2. Tim Melia (SKC) 21.59%

3. Steve Clark (CLB) 14.35%

4. Luis Robles (NY) 10.56%

5. Josh Saunders (NYC) 10.01%


Seattle Sounders fans seem to have made a statement by driving their hometown players to a triple this week of Player of the Week, Goal of the Week, and Save of the Week. Or maybe Seattle’s squad is just that good.

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About the author
Zach Drapkin
Philadelphia-based journalist with expertise in basketball, football, and soccer/fútbol.