On November 3rd, Major League Soccer released their list of finalists for several awards such as MLS MVP, MLS Coach of the Year and MLS Goalkeeper of the Year. All together there are eleven awards given out during the month of November. Overall, MLS did a good job in selecting their three finalists for every award. That is except for MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.
Not to take anything away from the three finalists that was named. They are all worthy candidates. Just take a look at the like. Bill Hamid (D.C. United), David Ousted (Vancouver Whitecaps) and Luis Robles (New York Red Bulls) are all worthy of winning the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year. There is one small problem. They left off Stefan Frei of the Seattle Sounders.
Let’s take a look at the stats and see how all four goalkeepers compared.
| PLAYER | GP | W-L-T | SO | WIN % | SHOTS | SAVES | SAVE % | GAA |
| Stefan Frei | 31 | 14-10-6 | 10 | 45.2 | 144 | 111 | 77.1 | 1.06 |
| Bill Hamid | 25 | 11-9-5 | 8 | 44.0 | 133 | 101 | 75.9 | 1.16 |
| David Ousted | 34 | 16-13-5 | 13 | 47.1 | 137 | 99 | 72.3 | 1.06 |
| Luis Robles | 34 | 18-10-6 | 9 | 52.9 | 131 | 86 | 65.6 | 1.26 |
All four ‘keepers mentioned are in the top ten in MLS in shots faced, saves and wins. They clearly are some of the best in MLS. Out of the three finalists named by MLS, Robles could possibly be left off the list as he has the worst save percentage, goals against average and saved the fewest amount of shots faced. Yes, he helped lead the Red Bulls to the Supporters' Shield with 18 wins, but that didn't seem to matter last year for Frei when he led the Sounders to 20 wins and the Supporters' Shield.
Last year Hamid, Steve Clark and Nick Rimando were named as the three finalists with Hamid winning the award. It's a crying shame that for the second straight year one of the best goalkeepers in MLS was left off this list. One could almost wonder what the Sounders record would have been if Frei hadn't missed three games in the middle of the summer. The team could have easily had 18 wins as all three loses were by the score of 1-0, two on the road.
What's a guy got to do to get nominated for an award in MLS?
This isn't an article from a "mad Sounders supporter". It's an article highlighting that MLS missed on this and they should know they missed. For everything that Frei has been through in his career, he is really coming of age and showing why Sigi wanted him in Seattle.
Enjoy some photos of Frei from this past season.
