BERKELEY – Former California men's soccer player Stefan Frei was the first
goalkeeper selected in the 2009 MLS Super Draft conducted Friday in St.
Louis, Mo. Toronto FC drafted Frei with the 13th overall pick in the first
round. Despite having one year of eligibility left, Frei concluded his
collegiate career last fall, when he helped the Golden Bears reach the
third round of the NCAA College Cup.
"This is a tremendous accomplishment for an outstanding player," said Cal
head coach Kevin Grimes. "Stefan has made a huge impact with our program
both on and off the field. This is a great tribute to our program and it
is due to the success that we have had. Our administration, alumni and
current Cal players should all be very proud."
This marks the fifth straight year in which MLS teams drafted Cal players,
a span that encompasses Cal head coach Kevin Grimes' first five recruiting
classes and 12 former Bears. The 11 other Bears are Andrew Jacobson (DC
United) and Luke Sassano (New York Red Bulls), who were drafted in 2008,
Eric Ebert (Houston Dynamo, SuperDraft), Nick Hatzke (Houston Dynamo,
Supplemental Draft), Steve Purdy (Los Angeles Galaxy, Supplemental Draft),
who were drafted in 2007, Calen Carr (Chicago Fire, SuperDraft), Tyson
Wahl (Kansas City, SuperDraft) and Eric Kronberg (Kansas City,
SuperDraft), who were drafted in 2006, and Troy Roberts (Los Angeles,
SuperDraft), Mike Munoz (Chivas USA, Supplemental Draft) and Noah Merl
(San Jose Earthquakes, Supplemental Draft) who were drafted in 2005.
Frei will be the 15th current and active professional soccer player from
Cal. With Purdy recently signing with FC Dallas, Cal now has 11 former
players active in the MLS and is one of the top collegiate programs for
active players in the league. Purdy will be playing for Coach Schellas
Hyndman, who was also Grimes’ head coach at SMU.
Frei, a member of this year’s Generation adidas, made the All-Pac-10 first
team, the NSCAA Far West All-Region team and also named to Top Drawer
Soccer's Team of the Season. At the beginning of the season, he was named
to the MAC Hermann Trophy Award Watch List. Frei tied current Cal
goalkeeper coach Henry Foulk for fourth on the school's all-time list in
career shutouts in Cal's 3-0 victory over San Francisco in the first round
of the NCAA Tournament. He followed that performance with a season-best 11
saves against UCSB in the second round. Frei's goals-against average of
0.68 at the end of the regular season was a conference best and ranked him
22nd in the nation. He also led the Pac-10 in shutouts with eight and in
save percentage (.829).