It came as little surprise that Seattle Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei was in the MLS concussion protocol following an elbow to the head from the Chicago Fire’s Alan Gordon in the final seconds of a June 23 1-1 draw between the two clubs. Frei lay motionless on the turf for several seconds after the initial contact, seemingly knocked out by the blow. At Sounders training Thursday, Schmetzer gave updates on Frei’s status ahead of Saturday’s Cascadia Cup clash against the Portland Timbers.
“Every day they do another check-box,” Schmetzer said Thursday. “They have a specific protocol and if he completes the protocol he’ll play, if he doesn’t he won’t play. He’ll have to go through his testing today and tomorrow, then we’ll let everybody know. But he’s going to pass.”
The last remark was delivered with a smile, but Schmetzer would be rightly worried if Frei is unable to play. The keeper is fourth in the league in saves in 2018 and has a 1.29 goals-against average. His primary backup, Bryan Meredith, has conceded 10 goals in four USL appearances with Seattle Sounders 2 and has not played in MLS since 2012.
Still, Schmetzer is not the sort to rush Frei back on to the field, given the nature of his potential injury.
“I think (ESPN’s) Taylor Twellman has done a great job (raising awareness),” Schmetzer said. “It’s not just Taylor, but I’ll give him a little plug. Concussions are serious things. You heard about the WSU football player, they identified some stuff, all the NFL guys. It’s true in soccer too, it’s a contact sport. We don’t want anything bad to happen to Stef, so I think it’s a prudent course of action.”
The Washington State football player Schmetzer mentioned was Tyler Hilinski, whose suicide in January shocked the college football world. The quarterback’s parents revealed on the Today Show Tuesday that their 21-year-old son’s brain showed signs of CTE, the degenerative neurological disease brought on by repetitive head trauma that has also has been found in several former soccer players.
Despite the risks provided by the contact, Schmetzer said Frei wasn’t holding a grudge against Gordon.
“He’s over it,” Schmetzer said. “He’s a pretty nice guy. We’re probably not over it. I don’t think there was any malice intended, but it was reckless in my opinion. That’s part of the game again. Alan Gordon has had a good career. That’s his M.O., he gets up on headers. He was going for the ball, he wasn’t going for Stef. Referees have to make decisions.”