Crowning moment: Oral history of Stefan Frei's instantly iconic save
It will go down as one of the most iconic moments in MLS history.
Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei, returning to Toronto exactly three years to the day after he was traded by the Reds, put in an MVP-winning performance in the MLS Cup final, leading his side to a 5-4 victory on penalties with a seven-save showing at BMO Field.
Related: How Stefan Frei's story came full circle with dominant performance in Toronto
One of those stops, however, stands out above the rest.
His ridiculous 108th-minute denial of a looping header from Jozy Altidore was, simply, one of the greatest saves in MLS history, and it was all anybody could talk about after the Sounders hoisted the trophy.
Getting his confidence back
As Frei told Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl after the match, his heroics would not have been possible were it not for Seattle giving him a chance after he was sent packing, ironically, by Toronto FC three years ago.
Frei: Their simple belief in me to give me a chance in Seattle. At that point I had been on the bench or rehabbing for two years. So for them to take a chance and then go through growing pains but keep on reassuring me that ‘you’re the man, we’ve got your back, we believe in you,’ it allowed my confidence to come back.
Throwing technique 'out the window'
How, exactly, did he even make that save? He explains, in further conversation with Wahl.
Frei: Well done by Jozy trying to go against the side where I’m coming from - it’s probably exactly how you want to hit that one. Sometimes as a goalkeeper you feel like you’re not going to get to a ball, but you never know until you try. I tried to keep my feet moving and give it my best shot. Usually something will have broken down for you to do that. But sometimes it’s just ‘throw technique out the window’ and just try to make the save.
Altidore, meanwhile, told reporters after the match that he could do nothing but applaud.
Altidore: Yeah, it was a hell of a save and in the end of the day, you've got to pull off something special and we just weren't able to.
View from the sideline
Much like the some 36,000 inside BMO Field on the frigid night, Toronto FC manager Greg Vanney told Wahl he thought Altidore had broken the deadlock.
Greg Vanney: I thought the ball had eyes for that corner it was heading toward. I thought (Frei was maybe caught a little bit in the middle of the goal and wasn’t going to get there. But just because it was kind of looping and it didn’t have a lot of gas behind it, it just gave him enough time to set his feet and get back across the goal. It seemed like he almost pulled it out from behind him in some ways. It was one of the great saves I’ve seen in a big moment. Because that goal to me ends the game.
Toronto FC left to rue missed chance
Jonathan Osorio told reporters that he remained hopeful Toronto FC could overcome the Swiss shot-stopper, not allowing his heroics to scupper a confident mindset.
Osorio: At the time, no, we didn't think like that, because that's not the proper way to think; we try to stay positive. But looking back at it, yeah, that's the icing on the cake. The ball was not going in today for us.
Captain Michael Bradley summed things up well, when speaking with reporters.
Bradley: On a night when one play going either way is going to make the difference, you give him (Frei) big credit for being ready, in that point in the game, to react and make a big play that kept his team in it. Certainly, he plays a very big part in them walking away winners tonight.