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Billy Heyen
Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with NESN. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who spent his senior year following Jim Boeheim's basketball team around the country. His reporting work has also included extensive high school sports coverage at the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Adventures in sports writing have also led to in-person coverage of the Buffalo Sabres, Cleveland Guardians, U.S. men's national soccer team and a variety of minor league baseball stories. When people ask if he's seen a movie, the answer is usually "No, I was probably watching sports." Even away from sports, his main hobby is running (much slower than any athlete in these pages).
It's been less than a decade since Matt Freese burst onto the scene as a goalie for Harvard University.
These days, Freese's stage is bigger. He's the starting goalkeeper for the United States at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
It's been quite the journey, one added to by the fact that Freese wasn't even a given to start at this tournament.
The U.S. also has New England Revolution goalie Matt Turner, and he was the starter in 2022 in Qatar.
But since then, Freese leapfrogged Turner. He's trying to lead the USA to a deep tournament run, and it's reached the point in a competition when goalkeeping is vital.
So for a kid who played in the NCAA at Harvard, it's been quite the climb.
MORE: How LeBron James would fit Celtics roster
What did Matt Freese do at Harvard?
Freese spent a couple of seasons at Harvard before actually leaving early to join the Philadelphia Union.
He's originally from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and he was a known prospect before coming to Harvard.
He had already played for the U.S. Under-19 team and trained with Manchester United as a youth.
By the time he got to Harvard, he was a known commodity, and he was solid with the Crimson before moving on.
What did Matt Freese study at Harvard?
Freese studied economics but didn't get to the double major he had planned on.
Originally, he had also wanted to add computer science, according to ESPN.
Because Freese left early, he finished his degree remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Billy Heyen
Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with NESN. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who spent his senior year following Jim Boeheim's basketball team around the country. His reporting work has also included extensive high school sports coverage at the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Adventures in sports writing have also led to in-person coverage of the Buffalo Sabres, Cleveland Guardians, U.S. men's national soccer team and a variety of minor league baseball stories. When people ask if he's seen a movie, the answer is usually "No, I was probably watching sports." Even away from sports, his main hobby is running (much slower than any athlete in these pages).
Source: NESN
