NYCFC’s Matt Freese Named to MLS All-Star Team as Club Surges Toward First Shield

NEW YORK — Matt Freese was named to the 2026 MLS All-Star squad on Thursday, an honor that caps a first half of the season in which the NYCFC goalkeeper has arguably been the most important player on the conference’s top team.

Freese, 26, leads all MLS goalkeepers with eight clean sheets in 22 starts. His save percentage of 74.3 percent ranks second in the league, and his ability to command the penalty area on set pieces — a weakness that plagued NYCFC in previous seasons — has been a notable tactical improvement under head coach Nick Cushing’s new defensive structure.

The Philadelphia native joined NYCFC from the Philadelphia Union in 2024 and has developed steadily in New York. This season marks his full emergence as one of the league’s starting-caliber keepers. The All-Star selection is his first career MLS honor and drew praise from across the league, including from Red Bulls goalkeeper Carlos Coronel, who called Freese “the best in the East this year, no question.”

Freese will represent MLS against Liga MX’s All-Stars in the annual exhibition match, scheduled for August 20 at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati. He is expected to start and will line up behind a combined MLS XI that includes players from multiple Eastern and Western Conference clubs.

“Matt has been unbelievable for us,” NYCFC head coach Nick Cushing said at his weekly press conference. “But his focus right now is on our next eight games, and the All-Star game is a brief interruption in what we hope is a much longer story this season.” Freese himself was understated: “It’s a nice recognition. But we haven’t done anything yet.”

NYCFC have conceded just 18 goals in 22 league matches this season, the fewest in the Eastern Conference. Freese’s contributions have been central to that total, and the All-Star selection reinforces what those inside the club have believed since preseason: that New York has, for the first time in years, a goalkeeper who wins them points.