Hunter Freeman (born January 8, 1985 in

Tyler, Texas Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County, Texas, Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the List of cities in Texa ...

) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

soccer player who currently is the director of domestic scouting for

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team succeeded the lower-division team of the ...

Career

College and amateur

As a teenager, Freeman trained in residency at the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

's Bradenton Academy with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Under-17 national team. Upon graduating, he attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

, where he played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United K ...

from 2002 to 2004. Freeman led the nation in his junior season with 21 assists, and was named first-team All- Atlantic Coast Conference. He also played with the Texas Spurs in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...

Professional

Following the 2004 season, Freeman signed a

Generation adidas Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U. ...

contract with Major League Soccer and was subsequently selected seventh overall in the

2005 MLS SuperDraft The 2005 MLS SuperDraft, held in Baltimore, Maryland on January 14, 2005, was the sixth incarnation of the annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. Expansion club Real Salt Lake had the first pick as the result of a coin toss (fellow newcomers C.D. ...

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

. He would go on to appear in 47 league matches, including 38 starts for Colorado during his two years at the club. In March 2007, Freeman was traded to

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

for a

2008 MLS SuperDraft The 2008 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 18, 2008 in Baltimore, Maryland. It was the ninth annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection was made by the Kansas City Wizards, after acquiring the selection from the expansion San ...

3rd round pick and a 2009 4th round Supplemental Draft pick. Freeman scored his first MLS goal in a 1–0 win over

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...

on April 26, 2007. After a promising start to his Red Bull career, Freeman was forced to the sidelines due to injury and his form suffered. He eventually lost his starting role, but by the end of the season he regained his form and contributed to the team's playoff run. During the 2007 regular season Freeman appeared in 16 games, including 15 starts, scoring one goal and assisting on another. He also started and played the full 90 minutes in the club's two playoff games. He was traded to

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

on September 12, 2008. Despite Freeman having already agreed to join

IK Start Idrettsklubben Start (or simply IK Start, translates to The sports club Start ) is a Norwegian football club from the city of Kristiansand that currently plays in the 1. divisjon, the second tier of the Norwegian football league system. The c ...

of the Norwegian leagues, Toronto FC gave up two supplemental draft picks to acquire him for four months. Trade conditions also dictated that New York retain the MLS rights to Freeman. On July 11, 2009, Freeman scored his first goal for Start on a free kick. Start won the game 2–1. After two seasons with IK Start, Freeman moved back to the US, joining Houston Dynamo. Houston sent allocation money to New York to acquire the rights to Freeman. Houston also received a third-round selection in the

2012 MLS SuperDraft The 2012 MLS SuperDraft was the thirteenth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 12, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. (ET). The draft was reduced from three rounds to two with the 19 MLS clubs selecting a total of 38 p ...

. At season's end, Houston declined his 2012 contract option and he entered the 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft. Freeman was selected by

in stage two of the draft on December 12, 2011. He signed with Colorado on January 6, 2012. At the end of 2012, Colorado declined the 2013 contract option for Freeman and he entered the

2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft The two-stage 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 7, 2012 (Stage 1) and December 14, 2012 (Stage 2). All 19 Major League Soccer clubs were eligible to participate. The Stage 1 and Stage 2 Drafts were conducted in the same order as the t ...

. On December 14, 2012, Freeman was selected in stage two of the draft by

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...

, but was never signed. Freeman signed with the expansion

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

on February 12, 2013. During their reboot season, Freeman appeared and started in 13 games for the Cosmos and logged 1160 minutes for the club. The season culminated in a 1–0 championship game victory over the Atlanta Silverbacks, as the Cosmos were awarded the 2013 NASL Soccer Bowl. Freeman helped anchor a defense that allowed an NASL-low 12 goals during the 2013 Fall season. Freeman played in all 810 minutes of the 2014 Spring season and was part of a defense that allowed an NASL-low three goals in nine games while posting a 6–1–2 (W-D-L) record and finished in second place in the NASL Spring standings. The Cosmos defense also set an NASL modern-day record, going 372 minutes without conceding a goal. Freeman played in every minute of every game in the 2014 season except for the last regular season game of the year when he was rested for the playoffs. Freeman contributed a goal and two assists in his 26 starts and 2340 minutes of action and was named the Emirates Cosmos Player of the Year for his 2014 performance. He was nominated to the NASL Team of the Week four times over the course of the 2014 season. In 2015, Freeman made 14 starts in 15 appearances for the Cosmos in their Championship season. He scored two goals and added two assists in 1,217 minutes throughout that time. Freeman also logged a full 180 minutes in both matches of the Championship en route to his second NASL title with the Cosmos.

International

Freeman has played for various youth United States national teams, and was part of the

United States U-20 men's national soccer team The United States U-20 men's national soccer team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation. The highest level of competition in which the team competes is the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which is held every two years. The United States' b ...

at the

2005 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 15th edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in the Netherlands between 10 June and 2 July 2005. Venues Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 2005 FIFA Wor ...

. He was also called up to the

United States U-23 men's national soccer team The United States U-23 men's national soccer team, also known as the United States men's Olympic soccer team, is a youth soccer team operated under the auspices of U.S. Soccer. Its primary role is qualification into and competition at the quadri ...

for the

2008 CONCACAF Men's Pre-Olympic Tournament The 2008 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualification was the twelfth edition of the CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying, the quadrennial, international, age-restricted football tournament organised by CONCACAF to determine which men's under-23 national tea ...

, which qualified the Americans for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Broadcasting

Freeman was a color commentator with ONE World Sports for their coverage of the

2015 Asian Cup The 2015 AFC Asian Cup was the 16th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in Australia from 9 to 31 January 2015. The tournament wa ...

. Also, while he was out with injury, he was a color commentator for the April 11th Cosmos' match against the

Indy Eleven Indy Eleven is an American professional soccer team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2013, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2014, before moving to the United Soccer League in 2018. The franchise plays it ...

References

External links

*
Profile on MetroFanatic.comaltomfotball.noNew York Cosmos Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Hunter 1985 births Living people American expatriate sportspeople in Canada American expatriate soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Norway Colorado Rapids players Expatriate footballers in Norway Expatriate soccer players in Canada Association football defenders Association football midfielders Houston Dynamo FC players IK Start players Major League Soccer players New York Cosmos (2010) players Miami FC players North American Soccer League players Eliteserien players Sportspeople from Tyler, Texas New York Red Bulls players Soccer players from Texas DFW Tornados players Toronto FC players USL League Two players Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players Colorado Rapids draft picks American soccer players FC Cincinnati non-playing staff Adelphi Panthers men's soccer coaches