Ross Benjamin Friedman (born January 8, 1992) is an American former professional
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
player who played for the
Columbus Crew
The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...
and the
Dayton Dutch Lions
Dayton Dutch Lions is an American association football, soccer team based in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2009, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. From 2011 to 2014, the team played in the ...
as a
defender. In high school he was first team All-
MSL, first team all-district, first team all-Ohio, and
NSCAA
The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than 30 ...
all region. At Harvard University, he
attained two all-time records at Harvard his senior year with 12 season assists and 17 career assists, and was named 2nd team All-
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...
. Professionally, he played for the
Columbus Crew
The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...
and the
Dayton Dutch Lions
Dayton Dutch Lions is an American association football, soccer team based in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2009, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. From 2011 to 2014, the team played in the ...
. He and Team USA won the gold medal at the
2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel.
Early life
Friedman is Jewish, and was born in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
, to Tod and Cheri Friedman, and his hometown was
Bexley, Ohio
Bexley is a suburban city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,928 at the 2020 census. Founded as a village, the city of Bexley is a suburb of Columbus, the Ohio state capital, situated on the banks of Alum Creek next ...
.
He was a member of the
Jewish Community Center
A Jewish Community Center or a Jewish Community Centre (JCC) is a general recreational, social clubs, social, and Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities. JCCs promote Jewish ...
of Greater Columbus.
He began his soccer career at the JCC and on the
Columbus Torah Academy
Columbus Torah Academy (CTA) is a Modern Orthodox Jewish K-12 school in Columbus, Ohio.
About
Columbus Torah Academy provides a comprehensive college preparatory education and a Judaic studies education for Jewish students in the greater Columbus ...
recreational FIFA team.
He attends both
Temple Israel and
Beth Jacob Congregation Beth Jacob Congregation is a Conservative Jewish synagogue located in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1985 and has a membership of 400 families. Beth Jacob is a community of Jews who come together to nurture relationship ...
in Columbus.
High school
Friedman attended
Bexley High School
Bexley High School (BHS) is a public high school located in Bexley, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus.
Athletics
Bexley’s athletic program includes teams in the following sports: Football, Basketball, Baseball, Cheerleading, Cross Country, Field ...
in
Bexley, Ohio
Bexley is a suburban city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,928 at the 2020 census. Founded as a village, the city of Bexley is a suburb of Columbus, the Ohio state capital, situated on the banks of Alum Creek next ...
where he was a four-year letter winner and captained the
Boys' Soccer Team his junior and senior years.
During his tenure at Bexley, he led the team to two state semi-final appearances,
earning first team All-
MSL as a junior, first team all-district, first team all-state and
NSCAA
The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than 30 ...
all region as a senior. Friedman also played for the Crew Soccer Academy that finished 3rd at the Development Academy finals.
College
Friedman committed to
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
(Government, Economics '14) in 2010.
He played in 14 games as a freshman, starting four and scoring the game-winning goal against the
University of Massachusetts
The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medica ...
.
As a sophomore, he started all 17 games and led the team in points with six assists and six points, receiving an
All-Ivy League Honorable Mention.
Friedman attained two all-time records at Harvard his senior year by having 12 season assists and 17 career assists, also ranking 6th in the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
in assists and 5th in assists per game.
He was named 2nd team All-Ivy League as well as named to the Academic All-Ivy League.
He helped the Columbus Crew Junior win the 2010 and the 2011 Super-20 championship
and was named the all-tournament teams in 2010 and 2012.
He was also a member of the fraternity
AEPi at Harvard.
Maccabiah Games
In 2013 Friedman helped
Team USA
The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions.
Olympic teams
Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...
capture the gold medal at the
2013 Maccabiah Games in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, leading the tournament in assists.
He scored on his penalty kick in the overtime shootout in the championship against Argentina.
He said playing in the 2013 Maccabiah Games "was the best and coolest experience in my whole soccer career."
Professional career
Friedman signed as a
Homegrown Player with
Columbus Crew
The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...
on January 8, 2014.
He was loaned out to their
USL Pro
The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...
affiliate
Dayton Dutch Lions
Dayton Dutch Lions is an American association football, soccer team based in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2009, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. From 2011 to 2014, the team played in the ...
in March 2014.
On November 18, 2014, the Crew declined his option.
Friedman then played a short while for an Israeli club in southern Tel Aviv.
In 2015, a significant injury forced him to retire.
After soccer
Friedman then began a career in real estate, working first for Rockbridge, a private
investment firm
An investment company is a financial institution principally engaged in holding, managing and investing securities. These companies in the United States are regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and must be registered under the ...
specializing in hospitality investments, from 2015-18.
In 2018 he and some partners started Main + High Investments, a
private equity
In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a ty ...
and real estate firm in Columbus.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedman, Ross
1992 births
Living people
American soccer players
Jewish American sportspeople
Jewish footballers
Harvard Crimson men's soccer players
Columbus Crew players
Dayton Dutch Lions players
Association football defenders
People from Bexley, Ohio
Soccer players from Columbus, Ohio
USL Championship players
Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States
Maccabiah Games medalists in football
Competitors at the 2013 Maccabiah Games
Homegrown Players (MLS)
Bexley High School alumni
21st-century American Jews