Oregon goalkeeper Leah Freeman dives to her left to make a save against the No. 3 UCLA Bruins. The ball rebounds, and she corrals it with her feet. She then falls on it to preserve her clean sheet. Plays like these are why she’s been so valuable to an Oregon team that’s undefeated through its first nine games and why Oregon secured their first ever tie against UCLA — the first time Oregon has ever held UCLA scoreless.
Freeman didn’t become the starting keeper for the Ducks overnight. The California native’s journey to Eugene began when she was a little kid. Now, more than a dozen years later, Freeman’s stamped an indelible mark on both her high school and collegiate program, and she’s on pace to finish off a career for the record books at Oregon.
She started playing soccer when she was 5 years old and began playing goalkeeper at age 6. At first she would split halves: one at goalkeeper and one at forward.
But, at U-13, she fully converted to the goalkeeper position. It can be the loneliest position, but she had the skills and mentality to step up and commit to refining her craft.
“She’s really mentally tough,” her father Dale Freeman said.
When she was a freshman, she joined the Berkeley High School girls soccer team.
“I think she found a lot of her voice playing for Berkeley High School,” her father said. “In terms of direction, but also in terms of support.
BHS coach Alejandro Mendoza was quick to see her potential. He watched as she grew from a freshman into a team captain and a vocal leader.
“Once the games happened, she turned on this whole different level of beast mode,” Mendoza said. “I was like, ‘If she can turn up like that as a freshman and give everyone hope, imagine you get a little bit of leadership.’ She just picked it up.”
Freeman completely turned around the Berkeley program. Berkeley was 9-10-4 her first year and 5-8-9 her second. During her junior and senior year, the Yellow Jackets finished first in the West Alameda County league with records of 14-4-2 and 18-6-3. The team competed in the North Coast Section Playoffs where they made it all the way to the final. She impressed Mendoza so much that she earned a captain spot as a junior.
Even in the years after she left, Berkeley continues to be a top team in its league. Beyond her talent as a goalkeeper in high school, it was her leadership that was so inspiring to coaches.
“I credit her and a couple players a lot for helping change the culture of our program,” Mendoza said. “Now that she’s not there, those same values are carried to this day… It’s beautiful to see what it is now.”
The dedication to improve the direction of a team is part of what won the coaches over at the University of Oregon as well. She’s contributed to a new culture for the Ducks team –– and, together, they’ve shattered expectations.
In her first year, she established herself as one of the strongest at her position in the Pac-12. She earned a spot on the All-Pac-12 third-team and the All-Pac-12 Freshman team. This season, she has already won Pac-12 goalkeeper of the week as well as the national goalkeeper of the week from top drawer soccer after her commanding performance against UCLA.
“There’s always more to improve on,” Freeman said. “There’s always more to build up.” She also stressed the importance of “making every year better.” She has a lot of experience doing that because it’s all she’s done in her career.
After her first season, she was already on pace to be one of the best keepers that the university has ever seen. In her second, she’s on her way to the record books. Freeman’s on pace to end her time at Oregon with the fifth-most saves, fifth-most wins and most clean sheets by an Oregon goalkeeper in program history. With her drive to improve every season, she could find herself even higher up in the record books.
Freeman has earned the opportunity to represent the United States at a national level from 2017 to 2020. She has been called up to train with the U-16 and U-18 US Women’s National Team, including the U-18 Tricontinental Cup in 2020. As just a sophomore, she has achieved what almost every kid playing soccer in the world hopes to.
One thing is for sure: No matter what she decides to do, she’ll flourish. Her coaches believe as much to be true.
“We’re all here to support her,” Mendoza said “We’re all here to cheer her on. I know she’s gonna do great things.”
