Harvard graduate uses science to become US goalkeeper at World Cup

When Matt was 10, he faced a problem: a local peer was considered a better football goalie because he could get fully airborne.

Already facing hundreds of shots every day in backyard training with his older brother, Matt knew he needed to improve his diving. He retreated to his bedroom, launching himself onto his mattress and catching invisible balls, lifting his feet to avoid the wooden frame.

“Maybe that’s why my bed broke,” Matt told NBC News.

Fast forward to 2026, Matt got his chance on the global stage. He is actively competing with another Matt, Turner, to be the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. national team at this World Cup. Joining the roster just 17 months ago as a relatively unknown goalie, Matt is eager to prove himself.

He reached this point by scraping through the collegiate and professional ranks, channeling his childhood dedication.

“I just continue to remind myself. I’m always a student of the game,” Matt said.

Academic excellence runs deep in his family. His paternal grandparents, Ernst and Elisabeth, were German scientists who immigrated to the U.S. after World War II to work for the National Institutes of Health. Ernst was a renowned molecular biologist who studied DNA mutations. His aunt, Katherine, is a leading astrophysicist and dark matter expert. Matt’s late father, Dr. Andrew Freese, was a Harvard-educated neurosurgeon who earned a PhD. from MIT before passing away in 2021. He was regarded as a pioneer in gene therapy.

With a lineage full of prominent academics, Katherine noted that it is “kind of the family business.” When Matt announced his ambition to become a professional football player, he was met with skepticism. His father worried his son would be swallowed up by the sports industry, while other relatives feared he would spend his life sitting on the bench and Katherine said it would never work, according to NBC News.

Eventually, Matt and his father compromised. Matt attended Harvard to study economics and play for the football team there, staying for two seasons before signing with Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union in 2018. He later capitalized on online classes during the pandemic to finish his degree in 2022. However, his father did not get to see him graduate.

Matt Reese graduates from Harvard in 2022. Photo by Instagram/@mattyicefreese

Matt utilized his academic environment well, writing an extensive research project on penalty kicks. As he rose through the professional ranks, his greatest strength became his analytical, scientific approach to goalkeeping.

“I think people typically, incorrectly, think that it’s a position where you’re a shot-stopper,” Matt said, as quoted by AOL. “What you’re trying to do is prevent goals. Whether that’s through proactive, good positioning, good communication, understanding of the game, reading of a play.”

He views the goalkeeper role as a constant survey of the field to diagnose threats, aiming to maximize the surface area he can cover at any given point.

Katherine believes Matt inherited a problem-solving mind from his father.

“It’s a logical and analytical mind,” she told NBC News. “In math and physics, you have to be creative. You can’t just blindly turn to equations. You have to think: What if we put A and B together? You’re putting pieces together in a way people didn’t see before. We have that skill. We can see things.”

Despite constant involvement, Matt believes goalkeepers are judged on a handful of defining moments.

“You’ll typically get two to three per game, maximum,” he added. “You need to be fully focused and present and 100% explosive during those moments.”

To prepare, Matt studies opponent video but limits his use of technology, including phone and social media. He maintains a simple diet of chicken, vegetables and seasonal carbs, while prioritizing meditation and morning sunlight to stay in tune with his natural biology as much as possible.

Matt Freese and Lionel Messi during an MLS game. Photo by Instagram/@mattyicefreese

Physical genetics also plays a role. His maternal grandfather, Jack Geary, was a professional football player and Air Force pilot. Matt honors him by wearing the No. 49 jersey for his MLS club, New York City FC, according to Fox Sports.

“My mom says I remind her of him: Big, broad shoulders, 6’5 (1.95m). He was number 49 during his football career, and so that’s why I love 49. I’d wear it at the World Cup, but the highest number allowed is 26,” he said.

Matt has proved to be lethal during penalty kicks and one-on-one situations. He started for the U.S. during the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup, starring in a quarterfinal penalty shootout against Costa Rica, where he made three crucial saves to secure a 4-3 victory.

The performance highlighted his unique profile: a Harvard-educated athlete who researched penalty strategy. Yet, unlike a scientist eager to publish his studies, Matt closely guards his conclusions.

“It’s too early. I have too many penalty shootouts left in my career to really talk about that stuff,” he told NBC. “When I’m 42 and I’m retired, we can talk again.”