Ross Benjamin Friedman (born January 8, 1992) is an American former professional soccer player who played for the Columbus Crew and the Dayton Dutch Lions as a defender. In high school he was first team All-MSL, first team all-district, first team all-Ohio, and NSCAA 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. Professionally, he played for the Columbus Crew and the Dayton Dutch Lions. He and Team USA won the gold medal at the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel.
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Personal information | |||
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Full name | Ross Benjamin Friedman | ||
Date of birth | January 8, 1992 | ||
Place of birth | Columbus, Ohio, United States | ||
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Youth career | |||
2008–2010 | Columbus Crew | ||
2010–2013 | Harvard Crimson | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2014 | Columbus Crew | 0 | (0) |
2014 | → Dayton Dutch Lions (loan) | 16 | (0) |
International career | |||
2013 | Team USA – Maccabiah Games | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 8, 2014 |
Medal record | ||
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Representing ![]() | ||
Football | ||
Maccabiah Games | ||
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2013 Maccabiah | Football |
Early life
editFriedman is Jewish, and was born in Columbus, Ohio, to Tod and Cheri Friedman, and his hometown was Bexley, Ohio.[2][3][4][5][6] He was a member of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Columbus.[7][8] He began his soccer career at the JCC and on the Columbus Torah Academy recreational FIFA team.[8] He attends both Temple Israel and Beth Jacob Congregation in Columbus.[9]
High school
editFriedman attended Bexley High School in Bexley, Ohio where he was a four-year letter winner and captained the Boys' Soccer Team his junior and senior years.[10] During his tenure at Bexley, he led the team to two state semi-final appearances,[11] earning first team All-MSL as a junior, first team all-district, first team all-state and NSCAA all region as a senior.[12] Friedman also played for the Crew Soccer Academy that finished 3rd at the Development Academy finals.[10]
College
editFriedman committed to Harvard University (Government, Economics '14) in 2010.[13] He played in 14 games as a freshman, starting four and scoring the game-winning goal against the University of Massachusetts.[10] 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.[14] 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 in assists and 5th in assists per game.[11] He was named 2nd team All-Ivy League as well as named to the Academic All-Ivy League.[10] He helped the Columbus Crew Junior win the 2010 and the 2011 Super-20 championship[11] and was named the all-tournament teams in 2010 and 2012.[14] He was also a member of the fraternity AEPi at Harvard.[15]
Maccabiah Games
editIn 2013 Friedman helped Team USA capture the gold medal at the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel, leading the tournament in assists.[16] He scored on his penalty kick in the overtime shootout in the championship against Argentina.[16] He said playing in the 2013 Maccabiah Games "was the best and coolest experience in my whole soccer career."[3]
Professional career
editFriedman signed as a Homegrown Player with Columbus Crew on January 8, 2014.[14] He was loaned out to their USL Pro affiliate Dayton Dutch Lions in March 2014.[17] On November 18, 2014, the Crew declined his option.[18]
Friedman then played a short while for an Israeli club in southern Tel Aviv.[15] In 2015, a significant injury forced him to retire.[15]
After soccer
editFriedman then began a career in real estate, working first for Rockbridge, a private investment firm specializing in hospitality investments, from 2015 to 2018.[15] In 2018 he and some partners started Main + High Investments, a private equity and real estate firm in Columbus.[15]
References
edit- ^ "Ross Friedman | MLSsoccer.com". mlssoccer.
- ^ "For Friedman, a Dynamic Career with One Constant | Sports | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com.
- ^ a b "Ross Friedman | Columbus Crew". ColumbusCrew.com.
- ^ "Ross Friedman - 2013 - Men's Soccer". Harvard University.
- ^ "Sports Shorts," Jewish Sports Review, Volume 9, Number 11, Issue 107, Page 19, January/February 2015.
- ^ http://www.templeisrael.org/Bulletin/May_Tikun_2010.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "The Jewish Community Center of Greater Columbus". rssing.com.
- ^ a b "- The Jewish Community Center of Greater Columbus". columbusjcc.org.
- ^ ALEX KRUTCHIK (December 23, 2020). "Crew's crown hits close to home for area soccer players, fans". Columbus Jewish News.
- ^ a b c d "Harvard Soccer – Ross Friedman Profile". Go Crimson. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
- ^ a b c Batterson, Paul (January 23, 2014). "Homegrown Friedman hopes to become a permanent part of the crew". Columbus Free Press. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
- ^ Batterson, Paul (November 18, 2009). "Lions fall in state semi after living on edge". Bexley News. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
- ^ Dukes, Jillian (December 4, 2013). "For Friedman, a Dynamic Career with One Constant". The Crimson. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
- ^ a b c "Columbus Crew sign academy products Ross Friedman, Matt Walker to Homegrown deals". MLS Soccer. January 8, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e "FridayPiday: Ross Friedman (Harvard, 2014) | AEPi".
- ^ a b Meagher, Jake (October 16, 2013). "Friedman Sparks Soccer Victory". The Crimson. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
- ^ "Crew sends five players on loan to Dayton Dutch Lions of USL-PRO | Columbus Crew". thecrew.com. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
- ^ "Crew Declines Options On Seven Players". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved March 1, 2016.