Freigang, Germany Secure Bronze Medal Finish at Paris Olympics – Penn State

LYON, France – Penn State women’s soccer alumna and German Women’s National Team member Laura Freigang secured the first Olympic Medal of her career Friday, as Germany dispatched with FIFA World No. 1 Spain in a 1-0 result from Parc Olympique Lyonnais.

Freigang was one of Penn State’s most dominant student-athletes in her two-year stint with the Blue & White, garnering TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI Second Team honors as well as Big Ten All-Freshman Team distinction in her inaugural season in 2016. The Oppenheim, Germany, native continued her dominant stretch of work in Happy Valley the following season in 2017, with Freigang coming alive for PSU in the 2017 B1G Tournament Title run. She netted the match-winning goal with 42 seconds remaining in double overtime to surpass Ohio State in the semifinals and scored the match-tying goal to help guide PSU to the Tournament Championship in a 2-1 finish against Northwestern. In recognition of her efforts, Freigang was named to the B1G All-Tournament Team and secured the Big Ten Tournament Offensive MVP Award as well.

Ahead of the 2018-19 academic year, Freigang elected to pursue a career in professional soccer in her native Germany, starting her senior club career at Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt. Since her debut with the club in 2018, she has contributed 122 appearances while pouring in 72 goals, making her one of the most powerful attacking players in the nation. Her masterpiece season came in 2020-21, when she finished second across all Bundesliga clubs in scoring with 17 goals. In 2021, Freigang extended her contract with Eintracht Frankfurt to remain with the club through the end of the 2024-25 season.

Freigang has recently become a staple in the German Women’s National Team program, rostering with DFB-Frauenteam in multiple major international tournaments in the past few years. Freigang was named to the German squad for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, in addition to finishing as a finalist at the 2022 UEFA European Championship with Team Germany. Freigang was also a member of the third-place German squad that participated in the UEFA Women’s Nations League Finals. Her journey in the national team program began at an early age, with Freigang representing her home nation at the U15 through U20 levels, including one U-17 FIFA Women’s World Cup and a pair of U-20 World Cup appearances. For the Senior Women’s National Team, Freigang has earned 32 career…