The 2016 MLS Cup will be decided on December 10 at BMO Field. Toronto FC will take on the Seattle Sounders at 8:00PM.

Throughout the week leading up to the Cup, TorontoFC.ca will be rolling out a new series called  “Tale of the Tape.” The series will highlight a key positional matchup and give you a rundown of the players. The first entry of the series is in between the posts, with keepers Clint Irwin and Stefan Frei.

Clint Irwin

Clint’s journey to Saturday’s MLS Cup was a long one. The 27-year old began his professional career playing in the non-sanctioned Canadian Soccer League, before earning a preseason tryout with the Colorado Rapids in 2013. Irwin earned the starting job out of camp and appeared in 89 games for the Rapids over the course of three seasons.

The Reds acquired Irwin in a trade with the Rapids the last offseason. Irwin got his tenure with the Reds off to a great start,  earning six clean sheets in TFC’s first 15 regular season games.

Clint Irwin pic.twitter.com/83R5Rcs1i9

— Toronto FC (@torontofc) May 21, 2016

However, on June 25, Irwin was removed from a game with a severe quad injury. The injury sidelined the keeper for two and a half months. Irwin made his return to the lineup on September 24 and started four out of the final five games for the Reds. Overall, Irwin went 6-6-6, while posting a 1.21 goals against average.

Irwin has been great for the Reds during their 2016 MLS Cup playoff run. He has started each game and has recorded two clean sheets.  

Stefan Frei

The former Red has made a name for himself with the Sounders. Frei made his professional debut with TFC in 2009 after being drafted in the first round (13th overall). Frei made 82 appearances for Toronto before being traded to the Sounders prior to the 2014 season.

Frei has since appeared in 98 games for the Sounders over the course of three seasons, all as the club’s starter. This year Frei put up a 14-13-6 record. He recorded eight clean sheets and posted a 1.24 goals against average.

Frei has been an important piece to the Sounder’s 2016 run to the MLS Cup. He has only conceded three goals in the team’s five games. He has a 0.60 goals against average while stopping 82.6% of the shots he has faced.

Who do you think has the edge in net? Let us know @TorontoFC on twitter. Tomorrow we will look at the key matchup on defence between Drew Moor and Chad Marshall.