The rivalry between Liberty and Easton soccer may not be the typical City of Bethlehem rivalry Hurricane fans are used to, but it is, what Liberty soccer coach Jason Horvath calls, " a hatred that brews out of respect because they don't know how to quit."

Knowing that the Red Rovers just don't go away, the Hurricanes were more than prepared to win their first district playoff game against Easton last Wednesday, but in typical fashion, the Red Rovers would not go away without a fight to the finish.

With the score tied 1-1 at the end of regulation, two overtimes saw no scoring by either team.

Advancing to the penalty kick phase, Steve Koutsoumbis, Colin Muller, and Chase Tackett made their penalty kicks for the Hurricanes, but the Red Rovers made three as well.

Advancing to sudden death, the pressure mounted for everyone, especially Liberty goalkeeper, Anthony Silva.

"It was very nerve-wracking. I had to keep a clear head, and if I didn't make a save, I couldn't dwell on it," said Silva.

Thomas Epsaro made the first penalty kick for Liberty, and Easton responded, making its kick. Chris Ebersole made the second penalty kick for Liberty, and Kenny Flores attempted a penalty kick for Easton, but Silva was called for going over the line.

Flores's second attempt was saved by Silva, and the Hurricanes swarmed their keeper.

Coach Horvath said, "To make two saves in a row, and one was called back, that took a lot of poise on his end."

Ironically, both Epsaro and Ebersole had to wait until sudden death to attempt their kicks because Epsaro had a yellow card, and Ebersole hurt his ankle.

Ebersole said, "It was just a lot of pressure, so I was relieved. And it was an excellent save by Tony."

During regulation, Ryan Betts scored in the first period for the Red Rovers.

At halftime, Liberty knew they could play better than they had been.

"If we got to the ball first, we could outclass them as a team. We wanted to get to the ball first, get it on the floor, and keep it there," said Horvath.

With 13:13 left in the second period, Ebersole got the ball from an outside back.

"Someone was coming on me, so I trapped it, ran around him, and saw Tom and played it up to him. Someone was on him, but he was making runs all game," Ebersole said.

Epsaro took the pass, split two defenders, and took a shot that went into the left corner.

"There were still 13 minutes left, so personally, I tried to play hard and do whatever to win the game. We're sort of a small team, so we kept the ball on the ground and kept possession of the ball," said Epsaro.

Coach Horvath considered the Hurricane victory a huge success for his team.

"Things being what they were [in regulation] didn't happen. They showed great resolve in coming back. We prepared for Easton from day one because we figured we'd get Easton [as an opponent in districts]. They're just a hard-working team. They don't go away."

Two days later, the Hurricanes were on the losing end of a 1-0 overtime district quarterfinal game against Parkland to end its season.