After a fast start to the season, the brakes have been put on Freedom's winning ways.

The Patriots have dropped four straight games, falling to 4-5 overall following Saturday's 42-40 overtime defeat at home to Williamsport.

The loss came on the heels of a disappointing 52-49 loss on Friday night to Nazareth, which gave the Pates their first blemish in league play this season, falling to 3-1 in LVC action so far.

"That was a tough loss for us," said head coach Joe Stellato. "Three of these last four losses have been to good non-league opponents, but we had a chance to go 4-0 in the LVC and we didn't do it against Nazareth. Liberty lost to Allen that night too and we had a chance to help ourselves out and we didn't."

And part of the problem for Freedom has been their tendency to rely on three point attempts, which is what Stellato has been trying to curb all season long.

That came to a head Friday night against the Blue Eagles, as Freedom attempted an astounding 27 field goals from behind the arc, making only eight of those attempts.

Nigel Long, who led the team in scoring against Williamsport with 15 points, had 12 against Nazareth, as David Williams led the team in scoring with 14 points.

But on Saturday night, Williams struggled to put points on the board, finishing with six points and not getting a single shot in the fourth quarter.

"Nazareth hit shots and we didn't," Stellato said. "If we don't make shots, we're not going to win and that's why I've been preaching to our guys to get the ball inside. We need balance. We did that on Saturday against Williamsport in the first half, but then got away from it in the second half. We also had guys not take advantage of some looks inside and we have to be more aggressive in there, especially if I'm going to preach about getting the ball inside."

Freedom is now looking to find rhythm as they head into this week, starting with Tuesday night's must-win situation against a struggling Northampton (2-7, 0-4) side. They take on a surging Allen (6-3, 3-1) team tonight and close out the week against Parkland (9-1, 4-1) on Friday.

Needless to say, Stellato knows his team needs to have a good week to stay in LVC contention.

"We really have to take one game at a time," he said. "If we can get two wins this week, it would be huge for us."