Liberty High School soccer fans hoisted Hurricane forward, Abe Meral, in the air in heroic fashion after he scored both goals in Liberty’s 2-1 victory over Freedom on Thursday night at BASD Stadium.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a hero because we all worked hard,” Meral said.

Meral scored first in the hometown rivalry game, and the Hurricane defense held the Patriots until halftime.

“We talked about correcting our mistakes and changing up our playing style a little, how to utilize the long balls. We’re used to balls being on the ground,” said Meral.

In a game as intense as a rivalry game, however, sometimes things do not go as planned.

“Freedom had a good record coming in, and right off the bat, they came out after halftime and scored,” said Liberty goalkeeper, Tony Silva. “They put us on our heels.”

Steven Riad tied the game on an assist by Chris Szymanski. Then, with a little over 15 minutes left, Meral scored his second goal of the game on an assist by Lloyd Netherlin.

“It’s the best feeling in high school soccer to beat Freedom,” Silva said. “Our defense was great. Chase Tackett played incredibly. Colin Jupina and Colin McIntyre, all those guys.”

Although the rivalry match was typical, Liberty coach Jason Horvath called it one of the best he has seen in his ten years of coaching there.

“That’s a really good team we just played. In some ways, we stole them,” said Horvath. “This [Liberty v Freedom] game is nerve-wracking, and once it starts, game planning goes out the window.

“You’re nervous all day. The kids are nervous in school. You’re nervous before the game starts, and until it ends, you don’t know. They beat us when they weren’t as good, and we beat them when we weren’t as good.”

There will be a second chance for the Patriots when they take on the Hurricanes next week.