Almost no one wanted to see a first-round District XI Class AAA girls’ soccer playoff game pitting Liberty against Freedom because the intensity of that rivalry is second to none, but the Hurricanes prevailed 2-1, and the pressure, at least for last Tuesday, was off.

“It scared me,” said Liberty coach Scott Rodenbach, “because they’re a good team, and they play straight up.”

Liberty captain Ally Lynott concurred.

“I definitely would’ve rather not played Freedom in a district game. There’s more pressure. We should have won, and we knew that we would win. We had to do our best to get control and keep our cool,” said Lynott, a defender.

Two days later, a different type of pressure presented itself to the Hurricanes, as they tried to hold on to a 2-1 halftime lead over Nazareth in the next round of districts.

The Blue Eagles, however, had other plans, and scored three goals in the second half to take a 4-2 lead.

With less than two minutes left in the game, Merve Okumus scored for the Hurricanes on an assist by Erika Peters, but time ran out on Liberty with a 4-3 loss.

Earlier, Liberty forward, Taysia Snead, tied the game 1-1 on an assist by Olivia Askerneese in the first half. Askerneese then put the Hurricanes ahead 2-1 on a corner kick by Peters, but the second half belonged to Nazareth.

Liberty’s journey on the district championship trail was its own success, and defeating a tough Freedom squad was the first, big step.

In the Hurricanes’ first-round game against the Patriots, all of the goals were made in the first half. Cailey Sanchez was the first to score for Liberty on an assist by Okumus, and Snead scored next.

Jaiden Coyne scored for Freedom with less than five minutes left before halftime.

The second half was highlighted by multiple corner kicks for Liberty, but none converted into points, a tribute to Freedom’s defense.

Hurricane goalkeeper, Jessica Becker, had important saves in the second half, one that pulled her out of the box, which ended up being a blessing in disguise.

“It was a lack of communication, but my coach always told me to rely on my instincts,” Becker said. “One of the Freedom players kicked it to the side. Luckily, I was still out there, and it came back to me when she tried again.”

As time wound down, and Freedom made their last attempts at scoring, a lot of talking ensued among the Hurricanes in order to hold on to the lead. One shot on goal by the Patriots deflected off Becker’s fingertips.

“It was all adrenaline. I’m not sure what got into me,” she said.

Going into the Nazareth game, Rodenbach knew that if the Hurricanes played to their capabilities, success would follow, but success is relative, and Liberty’s season-ending 12-7-1 was a success in its own right.

Freedom ended the season with a league record of 8-8 and were 9-10 overall.