In only their second year as a varsity program, the Freedom boys lacrosse team has faced some bumps and bruises.

Last year they finished 4-11 overall and 3-7 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. With aspirations of a District 11 berth in 2016, the Patriots hoped a new year brought new and better outcomes this time around.

But 2015 EPC runner-up Parkland did not help out. The Trojans dominated on both ends of the field in a 17-1 victory last Monday afternoon at Bethlehem Area School District stadium.

“We’re just trying to make it a better program, a respectable program around the Lehigh Valley” said head coach Tony Fabrizio. “We want to be compared with the Parklands, the Eastons, the Emmauses, and the Central Catholics. It’s just tough with our numbers this year. It’s a small program, we only have 27 kids for JV and varsity. Hopefully within the next few years we continue to see this program grow.”

Parkland didn’t waste any time jumping out ahead of the Patriots. The Trojans scored four goals in the opening quarter, including four different players finding the back of the net. Dru Miller, Zach Getchius, Ryan Geroulo and James Cipolla all had first quarter goals, and each player had multiple goals during the game.

Parkland (3-1) had six players record multiple goals, including a game-high three from Gavin Saylor, all in the second quarter.

“They have a lot of weapons, a lot of different players that they throw at you that can score,” noted Fabrizio. “It was tough for our defense keeping up with their quality of play.”

Parkland added six more goals in the second quarter and took a 10-1 lead into halftime. Andrew Conzola tallied the only goal for Freedom late in the quarter when he fired a shot that bounced in between the legs of goalie Joey Stevenson.

Patriots senior goaltender Hunter Hostage had his hands full all game long. The Trojans outshot Freedom 27-9, and Hostage made 10 saves.

“He’s a great player,” added Fabrizio on Hostage. “Talking with other coaches, they’re surprised they didn’t know about him before. He’s never gotten a lot of hype, but he’s a very good goalie. He’s our leader on defense and a huge asset for our team.”

Parkland added seven more goals in the second half, and kept Freedom off the board for the victory. It was the second straight big EPC loss this season for the Patriots, who fell 16-2 to Easton last week.

“I just told the guys to keep your heads up,” Fabrizio stated. “Every program has started out where we are. They all had to start somewhere. We’re in the early stages of ours. We’ll get there. We have a good feeder program and a good core coming up. Everything is there we just need time to grow.”