Almost a month to the day since Freedom and Liberty last came face to face, the Patriots clinched a 1-0 victory over the Hurricanes and an EPC Steel Division soccer championship last Thursday night, Freedom’s senior night, at Freedom High School.

“Since we lost to them last time, we’ve been angry about that since September 11th. We just wanted that back,” said Patriot midfielder Jared Whitehorn, who scored the only goal of the game approximately 15 minutes into the first half.

Brad Turocy had the assist.

“Will [Tichy] sent me a through ball over the top and they couldn’t handle it too well, so kicked it into my stomach, crossed it to Jared one time, finished the chance,” Turocy said. “Great finish. It’s a great feeling when you connect with your best friend and score the goal for the win.”

Always an emotional game, fans filled the bleachers and lined the fence opposite the players’ benches on a night they had all been waiting for.

“I had to be first at every ball no matter how much pain I was in because I was cramping at the end,” said Whitehorn. “We have to connect and we have that chemistry.”

Freedom goalkeeper Derek Bast made nine saves.

“There were a lot of emotions this week. It’s all I’ve been thinking about,” Bast said. “It’s Liberty. When are we going to get another shot at them? To beat them for the division title, there’s no better feeling.”

For the Patriot defenders, including Andrew Youwakim, Jayden Dancsecs, Wes Young, and Liam Phieffer, their success came down to organization, starting with Bast.

“The goals we’ve given up this season, it’s just been a lack of organization, and it starts with me. I need to be the vocal point so that we can’t let up another cheap goal,” Bast said.

“All season my defense has brought it. We haven’t had many clean sheets. We’ve had a couple goals go in late, a couple set piece goals, but today we had it all organized. Defense did a fantastic job. I needed this clean sheet tonight. It was huge for me.”

Dancsecs even made a run down the field in the final minutes of the game.

“I think it was a corner kick or a free kick down in the box and I was just trying to get it up, and I saw there was nobody in front of me so I just took it and kept running,” Dancsecs said. “I just so happened to get down and beat everyone and took a shot. It was unlucky I missed it.”