Freedom’s boys’ soccer team won its rivalry match against Liberty, 1-0, last Tuesday at Freedom.

“No overtime today. We didn’t want to let it go to overtime,” said Patriot defender Zachary Shay. “We wanted to come out, press early. It was a hard-fought game. They played great, and they did have a lot of chances, but at the end, 1-0, Freedom. That’s the best feeling for a Freedom player.”

The Patriots played a string of overtime games as of late, but if there’s one game no one wanted to see end in a tie, it was this one.

“We finished the game off this time which is exactly what we wanted,” said Freedom coach Matt Reightler. “We got our goal from our set pieces which is something we’ve been working hard on, and then we were able to make the changes we wanted to hold that lead and get our eighth shutout of the year.”

Before last Tuesday, Liberty had six consecutive clean sheets, and added another this Monday with a shutout against Bethlehem Catholic.

But with 10:09 left in the Freedom Liberty match, Patriot defender Liam Pheiffer scored the only goal of the game after a free kick.

“All of a sudden the ball came loose, and I tapped it in. It was an amazing feeling,” Pheiffer said. “I knew if we all worked together, we could hold the lead.”

Even at halftime, the Patriots could feel a shift in their favor.

“It was clear the game was starting to go in our direction because at the end of the half, we saw how we could expose their defense,” Reightler said. “Another big thing was stepping to those balls first. Everything Liberty was getting was when they stepped to the ball first, won that ball in the air, and if we could eliminate that then they weren’t going to have any options.”

Patriot pressure forced the Hurricanes to play long as Freedom shifted more defensively toward the end of the game.

“Part of that was throwing [freshman] Austin [Hoffert] in there and moving Shay up, and it worked, and we were able to close down the middle of the field,” Reightler said.

The Patriots and Hurricanes will meet again in a match scheduled for Oct. 11 at Liberty.