After playing to a 1-1 tie in the first half, something changed on the Patriots’ side and Freedom took a 2-1 victory over Liberty on Thursday night at BASD Stadium.

“The girls absolutely stepped it up in the second half,” said Patriot coach Bob Eaton. “We told them to play our game, play quick, play fast, get the ball up the field, creating chances. We were really aggressive tonight and did a really great job.”

Freedom forward Haley Gschrey scored the first goal of the game with 22:26 left in the first half.

“The last defender kicked it back to the goalie and it’s really wet out so I knew I had to pressure the ball, and the keeper made a bad touch, so I knew I could get it and score,” Gschrey said.

Rain fell for most, if not all of the game, as it had done all day, but the temperature remained warm.

Liberty forward Merve Okumus tied the game with 11:43 left in the first half on an assist by Jess DelCorso.

But at halftime, Coach Eaton implored his Patriots to do better, be better.

“We’ve been so close all year. We lost five games by one goal, and we just needed to get over the hump,” Eaton said. “Tonight, we got over the hump.”

Gschrey’s free kick from the 20 gave the Patriots the eventual win.

“I knew I had to use a little skill to get it, so I tried to knuckleball it,” she said.

Freedom goalie Jenelle Romig had 14 saves in the game, and Liberty keeper Bridget MacDonald had 11 saves.

“Liberty’s a great team so that adrenaline is always rushing. Therefore, I’m really nervous but I’m also really pumped. It’s just a big accomplishment that we got the win. We fought through and came back and we showed them what we actually have,” said Romig.

Freedom and Liberty will continue their seasons in the District XI tournament, scheduled to begin Oct. 23.

Liberty will also compete in the EPC playoffs with a match against Whitehall, which will have been played on Tuesday, past Press deadlines.