Two goals late in the first half by Conestoga ended Freedom’s girls’ soccer season in the PIAA State quarterfinal on Saturday at Spring-Ford High School in Royersford by a final score of 2-0.

“Honestly, our slip-ups on the defensive end were not marking exactly who we were supposed to mark, and that ended up costing us the game,” said Freedom defender Kira Yost. “They were a good team, though. I’ll give them credit. We’ve all made it this far but we had a few slip-ups.”

With 3:38 remaining in the first half, Conestoga’s Calista Courtney fired a shot into the top right corner.

The Pioneers scored again with :28 left in the first half on a goal by McKenzie Coleman on an assist by Emily Burgess.

“At practice, we did some drills that were cutting off the short passes, but as I’ve said, those were the slip-ups. That’s what we talked about at halftime, actually,” said Yost.

So as the Patriots were able to hold the Pioneers scoreless in the second half, the Pates were unable to score themselves.

“The effort’s been there today and every day,” said Freedom coach Bob Eaton. “It goes back to early June when we were having early workouts. The leadership from the captains has been phenomenal. They got the most out of this team that they could and far exceeded my expectations.”

Freedom goalkeeper Megan Raffino made outstanding saves throughout the second half, one at 20:39 directly in front of the goal, and a diving save on a free kick at 6:55.

“Very honestly, the two goals they got weren’t great goals. We kind of had mental lapses and that hurt us, and who knows what would have happened if we don’t give those up?” Eaton said. “We tried to go out and play our own game, and today it didn’t work. They’re a very good team, and there’s nothing wrong with losing to a good team.”

Two Saturdays ago, the Pates won the district championship. This Saturday, however, wasn’t the outcome they hoped for.

“Absolutely, I think today wasn’t our day,” said Yost. “We’ve proven that we could get this far and it feels amazing. We just had our banquet the other night, and for the first time, that was the only banquet we’ve had that hasn’t been the end of our season. It’s been amazing, and I’m really proud of these girls.”