Liberty needed a win in their season finale against Freedom to clinch their first ever district berth in girls lacrosse, but the ‘Canes came up just short of making program history.

Last week’s showdown with their rival resulted in a 5-5 double overtime draw and kept Liberty (8-9-1) out of the postseason.

The draw did help Freedom (7-8-1) clinch a berth, as the top six teams in District 11’s Class 3A qualified qualify for the tourney.

Biddy McClarin scored three goals for the Hurricanes in the contest and Ellis Corr scored two goals and added an assist, while Erika Broesicke had 14 saves in goal.

Freedom was led by Karee Vandever’s hat trick and Ari O’Keefe registered 13 saves in goal to help stave off Liberty’s push.

“I am so proud of these girls and their performance in a rivalry game,” said head coach Samantha Weinert. “Both teams needed to win and we fought until the last horn. We have never defeated Freedom and this was the closest we have come in program history. I think that is a win in my eyes. We put our entire heart into that game and it showed.”

Liberty’s eight wins is the most in program history and Weinert hopes this can be a building block for an even better future for the program.

“I know we will come up with more wins and not rely on the last game of the season to make program history,” said Weinert. “Liberty girls lacrosse has historically had a losing record and this season we competed in every game. The scores do not reflect how well we played tough opponents in the EPC. We took each game one by one and competed against all opponents. This group of girls is one of the greatest teams I have ever coached and I am so proud of them for what they accomplished this season. This team now has the best record in program history and I am so happy we were able to surpass the previous record during this last game.”

Freedom will now wait until the league tournament is over and prepare for districts.

On the boys side, the Patriots (8-9) held off Liberty (6-11) in their finale last week with an 8-7 victory.

Chase Sipel led the Pates with three goals and Nicholas Lynden and Connor DePaolis each had a pair. Jaxson Stametz recorded 10 saves in the win.

Nathan Vella had a day for the Hurricanes registering four goals in the loss.

Both teams are out of the postseason.