Freedom and Liberty’s boys soccer teams settled for a 0-0 draw in their final regular season match on Oct. 14 at Liberty.

“I’m proud of the way we fought after being a man down and defended in front of the goal, and we even got some chances on their goal,” said Liberty coach Jason Horvath. “It was definitely a tense game. It’s a very good team we just played, and, you know, we held them off.”

Last Wednesday night was the first time in 14 games that the Hurricanes didn’t lose to the Patriots.

“We had a really good chance, early on, could have put one away,” said Horvath, regarding a shot by Murilo Santana. “Great save by the keeper (Ben Rodriguez), and then at the end of the game, we had some moments of, Oh, my God, maybe this is gonna happen here, and, well, it just didn’t, so, it’s a tough way for a game to end but there’s certainly worse alternatives.”

Freedom used the long ball several times in the first half, one of which almost resulted in a header by Caden Grimmer.

“I felt we were giving a little bit too much space to operate,” Horvath said. “We put them under a little bit of pressure, and we certainly could have done a little more of that in the second half, but when we did, we did force mistakes, and it did create opportunities to start going towards goals. So, you know, really we were happy with what was going on. It’s just, we felt that we were showing them a little too much respect, and could play them a little tighter, and put them under more pressure and not be so afraid of them.”

Later in the second half, Liberty goalie Christian Hackett knocked down the ball off a corner kick, but Hackett was far enough out that Freedom missed a good opportunity to score.

“I know I’m the last line of defense, but the real goalies are my four defenders, my back line, and they do a very good job of clearing the ball before I come out or stepping into the guys that are shooting, which takes a huge angle away,” Hackett said. “I know that we can be better and we can 100 percent compete with Freedom, but you’re never disappointed in taking points, and for how chippy this game was, I would say I’m really proud of my team. Our midfield took control of the game, swinging the ball out. And I give my props to Freedom, a very well-coached team. They are a good team, but to be able to come in here and tie our rival, I’m personally happy with that.”

Five yellow cards were handed out to the Patriots, and three yellows were given to the Hurricanes, but it was a red card for Liberty late in the second half that put the home team in jeopardy.

“It was very hard,” said Hurricane defender Matias Nicolas Palma. “They were coming at us on the attack, but that’s just how the game is sometimes. The crosses that they were kicking in were hard to clear out, and we had to contest their very hard play. I’m not too happy with the tie, but I’m glad we didn’t lose.”

Hackett made 9 saves in the second half.

“The red card was unfortunate, but it was more like, we gotta keep going and making sure that my boys are marking up on their man,” he said. “It’s a very quick game, and we can’t let one thing slow us down.”

Coach Horvath was impressed with the Hurricane defense.

“They were really, really stout back there, and they would sacrifice themselves, put themselves in front of a lot of shots, and go after a lot of balls inside the 18,” he said. “Freedom is a very strong team, and a lot of things forward, and they run at that goal, and they’re fearless in front of the goal, so we had to step up tonight and really stand in and take some punishment.”

Rodriguez made a total of 4 saves for the Pates.