Up against the Hilliard Davidson Wildcats, the Liberty girls’ soccer team was confident going into their game on the night of October 3rd. Being the team’s senior night and last regular season game at home, there was a great turnout and the stands were filled. The student section was repping the appropriate blackout attire and held the fatheads of their friends on the team. Sadly, the Varsity boys’ team had a game the same night and couldn’t attend. Overall, the game took a couple of unexpected turns but the Patriots, nonetheless, did not disappoint.

The majority of the game was spent on the opposing team’s side of the field, with many attempts on goal during the first half. The Patriots were relentless, the first try at scoring was by Maddy McCort 12 minutes in. The girls were also highly aggressive, trying their best to make it past the Hilliard’s strong defense and midfield. Two battles for control happen a minute apart by Audrey Kalmar and Ava Petrucci. Petrucci and her opposition kicked the ball at the same time, leaving the other team’s player with an injury she had to be subbed out for. Soon later, Lexie Mitchem had a kick on goal which their goalie blocked. The corner kick that followed sadly wasn’t taken advantage of and around 3 minutes later Petrucci was forced to rush back to defense and prevented the Wildcats from scoring. Chloe Brecht was able to assist Junior Maria Stack which almost ended in a goal. With 13 minutes left in the half, Brecht herself took a shot with her signature power kick a ways from the goal. To the audience’s suspense, the ball went just over the crossbar. As the half ticked away, the Wildcats got closer and closer to Liberty’s goal. Even though the Patriots were excelling in their communication and passing, at 34 seconds left in the half, Hilliard fought the ball into goal. Hailey Myers, Liberty’s goalie, was knocked to the ground yet no foul was called. Meaning the Wildcats had scored the first goal of the half for either team. The teams lined up, Liberty’s girls visibly upset. Kalmar took the ball and traveled over 50 yards by herself, passing through the Wildcat offense and defense as the clock ran out.

After collecting themselves on the side of the field, the Patriots got back on the turf, prepared to come back. It’s 12 minutes in that the Patriots finally score, Audrey Kalmar continuing the momentum she had gained in the first half. The crowd exploded as the game was now at 1-1. This half had even more solid attempts on goal than the first, McCort taking another near miss. 6 minutes after Kalmar, Chloe Brecht scores. Bringing the Patriots out of a tie. Just a minute later, Mitchem followed the ball all the way down the field to what could’ve been a goal if Hilliard’s goalie hadn’t gotten there first and kicked it away. Even though they were winning, it wasn’t a won game just yet. The Wildcats had two potential goals five minutes apart, the first being a close call with a risky save by Myers when she was faced with just one forward. The Wildcats began to fight aggressively, which ended in one of their players hurting Brecht, for which Kalmar took the shot. Josie Keane was also injured by one of the players as they were fighting to bring their losing score up. With multiple missed shots and rebounds, the Patriots were unable to score again, their last near goal being at 2 minutes left in the game. 

The Liberty Girls Patriots fought hard throughout the entire game and because of it, the Wildcats weren’t able to enjoy their lead for long, beating them 2-1. With all positions pulling their weight evenly, the Patriots earned their win and the seniors made their school proud for one of the last times.