Freedom Misses District Title in Overtime Thriller

Freedom and Steinbrenner high schools were neck-and-neck the whole season. They tied 1-1 in their regular season matchup; neither had lost a district game coming in. Not until the last one-and-a-half minutes of the second, golden goal overtime period did one of them pull ahead and finish 2-1.

It was Steinbrenner on a freshman Remi Brantley shot that gave the Warriors just the right lift at just the right time.

"We wanted to finish before it went to PKs," said Warrior head coach Robert Woodard.

Neither team wanted to let it go to penalty kicks. Freedom had just come off a victory that needed PKs. Steinbrenner didn't want to face a team in PKs that just came off a win. That led to a fantastic finish to an already intense game.

"These girls came out and laid it all on the field," said Patriot head coach Chris Hinkle.

Steinbrenner drew first blood as they ratcheted up the pressure in the last five minutes of the first half. Junior Alexis Bredeau dribbled across the face of the Patriot goal. This brought senior keeper Emily Ball away from the net. Bredeau got it to senior Taylor Valley, who finished it by burying the ball in the back of the net.

The Warriors picked up where they had left off in the second half, pushing the action against Freedom. That's when the Patriots flipped the field and won a free kick just outside the 18-yard box. Junior Alessandra Diioia played it into the box and senior Alyssa Daniello headed it in to knot the game at 1-1.

The game stayed locked at 1-1 despite furious pushes from both sides. The Patriots back line consisting of Diioia, and sophomores Dana Jones and Hanna Seybold held up under the pressure and kept the score tied for regulation and the first overtime period.

Freedom came out for the second overtime with possession. They took the ball down the field with crisp passing like clockwork, played it in to senior Leah Stiling but Stiling couldn't finish. Both teams ramped up their game and the intensity hit fever pitch during the last few minutes. Two yellow cards were handed out in the last overtime period. Finally, Steinbrenner broke through and nailed the golden goal to clinch the district title.

"They didn't want to play safe; they wanted to get that goal," said Woodard.

"They stuck with it all the way, the heart lasted until the end, maybe the legs didn't," said Hinkle.

Freedom will still move on to the quarterfinals on Tuesday, only they will have to travel and Steinbrenner gets to stay home. Should both teams win their quarterfinal match, they will face each other again in the regional semifinals.