Freedom wakes up in time to give Parkland nightmares in EPC boys soccer final – lehighvalleylive.com

Freedom High School senior center fullback Austin Hoffert admitted the Patriots werent on their game in the first 10 minutes of Saturday mornings Eastern Pennsylvania Conference boys soccer championship game against Parkland.

But once the third-seeded Patriots got their wake-up call, they enforced their will on top-seeded Parkland to produce a comprehensive 5-0 victory that had the fans and players in black and gold satisfied all-around at Emmaus Memorial Field.

We started slowly the first 10 minutes but after that we knew we were going to win, Hoffert said. Mistakes really hurt us in the first game against them (2-1 overtime loss on Sept. 25).

The Patriots have won 13 games in a row since the loss to Parkland. They defeated second-seeded Central Catholic 3-1 in the semifinals.

Their (Freedoms) intensity was outstanding, Parkland coach Patrick Birns said. They were moving off the ball when they had it, and we werent moving off the ball when we had it. They played with high energy.

Freedom senior forward Peter Tichy lived up to his status as the EPCs leading goal-scorer. He was involved in all five Patriots scores with three goals and two assists. Not bad for someone who is in his first season as Freedoms primary offensive threat.

Both feel great, Tichy said of whether he enjoys scoring goals or dishing out assists better. I just want to help the team, so both are equal to me.

Tichy scored with 11:31 left in the first half when he lofted a shot from 25 yards out over the head of Parkland backup goalie Trevor Grice, who had drifted off his line. Grice was in for a few minutes after starter Matt Link was injured after a collision in front of the net with Freedoms Sebastian Garces.

That was a great shot, Birns said.

The Patriots (18-3) went up 2-0 eight minutes into the second half. Garces collected the ball in the middle of the field, passed to Tichy and he one-touched it to senior Michael Krents, who crashed in from the right side to shoot it past Link.

A few minutes later Parkland registered its best shot on goal, but the rocket ricocheted off Freedom defender Vincenzo Rosete who was planted on the goal line.

Then, Tichy pumped in his second goal for a 3-0 advantage with 19:05 left, and he added his third goal on a penalty kick when he was taken down in the box with 7:13 remaining.

Tichy concluded his golden effort when his corner kick was headed in by Hoffert for his ninth goal of the season.

That was just icing on the cake, Hoffert said.

Shutting out Parkland, which was coming off an emotional 1-0 overtime win over rival Emmaus in the semifinals, was even more satisfying to Hoffert, who orchestrated the defense in front of junior goalie Tristan Willey (eight saves).

That 0 meant a lot and the five goals was nice, too, Hoffert said.

The first time we played them we played a good game, but we got defensive after we scored first, Freedom coach Matt Reightler said. Today, we played our game and took it to them.

Reightler said theres no one calmer on the field than Tichy, and the Division I prospect maintained his flatline emotions after the impressive win.

The jobs not done; we still have districts, he said matter of factly.

Freedom will be the top seed for the District 11 Class 4A tournament that begins Tuesday with first-round games and concludes Thursday, Nov. 4, with the championship game.

Corky Blake can be contacted at sports@lehighvalleylive.com.

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Freedom wakes up in time to give Parkland nightmares in EPC boys soccer final - lehighvalleylive.com