A nonconference soccer match between Freedom and Liberty’s boys teams was just as competitive as always for the crosstown rivals last Thursday night when the Patriots topped the Hurricanes, 2-1, at Freedom.

Freedom forward Logan Shupp wasted no time, scoring his first goal of the season in the sixth minute.

“Corey (James) did a great job crossing it in. I was on the back post and just tapped it in for the finish,” Shupp said.

James also had an assist in the second half on Michael Deluhery’s game winner.

“I saw the ball going about 30 yards past the defender, so I sprinted, I cut back, and then cut back in the middle and served the ball over to Mike, and Mike was just there to finish, one-timer. It was a beautiful finish,” James said. “The first assist was actually a shot, to be honest, and it kind of deflected, and Logan was there to finish.”

The Hurricanes tallied the equalizer on a goal by Kaique Durte-Costa in the 13th minute.

“They challenged us today,” said James. “Their midfield is very controlling, and defensively, they were very aggressive.”

While the rest of the first half was quiet on both sides, the pace of play picked up in the second half.

“The bench was fantastic and kept us going. The subs we put in, the energy didn’t drop,” said Freedom coach Tyler Nolan. “We started to play a little more intelligently, and that was our challenge: focusing on the play, thinking before sprinting, and that’s how we ultimately created that (second) goal.”

The Pates and the ‘Canes exchanged free kicks, shots, and saves, and then, in the 55th minute, Deluhery shot a bullet to the far post.

“Ohmar (Elhussini) played it past Corey, Corey beat him, and I was just unmarked, back post, crossed it, finished,” Deluhery said. “Not backing off was the main thing. We played our game through the whole thing. The main goal was to take away their center backs, play wide, get away from them, and we did good.”

Owen Cassel was in goal for the Hurricanes, and Tristan Willey was the Patriots’ keeper.

While Willey dove from side-to-side on several saves, Cassel saves were high or at the knees.

“They have a lot of good attackers, shifty, quick with the ball, so you just have to stay patient, and I think we kept them in check for the most part,” said Freedom defender Owen Lynn. “You can’t get too high up, you gotta make sure you’re staying back defensively and making sure you’re not giving up anything stupid to them.”

A rematch is scheduled for Oct. 12 at Liberty.