Freedom’s boys soccer team approached their match against Whitehall with a renewed focus and shut out the Zephyrs, 4-0, on Aug. 29 at Whitehall.

“After we lost to Parkland, whoever we played second, we wanted to get back on a winning streak,” said Freedom coach Tyler Nolan. “I always believe that losing’s contagious. Next thing you know, you’re 0-3, 0-4, and that’s not what we want. We played really well against Parkland. Just didn’t convert some chances, so it was wanting to get those chances, but most importantly, leave here with a win no matter what.”

Within minutes after being subbed into the match, Freedom midfielder Logan Espinal scored the Patriots’ first goal.

“We were patient in our press, and wanted to get them in a position where we could win the ball back. It’s a gift for us, but it’s one of those we deserved because we set ourselves up well,” Coach Nolan said.

Less than two minutes later, Freedom forward Ryan Freeman-Nield took a shot straight up the middle to score on an assist by Connor Blake.

“We were moving the ball around, getting into space better, moving it up, and we were able to get the ball out wide a lot, and able to cross it,” Freeman-Nield said. “It was a really big win because it boosted us in a good direction from our last game against Parkland. I think this is gonna point us in a good direction for the rest of the season.”

Whitehall maintained possession for a good four minutes toward the end of the first half but couldn’t convert on an attempt by John Hanna.

A trip from behind resulted in a penalty kick for Freedom forward Michael Deluhery in the 36th minute.

“Really, I was trying to keep calm,” Deluhery said. “The keeper was just playing mind games, holding the ball, keeping it away from me, so I was like, OK, let him do his thing. Once I got the ball, put it down, picked my spot, and put it there. I stared him down a little bit. Let him know that I was there. I mean, I scored. He knew it.”

The goal allowed the Patriots to take a 3-0 lead into halftime.

“It was a pretty clear penalty ... a good one for Mike and good to get him off and running,” said Nolan. “He’s a goal scorer, and it’s always good as a goal scorer to see the ball go in the back of the net.”

One free kick per team failed early in the second half, and Whitehall’s Reed Felker made a nice cross in front of Freedom’s goal but to no advantage.

Then, in the 61st minute, Patriot midfielder Alejandro Herrera nailed a shot to the left corner for the first goal of Herrera’s high school career.

“I just remember running down the right side of the wing, and I saw that [Brady Sutton] had the ball, and I had an open gap on the right side of the field. I was screaming for the ball, of course, like, I saw that I had a pretty open shot. I took the touch and hit it left corner. I saw it go in, and I just remember celebrating,” Herrera said. “First in my head, I said, ‘Thank you, God.’ I gave all glory to God because I know it could seem simple, but I’ve been praying about this for a long time, and I ran to the corner, and I gave Him all the praise, and then I saw all my teammates run down, and I was just thanking Him and they were all supporting me, and it was an awesome team win.”

Coach Nolan and the Patriots continued the celebration in the postgame huddle.

“Ale’ kind of plays the unglorious role of our holding midfielder, and he’s an unsung hero and always has been. He really stepped up his game last year and even against Parkland, he was winning tackles, and tonight he was winning tackles,” said Nolan. “It was nice for him to get forward and to get a goal, and that’s honestly something we’ve been working on, picking and choosing his runs when the other team allows it and he chose it well. Good quality finish. I’m really happy for him.”

Freedom goalie Micah Lawser made 10 saves in the match, and Cole Richards had 4 saves for the Zephyrs.