The Wildcats defended very well and had numbers behind the ball for the entire first half and looked to counter and press the Freedom defense when they had the ball. This tactic rewarded the Wildcats and held the Freedom to one goal on 15 shots in the first half. The goal was produced by Kele Golebiowski’s weaving run into the penalty area. She beat the last defender who was forced to reach for the ball and look Kele’s legs out from under her. Referee Dean Fairweather immediately pointed to the penalty spot. Lori Lindsey stepped up and confidently blasted the ball into the lower left corner of the goal to give the Freedom the lead.

 

The second half resulted in the Freedom’s possession game creating excellent scoring chances as well as producing fatigue in the Wildcats. Jenn Parsons came on and in the 52^nd minute crossed a ball to Lindsey, who headed the ball past Wildcat goalie Jones for a 2-0 lead. Substitute Tiffany McCarty, after being on the field for one minute, pounced on a loose ball in the penalty area and left-footed a shot in the right corner to put the game out of reach. In the 80^th minute the Wildcats produced a rare scoring chance that Amy Hoyer volleyed past Chante Sandiford to make it 3-1.

 

But the Freedom wasn’t done scoring, and Parsons again was the provider with a nice through ball for Welsh. Christie, with an open shot, nicely finished to push the lead back to three. In the 90^th minute, Emily Janss played a great give-and-go with Welsh and calmly placed the ball past Jones for a well-deserved goal. Freedom coach Jim Gabarra was pleased with the team’s performance. “It was important for us to get an early goal and I was pleased with the way we played and we continue to improve with every game. After last week’s frustration I think all the players responded in a positive way both in training this week and in the game tonight.”

 

 

Freedom 5 Wildcats 1

Shots: Freedom 29 Wildcats 7

Corners: Freedom 4 Wildcats 1

Saves: Freedom 3 Wildcats 7

Attendance: 1012