Liberty Travels To Oregon Clay (Toledo) and Secures 1-1 Draw In Hard Fought Match (9/26/15)

The Pattys went on a long distance road trip today to face a strong Clay High School  (Oregon/Toledo) team, and turned in a solid team effort to secure a 1-1 draw which was broadcast on the local cable sports channel. Liberty bounced back from a disappointing performance against DeSales on Thursday and came out with high energy, improved work rate and better team effort, which was also sustained throughout the match.

Liberty had Clay on their heels early in the match, and capitalized seven minutes in on a quality through ball from Senior Jordan Fike to Senior Captain Hailey Pickelheimer who got behind her mark down the flank, and beat the talented Clay goalkeeper Olivia Hornyak in stride with a finish to the far post.

Clay evened the match 20 minutes later on a quick counter attack after a turnover and the Eagles’ Karleigh Clere finished her 1v1 breakaway opportunity.

The balance of the first half and the entire second half was an even battle between two teams who were executing at a high level and delivering some enjoyable soccer for the spectators and television viewing audience. Both teams had opportunities to score, but the respective defensive units limited the attack, with both goalkeepers including Liberty Junior Emma Campbell registering a key save late in the match to preserve the tie.

Liberty generated 10 shots with 8 on goal, while Clay had 9 shots with six on goal. Liberty had 6 corners to Clay’s 4, and Liberty Goalkeeper Campbell registered 5 saves. Liberty committed 7 fouls compared to 4 for Clay.

In the earlier match, JVA dropped the contest by a score of 0-3, which was not representative of the even play that was seen for the majority of the match. The Patriots JVA squad dominated possession in the first half and yielded a goal against the run of play going into the half at 0-1. The second half was even until Clay registered their second goal late in the second half on what appeared to be an offside run, and the Patriots were not able to recover.

The Clay Eagles’ teams, coaches and parents showed great hospitality and sportsmanship to the Liberty Patriots by providing a team meal for both JVA and Varsity after the matches.  Thank you to our hosts.

On Tuesday, the Pattys are back to conference action with a key matchup with Hilliard Davidson. Let’s get friends and neighbors out to create a big home field advantage as Liberty looks to improve to 5-0-0 in conference play, and stay at the top of the OCC Central Division.

GO PATTYS!