Freeport girls work overtime again to get past Burrell

By: Michael Love
Monday, October 7, 2024 | 10:19 PM

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In the first meeting between the Freeport and Burrell girls soccer teams Sept. 16, a goal from sophomore Camryn Woods in the first overtime lifted the Yellowjackets to the victory.

The teams met again Monday, this time at Freeport, and the rematch between the leaders of Section 2-2A also needed extra time to be decided.

But the result was the same as the first time.

Senior midfielder Sam Liput scored the winner three minutes into the second 10-minute overtime period to give the Yellowjackets a 2-1 victory over the rival Bucs.

“We knew this was going to be a pretty tough game,” Liput said. “This is an amazing feeling. I am just glad to be able to get the goal to help my team win.”

The winner, which put Freeport at 10-1-1 overall — 7-1-1 (22 points) in Section 2 — and in control of its own destiny for the section title with only Wednesday’s section finale at Knoch remaining, came off a direct kick from Woods into the box.

Liput was among several players from both teams who had packed the box waiting for the kick from Woods.

“I basically threw my entire body at it,” Liput said. “Honestly, I think (Burrell keeper Dana Barczykowski) thought that the ball might go over me, so she was still kind of on the right side (of the goal). I was just by the back post and kicked it in. She was still on the right side when I kicked it.”

Freeport ended the game with a 7-5 advantage in shots on goal.

Burrell, which saw a six-game win streak snapped Monday, fell to 10-3-1 overall, 6-3 in the section (18 points) with its section finale Wednesday at home against Shady Side Academy.

North Catholic defeated Shady Side Academy 1-0 in overtime to improve to 6-2 in the section with two games against Valley remaining.

“We are so evenly matched. It was just a hard-fought game back and forth,” Freeport coach Steve Kukic said. “We had beaten them the last three times, and we knew they were coming for us. This was a big win, and the girls are excited to know that all they have to do Wednesday is win and they’re section champions. I always remind the girls just how tough this section is, how close and competitive these games are, and how much of an accomplishment it would be to win it. We know that it won’t be easy on Wednesday.”

Each team collected two shots in the first 10-minute overtime. But all four shots didn’t land on goal.

Brinley Sullivan came close for Freeport as her attempt with 2 minutes, 57 seconds left, on the heels of a Yellowjackets corner kick, sailed just wide left of the Burrell goal.

The Yellowjackets had struck first with 2:20 left in the first half as Woods took control of the ball at 26 yards, pivoted and fired it into the Burrell goal beyond the reach of Barczykowski.

Freeport set up another prime scoring opportunity with nine minutes gone in the second half as Nia DiSanti boomed a ball to a sprinting Liput down the right wing.

Liput’s shot from 12 yards was turned away by Barczykowski. The ball deflected from Barczykowski’s hands and bounded just out of the reach of Woods, who had set up in front of the net.

McKenna Miller countered for Burrell with an uncontested shot in the 12th minute, but Yellowjackets keeper Alyssa Alcorn was there to make the save and preserve Freeport’s one-goal advantage.

With Woods out of the game because of cramping, the Bucs slowly started to tip the field in their favor. Miller had another dangerous chance, and Burrell got close with a pair of corner kicks with 16 minutes left in regulation.

The Bucs kept the pressure up and pushed the ball into the Freeport goal box.

Burrell was awarded a penalty shot with 9:29 left on the second-half clock after the referees, who deliberated for several minutes, ruled Freeport was guilty of a push in the box.

Miley Kariotis took the penalty shot, and she found the back of the net past Alcorn to tie the score 1-1.

“It wasn’t good,” Kukic said as he disagreed with how the referees handled the decision to make the foul call. “Especially with just two officials in a game like this that is so heated and back and forth. It’s tough for them to keep up. I don’t think they made the right call.”

Burrell had a golden opportunity to take the lead with 2:20 to go in regulation. Makiah Buchak gained control of a loose ball, dribbled in on Alcorn with a Freeport defender trailing her. Buchak took a shot from 12 yards, but her attempt was snuffed out by Alcorn to keep the score tied.

“I told the girls to cherish the fact that they were here on this field playing for something big at this point in the season,” Burrell coach Frank Nesko said.

“We knew it was a great opportunity to stay alive for a section title, and we knew we were playing such a great opponent in Freeport. We had to be at our best, and I thought we played really well. I liked what we were doing. There were stretches when we weren’t typically us, but I think Freeport had something to do with that. But I would say overall, we played a really good game.

“We just couldn’t finish enough of our chances, and Alyssa had a big part in that. I count four or five 10-bell saves on really good chances we had. A few saves, if she doesn’t get a piece of it, the game doesn’t even go to overtime.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Burrell, Freeport