Playing high school soccer in November is the goal for every team in Pennsylvania. The boys’ soccer team has achieved that and more. Freedom finished the regular season with a 10-2 single A, section 1 record. The two losses were to the Sewickley Academy Panthers. Junior Carson Gilarno finished fifth in the WPIAL, with 28 regular season goals. Senior Joey Pail and junior Santino Guandolo also received WPIAL recognition in the WPIAL Finest 15, with Pail participating in the Class 1-A All Section Team. This honor is granted by opposing coaches based on season performance.
The regular season concluded with the Freedom Bulldogs making a fourth-consecutive playoff appearance. On Oct. 22, the Bulldogs, ranked number seven, took on the tenth-ranked Springdale Dynamos. Junior Javin Melvin was the first to find the back of the net. Springdale then scored twice. Junior midfielder, Nych Baker, assisted by Guandolo, tied the game, 2-2. The end of regulation brought overtime play. Another coin toss was followed by one 15-minute scoreless half. The first team to score wins; this is known as the Golden Goal Rule. With four minutes and 58 seconds left in the second overtime, Gilarno was tripped in the penalty box and awarded a penalty kick. His kick was deflected by the Dynamo’s goal keeper, but Pail was there to bury the ball in the net. The Freedom Bulldogs advanced to the WPIAL quarterfinal game.
The Bulldogs upset Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions, ranked number two, 1-0. Baker scored the only goal of the match. Freedom’s goalkeeper, senior Jordan Herzog, made 13 saves, including two diving stops.
“Jordan kept us in the game,” Coach Colin Williams said.
This win kept the hopes alive for a spot for the Freedom Area High School boys’ 2016 soccer team in the PIAA, playoffs. The PIAA soccer playoffs offer the top 16 teams in the state a chance to play for the state championship. The top three teams from the WPIAL participate.
Unfortunately, the WPIAL semifinal game was against the familiar Sewickley Academy Panthers on Oct. 29. The match was lost 3-1. The Bulldog team knew this was not the end of their season, as they would play for third place.
After a few more days of practice and preparation, the boy’s soccer team had their sights set on the highest ranked team in the WPIAL, the Seton LaSalle Rebels, who had also suffered a playoff loss. On Nov. 2, the boys took to the familiar pitch at North Allegheny High School’s Newman Stadium. Gilarno scored his 30th goal four minutes into the match. The Bulldogs entered halftime up 1-0.
The chance of qualifying for the state boys’ soccer tournament for the first time in Freedom Area High School’s history fell short with a final score of Seton LaSalle 3, Freedom 1. Although the seniors will be missed, there is a majority of this team returning next year. This golden season will be hard to forget and something to build on.