Freeport starts fast, tops rival Deer Lakes in girls soccer section clash

By: Michael Love
Monday, September 21, 2020 | 11:18 PM

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The Freeport girls soccer team came up empty in a 4-0 loss to defending Section 2-AA champion Burrell in its season opener last Thursday.

However, there were no offensive struggles when the Yellowjackets returned to the field Monday against rival Deer Lakes.

Freeport (1-1, 1-1) erupted for three goals over the first 12 minutes, and it added a pair of goals in the second half and finished off a 5-2 victory.

Junior forward Emma Check recorded her first career hat trick and added an assist. Her first goal, off a corner kick from sophomore Akina Boynton, gave Freeport a 2-0 lead.

“We wanted to improve ourselves after the Burrell game, so we made sure our tempo was up,” Check said. “We just kept it going from the start. We had to keep our heads up and think like it was 0-0 after every goal. Our coach always reminds us of that.”

Check scored her second and third goals in the first 10 minutes of second half as the Yellowjackets extended a 3-1 halftime advantage.

Sophomores Crystal Zembrzuski and sophomore Aleah Parison scored first-half goals, and junior goalkeeper Madelyn Zarichnak made four saves to pick up the victory.

Parison’s goal, off a crossing feed from Check, put Freeport up 3-0, and the score turned out to be the game winner.

“The girls played a team game tonight, from the back line to the forwards,” said first-year Freeport coach Joe Treglia, who saw his team finish with 12 shots on goal. “The girls executed well, and they did what we’ve been working so hard on over the past six weeks. It just all came together tonight.”

Deer Lakes got on the board with a little more than 11 minutes left in the first half with a goal off its first corner kick of the game. Emma Zawalnicki took the corner, and junior Ashley McAdams was there to finish off the play to cut the Freeport lead to 3-1.

The Lancers had a couple of additional chances to get on the board in last quarter of the first half, but Freeport maintained a two-goal advantage at the break.

“The girls came to practice mad on Friday after the Burrell game,” Treglia said. “The girls are competitive. We used that as motivation and worked on some things we needed to do better. This win gives the girls a lot of confidence moving forward.”

Abigail Boulos scored a late goal for Deer Lakes to set the final.

Deer Lakes (3-1, 2-1) came into the game No. 4 in the latest Trib HSSN Class AA rankings released Monday.

Freeport hopes to keep things going Wednesday at Valley before a home game with Highlands on Saturday.

The Lancers will attempt to bounce back Wednesday against Burrell.

“It was pretty obvious that we didn’t come ready to play tonight, and Freeport definitely did,” Deer Lakes coach Frank Accetta said.

“Their intensity level was there, and we didn’t match it. It shows you what hard work and effort can do. The score shouldn’t have been that close, to tell you the truth. All I can say is that we have Burrell on Wednesday, and I told them that one way to erase this is to beat Burrell, which already beat (Freeport), and get back to square one. But we have to be better than what we showed tonight.”

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: Deer Lakes, Freeport