Men’s soccer team claims conference win over Houston Christian Huskies, 3-1
The Liberty men’s soccer team welcomed the Houston Christian Huskies to its home pitch Oct. 1, hoping to extend its 1-0 conference record against another Ohio Valley Conference opponent. To kick off the month of October, the men’s soccer team chose to wear pink jerseys in honor of breast cancer awareness month. Many fans joined them in wearing pink apparel as well.
Liberty started with possession of the ball and immediately took to the attack. Within the first five minutes of the game, senior midfielder and team Captain Luke Eberle scored on a free kick within 25 yards of the goal. The early score excited Liberty fans, having the same effect on the team Eberle continued his stride and netted another thrilling goal at 14:20 with assists from teammates Sam Farner and Ocho Fasteen.
Eberle’s pair of goals helped to lift his team’s energy in the game.These goals also increased his total goals on the season to seven. He leads both his team and conference in goals scored. Teammates mentioned how this senior midfielder’s scoring capabilities has helped their drive.
“(Eberle’s goal) was a crucial momentum shift in the game,” junior goalkeeper Blake Franzen said. “It gave us the confidence to keep going and gave us the headway to push back and claim our home ground.”
The Huskies, however, quelled the excitement, capitalizing on a scoring opportunity with a penalty kick in the first half. A 2-1 score at minute 26 increased both team’s intensity and strive for the lead. Even through much effort by both teams, the scoreboard did not change for the remainder of the first half.
Coming out of the half, Houston Christian led with a strong offensive push for the first few minutes. Liberty, however, kept its composure on the defensive end and did not relent. Through 45 scoreless minutes, the game grew rough and physical as both sides struggled to secure the win.
In the 70th minute, junior forward Gora Gora finally broke the tension with a left-footed shot that found the opposing corner of the net, sending the stadium into an uproar. Gora’s goal, assisted by teammates Matthew Torrell and Elijah John, provided Liberty with a comfortable two-goal lead for the remainder of the game.
To protect their lead, the Flames prioritized defensive efforts — with a strong showing from Franzen in net. Franzen spent the entire game collaborating with his team to disrupt many of the Huskies offensive strides.
“We had to work hard and stay consistent with our work ethic,” Franzen said. “I think our team did a fantastic job of doing that all the way to the 90th minute.”
With a different field set-up than most opponents, Houston Christian challenged Liberty’s defense. In the eyes of Flames Head Coach Kelly Findley, however, his group handled the task well.
“Sometimes you can panic and want to fight and go get the ball, but I thought we did a good job managing that,” Findley said. “(Houston Christian) didn’t create a whole lot of chances (to score), and their only goal came out of a referee decision.”
Liberty exited the field with a 3-1 victory over the Huskies. Despite being tough opponents on the field, both teams joined arm in arm for prayer at the game’s end.
The victory advances Liberty to a 2-0 record in conference play. The Flames will travel next to Illinois Oct. 5 to take on the Chicago State Cougars. After beating the Cougars less than a week ago at home, hopes are high for this Flames team to display a similar performance and extend its unbeaten conference record.
Garman is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion