By Ted Waddell
LIBERTY — September 16, 2005 – Despite the 4-0 score, if you divide Wednesday afternoon’s Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division IV soccer match between the host Liberty Indians and the Bulldogs of Sullivan West into halves, it was like watching two completely different games.
In the opening frame, Liberty (1-3, 0-1 Division IV) seemed to be nervous. But once the Indians settled down in the second half, they started playing their own brand of soccer.
SW (3-3, 1-0 Division IV) scored two goals in the closing minutes of the first half. Chris Franke kicked the ball into the net off an assist by Kevin Brewer and then Brewer scored himself thanks to an assist from Jonathan Reynolds.
In the second half, it was all Reynolds and Brewer as Reynolds beat Liberty goalkeeper Scott Hamlin twice and Brewer assisted on both goals.
SW goalie Joe Layman made 15 saves on the afternoon, while Liberty goalkeeper Scott Hamlin recorded 19 saves.
Both teams entered the game with several seniors on their respective rosters. The Liberty seniors are Ryan Burns, Pete Ehrenberg, Kyle Farrand, Marshall Isseks, Jacob Kirsch, Matt Lockwood, Justin Sutherland and Peter Talerico. The SW 12th grade players include Brewer (who is one of the Bulldogs’ captains), Chris Franke (captain), Layman (captain), Jonathan Reynolds (captain), Will O’Brien and David Lundgren.
“You didn’t see the Liberty team I know we have,” Liberty Coach Hazel Yaun said. “But in the second half, we settled in and started playing our kind of game.”
According to SW Coach Debbie Owen, by this afternoon, the Bulldogs will have taken to the field seven times in 11 days. By anybody’s count, that’s a lot of soccer.
“I was very pleased with the game,” Owen said. “They [Liberty] played a lot harder than the score showed.
“We had to fight hard for the game and stay focused… they had much more control in the second half,” she added.