Freeport girls soccer earning respect early in season

By: Michael Love
Thursday, September 5, 2024 | 6:18 PM

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The members of the Freeport girls soccer team took part in a light workout Thursday afternoon, less than 12 hours after producing a convincing 3-0 victory over Shady Side Academy in an early-season Section 2-2A clash at Freeport Area Athletic Stadium.

“We had some calf cramp issues at the end of the game. They were really giving a lot of energy for a lot of minutes,” first-year Yellowjackets coach Steve Kukic said.

“The score was 3-0, but it was a tough, physical game. They deserved to have a light day to get out on the field and do some work while also recharging and recovering a little bit. The girls came in (to practice) excited and even more confident. That was a nice win over a good Shady Side Academy team.”

Kukic said his team has made its mark so far in the early season with its mix of eight returning starters, depth with 16 or 17 who see action in varsity games, a potent offense and stingy defense, and a group of freshmen who were ready to contribute from Day 1.

“We have a lot of high-level players on our team,” said Kukic, who sees his players practicing and competing with a chip on their shoulders after not getting love in the preseason rankings. The Yellowjackets return a large group from a team that won the section title and made the WPIAL quarterfinals last season.

“I think they are happy with the way they felt they validated themselves by beating a really good team handily,” Kukic said.

Sophomore midfielder Cam Woods got the scoring started against the Bulldogs midway through the first half on a cross from junior forward Nia DiSanti.

“We had a bad habit of starting slow, and again, we didn’t start the best in the first five to 10 (minutes),” Kukic said.

“Then we really picked it up. The last 25 of the first half and the first 25 of the second half, I felt we controlled the game. The first goal really relaxed us and took the edge off a bit.”

Freeport led 1-0 at halftime before DiSanti and junior midfielder Peyton Los added goals to give the hosts some breathing room.

“We scored those goals fairly early in the second half. The third goal let us exhale a little bit,” Kukic said.

Freshman midfielder Ella McConville assisted on one of the second-half goals, and junior goalkeeper Alyssa Alcorn and the Yellowjackets defense shut the door on the Shady Side attack.

“We did a nice job making sure their runs didn’t go through,” freshman center back CeCe Schlegel said. “They like playing it over the top. We were pretty organized in the back.”

Freeport got off to a strong start last week with a 6-0 win over Indiana before rallying past Butler on the road.

The Golden Tornadoes led 2-0 at halftime before the Yellowjackets came back to win on a pair of goals from freshman midfielder Elena Jenkins and another from fellow freshman midfielder Tess Hanak.

“It was such a weird game because we originally had it scheduled for Wednesday on stadium turf, but we had to reschedule it to Thursday on a grass field,” Kukic said. “It kind of threw us off a bit, and Butler was our first really good test of the year. Just the pressure of that along with the field, and it was 90 something degrees.

“To be honest, we didn’t start well at all,” Kukic said. “But the girls showed a lot of character and fight to be able to come back with all freshmen scorers in the second half. It was impressive, and it told me a lot about this team.

“I had a kind of good impression of the freshmen coming in. I went and watched their spring club seasons, and they played with me in a summer tournament, too, and did really well. There’s no surprise that they came in and have performed like they have.”

DiSanti feels the team still is flying under the radar.

“I think people are kind of sleeping on us,” she said. “But we know that if we keep winning, the rankings will come and we’re going to get that recognition. We know we have the talent to win a lot of games.”

Freeport continues section play Monday at Valley (1-2, 0-1), on Wednesday at home against North Catholic (5-0, 1-0) and Sept. 16 at Burrell (3-0-1, 1-0).

“We’re looking forward to those big games,” Woods said.

“That is going to continue to show what we’re made of. I think that if we just come out and play our game and execute, we will be fine. It is a great chance for everyone to come together and play as a team. We were able to do that against Butler when we faced adversity and then against Shady Side when we played well and took control of the game.”

Kukic likes where his team is at right now.

“We’re going to be a tough team to beat moving forward,” he said.

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: Freeport