Every school needs that one uniting force to bring its student body together as one. This fall that force was the boys soccer team, as it climbed its way through the WPIAL Class A Playoffs, and came one game short of making the PIAA State Playoffs. Even though the team did not reach their ultimate goal, the boys still led Freedom into school soccer history. Never before did Freedom have a chance to make it to the PIAA State Playoffs in soccer. In fact, the Bulldogs had never made it past the second round before this year. The boys came into the WPIAL playoffs fresh off of clinching their first section title since the late 90’s. They were poised and focused for a long run, deep into WPIAL’s. The team’s first game was against Serra Catholic, whom they handled easily with a score of 2-0. After their win, they played Bishop Canevin. Again the Bulldogs were victorious, winning 2-1. Awaiting the boys in the semi-finals was Springdale. Freedom had beaten Springdale in the first round of the WPIAL Playoffs last year, and it was clear that they were ready for payback this year. The first half was dominated by the Bulldogs, but had nothing to show for their hard play after a few squandered scoring opportunities. Springdale capitalized on Freedom’s missed opportunities by scoring in the first minute of the second half. Then Springdale added to their lead, scoring a fluke goal that bounced off the chest of freshmen goalie Anthony Kosis with twenty minutes remaining. However, Freedom never quit. With five minutes left, senior forward Brad Prinkey shrunk the deficit to one. With two minutes left Freedom had a chance to tie the game on a corner kick. The ball fell out of the goalie’s hands, but was quickly cleared by a Springdale defender. Freedom would not threaten to score the rest of the game. Even though Freedom had lost their chance to play for a WPIAL title, they still had the chance to make the PIAA playoffs by beating defending WPIAL champions, Seton-La Salle. The Bulldogs played their hearts out by an early deficit, and an injury to Kosis early in the second half proved too much for them. Freedom dropped the game 6-3, ending their season. “It’s tough to know I’ll never play another high school game again,” said senior sweeper Tanner Mesing. “This was a fun group of guys. I didn’t want it to end.” Freedom may not have reached all their goals this season, but it looks as though Freedom will be a “soccer school” for years to come. Freedom loses five seniors to graduation this spring, but that is not as severe as it sounds. The team is left with a plethora of young, playoff-experienced talent. Many underclassmen saw significant playing time in the playoffs. Kosis, who had nine shutouts this season, played well beyond his years as a freshman, and will only continue to get better. Freshman forward Jon Cleek, who was tied for the team lead in playoff goals with two, stepped up greatly, and will look to have a breakout season as a sophomore.