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Liberty gets it done on defense, beats LaBrae
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LIBERTY - LABRAE - (21) Jacob Jaros and (8) Pat McGarry play the ball as (11) Eric Wolf looks on during their game Wednesday night at Liberty.
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LIBERTY - LABRAE - (21) Jacob Jaros and (8) Pat McGarry play the ball as (11) Eric Wolf looks on during their game Wednesday night at Liberty.
By Jon Moffett
“We had a lot of goals that we missed. There were a lot of shots taken, and we did not hit the target well tonight. They limited us to two goals, which is something we’re going to work on in this next week.”
Mike Morelli
Liberty coach
Pat McGarry and Tom Stark scored for the Leopards in the 2-0 victory.
LIBERTY — The brisk air couldn’t keep tempers from flaring up Tuesday.
Early in the first half of Liberty’s 2-0 win over LaBrae, Pat McGarry of the Leopards and LaBrae’s Tim Bower were involved in a brief exchange of words, but the two stood down and went their separate ways.
McGarry got the better of the brief rivalry, scoring the first goal of the game with 38:12 left in the first half. Eric Wolf had the assist.
Liberty added its final goal in the second half when Tom Stark received a pass from Matt O’Dell and knocked it into the back of the net.
The goal came shortly after a potential goal was called back when a Liberty player was called offside.
Liberty (5-2) coach Mike Morelli said defense is the strongest part of his team.
“They coordinate very well moving the ball side to side and out of pressure, and that’s what gave [LaBrae] some problems tonight,” Morelli said. “As they would come down one side of the field, we would move the ball to the other side and take away their threat from scoring.”
Morelli, who had been an assistant coach with Liberty for the past four seasons, is in his first year as head coach.
Cody Ozanich, LaBrae’s coach, said his team struggled with some fundamentals in the game.
“We just didn’t pass well,” Ozanich said. “We’re making the right runs, we just need to learn to get the ball with them.”
Ozanich, who is also in his first season as head coach, said the team had to play the first half without one of their top players, who was suspended for “disciplinary reasons.” The player entered the game in the second half, and Ozanich said the impact was noticeable.
Morelli was pleased with the way his team played on both sides of the ball.
“The offense played well in terms of moving the ball into pressure and then back away from pressure, choosing their shot to be taken,” he said.
Although the team played well, Morelli said there was more they can work on offensively. He added the team took a lot of shots on goal, but didn’t take advantage of all their opportunities.
“We had a lot of goals that we missed,” Morelli said. “There were a lot of shots taken, and we did not hit the target well tonight. They limited us to two goals, which is something we’re going to work on in this next week.”
Both teams play again Saturday — Liberty visits Fitch at 5 p.m. and LaBrae will play host to Newton Falls at 1 p.m.
jmoffett@vindy.com