The Little Neck Liberty defeated the Woodhaven Flyers March 13 in a first-round game of the Waldbaum’s Cup Tournament on penalty kicks.
The game went back and forth, especially in the first half. The Liberty players thought they had an early goal from Amanda Metz, but an offside call negated the score. Woodhaven scored late in the first half and the Liberty went into halftime down, 1-0. A strong effort by the Liberty back defense of Lindsay Shack, Amanda O’Keefe, Charlotte Barrett and Chelsea Baldo kept Woodhaven to only one score.
The Liberty offense picked up in the second half. A foul in the Woodhaven box allowed Christine Anerella to score on a penalty shot to tie it at 1. Woodhaven again took the lead midway through the second half to go up, 2-1, but the Liberty never quit.
Late in the game the midfield combination of Melissa Prusak, Jackie Shafer, Anndrea Salvatto, Stephanie O’Keefe and Pooja Mani kept pushing the ball into offensive territory. A beautiful cross pass from Jessica Civello to Kendall Baldo tied the score at 2. It stayed that way through two exciting five-minute overtimes, which led to a penalty kick shootout.
The Liberty found itself 2-0 in the shootout, but Chelsea Baldo and Charlotte Barrett evened it at 2-2. It went to eight kickers before the outcome was decided. Amy Greenberg, who played great in goal, was able to keep the Liberty alive by tying the score as the seventh kicker.
Greenberg stopped Woodhaven’s eighth kicker, leaving it up to Jackie Anerella to put the Liberty into the second round of the tournament. Anerella did not disappoint as her shot made it in, sending the Liberty players into a deserved celebration. The Little Neck Liberty worked hard all winter at practice and it showed.
