Freedom Win at the 49th Parallel Cup

For the first time since 2007 the USA Freedom have defeated the Canada Northern Lights! The two teams have only met 3 times prior; their first hit-out in 2007, the 2010 49th Parallel Cup and the 2011 International Cup.

 

The day started with the girls Development Squad (DS) game and what a cracker it was. The day was hot and humid which made conditions very tough for both teams. Troy Anthony took over the reins of the DS and did a great job of assembling a team that barely knew each other’s names 30 minutes before kick-off.  As the team was read out they were asked to line up in their positions so everyone could see who they were playing next to and introduce themselves.

 

The game was back and forth for much of the proceedings, with Christina Licata of New York leading the team from the front. Scores were at a premium with both the US and Canadian backlines holding strong. Several of the smaller Freedom players played well above their height. Nicole Fasula and Terri “T-Dog” Tupper took several strong marks against much bigger opponents. 

 

Deep in the last quarter, a puzzling “non”-advantage call went against the US and took a little bit of the wind out of our sails. Andi Williams of Boston took a great contested mark in the goal square and immediately played on and kicked a goal only to have the umpire bring her back to take the kick again. This time she kicked in to the girl on the mark, for no score. The Canadians rallied after this, kicking the next 5 or 6 points or so to run out victors by that margin. "A draw really would have been a fitting result for the match but so be it." said DS Coach, Troy Anthony.

 

Denver’s Twannia “Great Wall of” Clark had a blinder for the DS and took out the Freedom's Wayne Kraska Award for the game and was ably assisted by Kim Hemmenway (New York), Beth Nollenberger (Orange County), Eileen Hansen (New York) and Sarah Plummer (Denver). Alison Vorsatz showed she could hold down Centre-Half Back allowing Clark to be used in a more attacking role.

 

The main game was a tough slog right from the start. The Freedom girls had a point to prove after narrowly going down to Canada at the 2011 International Cup and jumped out of the blocks with some good play all over the ground. Despite losing a few early taps, all of the players in the center worked very hard to get the ball down to Denver’s Lindsay Kastanek and San Franciscan, Jessica Estrada. The back line made sure that scoring opportunities for Canada came at a premium. The Freedom enjoyed a 2 goal lead at the first break and maintained the lead to the long break at half time. Changes were being made a-plenty. Courtney Church, of Arizona, was ruled out of the game with a knee injury suffered within the first 5 minutes; hopefully she will fully recover and be back on the field soon.

 

The third quarter saw Canada throw everything but the kitchen sink at the Freedom. The Canucks kicked two quick goals to take the lead by 1 point at the final change. The back line was again resolute as now the game was on the line.

 

The Freedom girls lifted unbelievably in the first 12 minutes to kick 3 goals and look like cruising down the home straight. But Canada were not going to give up without a fight. They dug deep to find some reserves of energy and kicked the next two goals to crawl within 5 points with 5 minutes remaining. What happened next can only be described as some of the hardest, gut busting, give-your-absolute-all moments of team football that any side has had to play and come the final siren, the mighty Freedom held sway by that exact margin, 5 beautiful points.

 

It really was a great team effort but the Wayne Kraska medal for this game was taken home by Jessie “Blazen” Hazen who played a fantastic match and was strong over the whole period of the game, something not easy to do in the conditions. Eileen “Geags” Geogahan worked tirelessly all over the ground, with great support from Judith “Beer” Stein, Marie “P.P.” La Victoire and up forward, Lindsay “The Knack” Kastanek topped it all off with 3 majors. A special mention to Emily “UN” Reihl who volunteered to play in the DS game to give some of the girls a break and then doubled up in the main game and was a very solid contributor in both.

 

The Kathryn Hogg Freedom Spirit award which is awarded to the player who personifies the Freedom spirit both on and off the field went to our great Captain Judith Stein, who stepped down as Captain after this campaign and will devote her energies entirely to being a great player and mentor to the Freedom group.

 

A great day, a fantastic weekend, and I must thank all those who assisted in putting this event on as well as those who volunteered their assistance, such as John Ironmonger, the girls embraced him and his input as much as he embraced them in his big bear hug sort of way, brilliant. It was an honor to be in Dublin, representing our country and doing the USA Revolution, USA Freedom and the USAFL proud.