Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

NORTH LIBERTY – At this time a year ago Liberty High was celebrating the biggest win in program history.

Monday was exactly one day shy of last year’s substate semifinal win over North Scott that sent the Lightning to the substate title game for the first time.

The best season in program history ended in disappointment with a 1-0 loss to Cedar Rapids Prairie in a 3A substate final.

Liberty High returned to the substate final for the second consecutive year on Monday but this time there was no real celebration just a sense of an opportunity that waits on Wednesday.

“We don’t want to get too excited or get ahead of ourselves,” Liberty High senior Flori Gembo said. “Last year we did get too excited and we let an opportunity slip by.”

Gembo and fellow senior Hayden each scored three goals on Monday as Class 3A ninth-ranked Liberty High advanced to the Class 3A, Substate 4 title game on Wednesday at Liberty High with a 7-0 win over Clear Creek Amana (6-10) at Liberty High School.

Liberty High (8-8) will host No. 15 Fort Madison (15-3) on Wednesday with a berth to the state tournament on the line.

“This year is our revenge year,” Gembo said. “We can’t risk it, we have to take matters into our own hands and put it away rather than letting teams stay in the game.”

Last season was history for the Lightning.

Liberty High started 8-0, won a program-record 15 matches and advanced to the substate finals for the first time where it lost to Cedar Rapids Prairie.

The lessons learned in last year’s substate title game are still fresh in the minds of the Liberty High players.

“I think we learned last year not to over think things, just play the game,” Liberty High sophomore Roman Riggs said. “Last year I think some of us got a little over confident and this year I think we put the team first over ourselves and that has helped.”

Liberty High players promise this season is different.

The last few weeks tend to agree.

A year after a strong start to the season ended with disappointing Liberty High is surging as the postseason approaches.

Monday’s win over Clear Creek Amana was the third straight and sixth in the last seven matches for Liberty High, a stretch that started with a 2-1 win over two-time defending 4A champion Pleasant Valley.

“We definitely learned from last year,” Gembo said. “We have a great chance to go to state so we are working hard for that.”
Liberty High was impressive from the outset on Monday.

Riggs gave the Lightning an early lead with a goal less than four minutes into the match.

It was all Gembo and Saul the rest of the way.

Gembo scored three goals in a span of less than five minutes from the 15:03 mark of the first half to the 10:32 mark.

Liberty High led 4-0 at the half.

“We want to make sure the focus is there and we are taking care of business in games and not taking anybody lightly and I felt like I saw that from my team tonight,” Harding said. “I felt like they respected the opponent it was really competitive in the first half and then the depth and the level of some of these guys told the difference there.”

Saul put the finishing touches on the win with a second-half hat trick, scoring three times in the opening 30 minutes.

“I didn’t score the first half and I didn’t think I’d get much time in the second half since we were already winning so it was nice to get three in a half,” Saul said. “It’s great to have everyone happy going into Wednesday,”

Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by donating.