Ukrainian Nationals Liberty overcome two-goal deficit to beat Penn Fusion

Liv Grenda to Anna Croyle is a connection anyone who followed local youth and high school over the past several years will immediately recognize.

The former Pennridge and Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals teammates have reunited this summer in WPSL and on Wednesday night it was their familiar connection on a corner kick that capped a come-from-behind win for the Liberty at Penn Fusion.

“When we were running back I was saying I knew exactly where to stand because we’ve played together all these years,” Croyle said. “I knew exactly where it was going and she played a great ball.”

Croyle’s goal in the 82nd minute followed a 55th minute equalizer from Isabella Brown, who connected on a through ball played in from Grenda.

Becca Miller put Penn Fusion up in the first minute and Sage Stelzer doubled the lead in the 24th meeting but after the initial shock of conceding twice wore off, the Liberty found their way back into the game and had the upper hand when Meg Cairns scored their first goal of the evening in the 28th minute. The Ukies also hit woodwork and had an open net chance miss the mark after a poor give away in the back.

Penn Fusion had chances to extend their lead and to regain it after Brown’s equalizer but a big stop from Daniela Rivilla and several promising attacks cut out by timely clearances paved the way for Croyle’s winner, which avenged a 5-3 win by Penn Fusion in the first meeting in late May.

“I think the girls played really well,” head coach Tom DeGeorge said. “It’s tough to get a bunch of kids who don’t usually play together but we’re about halfway through the season and you can see they’re getting used to play with each other. I thought the second half we were really good.”

DeGeorge’s daughters, Alyssa DeGeorge and Ava DeGeorge, are among the players on the team he’s coached over the years at the youth level. Several others have been on teams coached by DeGeorge from Philadelphia Soccer Club to Archbishop Wood High School and the Ukies.

“I coached tons of these kids and the ones I didn’t I coached against,” DeGeorge said. “They all look forward to this. As soon as their season ends they’re texting me making sure they have a spot on the team.”

For Croyle, who started 18 games for the Orange in her rookie season at Syracuse in the fall, returning to play with so many of her friends and former teammates is a rewarding way to prep for the fall college season.

“I’m really grateful to be able to play in this league; it’s great to prepare for college,” said Croyle, who captained the state final winning Pennridge team as a senior in the fall of 2023. “You’re playing with your best friends, people you grew up playing with and against and that’s really cool.”

The Liberty moved up two spots in the standings to fifth place with the win, their first of the season to go with a pair of draws and three losses. Penn Fusion dropped to last place with a 1-0-4 W-D-L record.