After last week's dismal showing against Orange County, the Alamo City Soccer Club was looking for a few things this week. Yes, the club was looking to capture it's third straight Freedom Cup. Yes, the club was looking to show that it was truly as good as the table indicated. Most importantly though, the Battle were out to prove that it had moved past the issue that had plagued it the last few years. The momentum train has seen Alamo City shoot through the roof as well as crash through the floor. Being a streaky team is only a good thing if you catch fire at the right time. For the Battle the opposite has been the case more often than not. The club has seen the lingering of flat performances take away the Supporter's Shield, a playoff spot, and much more. This week the club finally put into practice what it's been preaching for several years.
"It was very important for us to come back out this week and put in a strong performance," stated team captain Thierry Henry. "We've tried so hard in the past to shake the effects of a poor game but weren't able to do it. I think we might have gotten it right this week." It would be very hard to disagree. While putting up another 4 spot the Battle's defense returned emphatically by posting a shutout. Newly acquired Will Johnson set the tone on Thursday night with relentless pressure. As the match wore on though, the pressure just wasn't turning into points. "For a minute we were worried. We had seen this type of thing before," stated Alamo City management. "Will was all over the place but just couldn't figure in a score, Oba ended up not getting on the pitch, Henry had a quiet match, Kleberson didn't see the field, but then Clint and Adam both got us on the board." As the match moved on the confidence grew despite the low score. The Battle defense looked as it did in the opening weeks of the season and Alliance just couldn't get any traction. The match moved into the final round late on Sunday and that's when the Battle sealed it with Giles Barnes connecting with Andrew Driver to put the match to bed.
With the 4-0 win the Battle secured the Freedom Cup once more. Going head to head with Club America for the Cup, the Battle were able to shut out their Mexican competition just like their BSL opponent.
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