Feature: Liberty women’s soccer team looks to peak as it enters the postseason tournament

The Liberty women’s soccer team is looking to close out its strong season the way it started, emphasizing team comradery, chemistry and competition. As the postseason approaches, the team continues to improve daily, and their goal at the beginning of the season to cultivate a winning culture remains the same. 

Head Coach Lang Wedemeyer commented on how the team has had a lot of success on the field, but also emphasized how team relationships have contributed to a rewarding season.  

“There’s some firsts on the soccer field for sure,” Wedemeyer said. “But I think really one of the greatest things we will take away from this season is our team comradery and how well the team meshes on and off the field.” 

Senior Gabrielle Farrell and junior Cora Duininck emphasized the importance of resilience and team persistence this season. The team’s determined mentality has helped them find success even when facing strong nonconference opponents throughout the season. 

“We have an attitude that we’re not going to leave anything on the field,” Farrell said. “We’re going to go out and make sure at the end of the game we can say we gave it our best. … We’re all-in for what this culture means and what our program stands for.” 

“The biggest thing is our culture,” Duininck added. “That was our goal at the beginning of the season: to have that kind of resilient culture. … These were a lot of things we talked about at the beginning of the season, but actually implementing them has been the biggest change.” 

The team finished the regular season with a winning record of 10-6-2, achieving a record of 6-2-0 in ASUN conference play. The program has skyrocketed to sucess with notable wins, such as a victory over the University of Pittsburgh (the first win over a Power Five ACC opponent in program history) and the first program win over William & Mary. 

Despite a grueling schedule of quick turn-around games and strong program opponents, the Flames are focused on continuing to play with a resilient mindset. After finishing the regular season on a win, the team looks to head into the postseason with a determined but humble mentality. 

Duininck commented on the challenges the team’s postseason opponents will pose, but with their daily improvement and an attitude of tough mentality, the Flames anticipate successful conference results. 

“Everyone we face will be good,” Duininck said. “We can’t limit the abilities of any teams we come across. It’s only going to get harder from here, but we’re getting better every day.” 

After their 1-0 win against conference rival NJIT on Oct. 27, the Liberty Flames will look to compete successfully during the ASUN conference tournament starting Nov. 1.