Women’s Lacrosse Has REcord-Shattering Day Against Delaware State

With a scorching hot start Wednesday March 24 against Delaware State, Liberty scored 17 times from 32 shots in the first half alone. Goals poured in from all over the roster, with 16 different Lady Flames scoring throughout the game.

The Lady Flames lacrosse team put on a clinic, scoring a program-record 24 goals in the landslide 24-2 win over Delaware State. 

With the win, Liberty improved to 5-4 and 3-1 in home games this season while Delaware State departed Lynchburg with a dismal 1-5 record on the season. 

“It just shows the selflessness of this group,” Head Coach Kelly Nangle said. “They are more interested in other people getting goals than (scoring) themselves, so that is fun to watch as a coach. But anytime you get the whole team involved, it’s a good day.”

Many new players scored their first career goals as Lady Flames. The demolition saw first career goals from Jolie Blohm, Mia Blackburn, Brieanna Bernier and Katelyn Weissend. Alongside seven players scoring multiple goals, Hannah Davis shot  her first goal with just :01 left in the first half, adding a second in the second half. 

“It feels good honestly,” Davis said. “I just love balling out with my whole team, and we backed each other up and that is the best part of the game. There is this motto above our door, and it says, ‘Everybody eats,’ and we live by that every single day.”

Brooke Bryan hit the three-goal mark in the game for the fourth time this season, but she said seeing so many players open their accounts for Liberty stood out as one of the highlights of a one-sided game. 

“It honestly felt like one of the best days because it was all about the team,” Bryan said. “We had tons of people get their first goal out there, and it’s just an incredible opportunity to just work together and to just enjoy and celebrate one another.” 

Bryan’s 19th goal of the season provided Liberty with the record-breaking 24th goal of the game with 2:52 left in the game. Though Bryan was fouled on her first two free position tries, a quick release on the third try did the trick. 

“It was really awesome to respond with finishing instead of getting frustrated,” Bryan said. “Honestly it was my teammates. Mackenzie (Lehman) was just saying ‘Hey bro, I got your back if you need me,’ and her just being there for me in that moment was the thing that allowed me to take it in.”

Liberty outshot Delaware State 43-5, scoring 20 or more goals for the second time in three games. With the Flames in control throughout the game, Nangle said games like these often require extra attention to detail to stay focused.  

“We wanted to make sure we were executing,” Nangle said. “Whatever we are doing, we are preparing for Wednesday. We wanted to work on possessing the ball, running through our plays, and waiting a little bit longer to get good shots off.” 

With the dominant win, the team looks forward to next Wednesday’s meeting with No. 22 JMU, and Nangle is excited for what lies ahead. 

“Anytime everybody can be involved, that is a win in our book,” Nangle said. “It feels great.” 

Zac Zehnder is a Sports Reporter. Follow him on Twitter at @zaczehnder.