Flames Batter Longwood for Fourth Straight Win

Liberty women’s soccer took Longwood to school as the Flames dominated in a 5-0 win against the Lancers. 

As the score indicates, the contest was all Flames as Maddy Oliver scored first in the eighth minute on a cross from Alexis Salazar. Kasey Jamieson followed with a goal just four minutes later to earn Liberty an early 2-0 lead. Liberty Head Coach Lang Wedemeyer was appreciative of the quick start. 

“It was really good how we started the game,” Wedemeyer said. “Starting with a lot of momentum and getting a goal and then a second goal pretty close to that was really important.”

The next 30 minutes of play were quiet on the scoresheet as Liberty continued to dominate in possession until the 44th minute of the first half when Madison Ellis scored a breathtaking goal, curving the ball in from a left corner kick to bury it in the right corner of the goal. The score gave the Flames the 3-0 lead to close the first half. 

“I saw the goalie creeping up, so I thought ‘I’m just going to curve it,’ and I had already done one in warm-ups,” Ellis said. “So, that was fun.” 

Wedemeyer acknowledged the role this played in maintaining Liberty’s momentum.

“Scoring that goal right before halftime really sealed it for us,” Wedemeyer said. “We started the second half strong; those are the critical moments of the game.”

The second half of action saw Meredith King’s third goal of the season in the 56th minute while Briana Myers scored her first collegiate goal on Sunday afternoon with a beautiful strike in the 86th minute before the final whistle. 

The defense replicated the strong play by the offense by holding the Lancers to just three shot attempts with only one finding the frame. Wedemeyer says the key to his team’s collective success is up and down the roster. 

“It is really nice that we have such great depth right now,” Wedemeyer said. “We have a lot of players that come in and they are able to stay fresh in their ability to possess the ball.”

Liberty defender Maddy Ellis also spoke highly of the team’s depth, especially with how it pertained to goal scoring. 

“It is really fun to see five different goal scorers. That’s a rare thing,” Ellis said. “I think our bench is really deep this year, and it was fun to see so many people contribute.”

After an 0-3 start to the season, the team won the next four, with the game against Longwood affording the Lady Flames their first winning record this season. Coach Wedemeyer said the secret for extending the winning streak is simple. 

“One of the things we talked about is just the ability to play to our standard all the time,” Wedemeyer said. “Even as we make our substitutions, we want to play to a high standard, and that’s going to be important going into conference play.”

The Flames will be back in action 6 p.m., Sept. 16 when they host UNCW at Osborne Stadium.

Zehnder is a sports reporter. Follow him on Twitter at @zaczehnder.