The Battle Begins: Flames Field Hockey advances to the NCAA Tournament
For the first time since 2014, Liberty field hockey advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Flames received an automatic bid into the tournament after defeating UConn in a 1-0 slugfest with senior forward Jill Bolton’s lone goal in the third period.
When the clock hit triple zeros, the Lady Flames dropped their sticks, running toward each other, jumping, hugging and crying in each other’s arms as they clinched its first BIG EAST Championship in program history.
But now, the real battle begins.
The 2021 NCAA Tournament will consist of 18 teams, 10 conference championship winners and eight at-large bids.
As for the Lady Flames, they will play against St. Joseph; the Atlantic 10 Champs (16-4) in the first round Nov. 12. A win would put them up against the winner of Rutgers’s vs. Fairfield/Delaware (play-in game). Both games will take place at Rutgers (Piscataway NJ) who earned hosting rights by being the No. 1 seed in the region and the No. 1 overall seed.
If the Flames progress out of the region, they will be in the semifinals. The semifinals and finals are taking place at Michigan’s campus (Ann Arbor, Michigan).
Other teams that lurk within the bracket include Iowa, who nearly finished the season unbeaten, last years’ runners-up in Michigan, and the three-time defending national champion UNC. The Flames beat UNC 4-0 in North Carolina earlier this season, but playoff UNC is a different type of team.
Coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker is excited to be in this year’s tournament, her first time reaching the tournament as a coach.
“It’s the years that we’ve been sewing and sewing and sewing and not getting the results that we wanted, to ultimately be in this position that now we’re getting to reap”, Parsley-Blocker said.
Sixth-year senior Kendra Jones sees this as a final opportunity to end her career on a high note.
“I don’t have a lot of expectations, just because I’ve never done this before, but I’m just really excited to just be blessed with at least another week just to play the sport that I love,” Jones said. “You know, you’re not guaranteed anything once you hit postseason, so just being blessed with another game is a really awesome feeling, and (I’m) just hoping to leave it all out there on the field this weekend”.
Fifth-year senior Jill Bolton outlined a similar level of optimism for the Lady Flames’ tournament chances.
“I’m just excited to put our name out there,” Bolton said. “I think it’s just really cool. We’ve played the same teams this whole year in Big East Conference play. But just playing new team like St Joes, it’s just going to be really cool for them to experience us in any way, and just showing God’s light to that — I think it’s going to be really neat”.
Another Lady Flame who detailed her excitement for the tournament is junior Daniella Rhodes. Rhodes scored 16 goals in 16 games this season, putting her T-5th in the country for goals per game.
“I mean, I think we’re all very excited to play a team that we haven’t played yet, and I am most excited just for the new adventures we’re going to go on, and things we’re going to have to work through to try and ultimately beat them. So, I’m excited for all that,” Rhodes said.
The Lady Flames will face off against St. Joseph’s in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on November 12 in East Piscataway, NJ at 1:30 p.m.
Josh Hisaw is a guest writer. Follow him on Twitter @jdhisaw