Lady Flames undefeated: Liberty Women’s Soccer opens their season with 11 games without a loss

The Lady Flames Women’s Soccer team extended its undefeated streak to nine wins this season after defeating Jacksonville State 4-0 Thursday night. 

On the other hand, the Jacksonville State Gamecocks had a mediocre start to their season, going into the night 3-4. Despite the flattering scoreboard, the Lady Flames had to battle for their win against the Gamecocks.  

Led by Head Coach Lang Wedemeyer, the Lady Flames came out of the gates blazing, playing extremely fast, high-pressure soccer. With strategy, Wedemeyer has found plenty of success during his time on Liberty Mountain, and nothing changed Thursday.  

Liberty kicked off the game with a high-pressure attack, controlling play for the first 15 minutes. On a quick offensive rush, redshirt sophomore forward Halle Engle netted the Flames’ first goal of the evening off a cross from teammate junior forward Ivy Garner at the 22-minute mark. The Flames capitalized on sustained pressure from the Gamecocks, taking an early lead. 

Although the Flames dominated possession and produced many offensive opportunities, the Gamecocks were able to escape the high-octane Liberty offense for the remainder of the first half. The Flames carried a slim 1-0 lead into halftime, with redshirt freshman goalkeeper Peyton Huber not seeing much action at the net.  

The Gamecocks came out blazing to start the second half. Controlling possession for the first 20 minutes of the half, the Gamecocks generated a few quality chances in which Huber rose to the occasion.   

Continuing their press, the Gamecocks got caught unawares as Garner connected with freshman forward Avery Paulson for her second goal of the season in the 63rd minute. This seemed to take all the momentum out of the Gamecocks’ boots, as Liberty capitalized again just three minutes later. 

Senior forward Taylor Mason scored a crafty goal, stealing the ball off a Jacksonville State throw-in, beating multiple defenders down the field and ripping one past a fully extended goalkeeper for her first goal of the season.  

With the game now in their hands, the Flames were able to give some of their bench players opportunities with a three-goal advantage late into the match. But the Flames did not stop there.  

In the 75th minute, the Flames made a rush down the pitch led by junior forward Ava Goodman. Goodman got a shot off that beat the keeper but hit the post, ricocheting right back to her for an easy tap-in goal to put Liberty up by four.  

Liberty claimed a 4-0 victory in its first conference game of the season using yet another offensive showcase. Next, the Lady Flames will host FIU for a Friday night showdown at 6 p.m. in Osborne Stadium. 

Bessire is a staff writer for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on X