Lady Flames Soccer Team Clinches No. 2 Seed In Conference USA Championship

The Lady Flames Women’s Soccer team ruffled some feathers after defeating the Kennesaw State Owls 4-0 Friday, Nov. 1 in its last game of the regular season. This win declared the Flames Co-Conference USA Regular Season Champions and clinched them the No. 2 seed in the Conference USA Championship.

The Owls opened the first period by maintaining possession over the ball as they tried for a goal early on, which was stopped by redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Grace Workman.

The Flames responded with their own goal as junior forward Ivy Garner found redshirt sophomore forward Halle Engle wide open and passed across the pitch, where Engle rocketed it into the net for the Flames’ first goal. This was Engle’s ninth game-opening goal this season.

“It’s just always nice to score an early goal, and Halle is pretty good about scoring those early goals,” Head Coach Lang Wedemeyer said. “So that’s fantastic, and for us, it was great to get a lot of players in the game and get some scoring from different places.”

The Flames dominated possession in the first half, keeping the ball on their goal’s side of the pitch, but the Owls’ defense made them work, preventing them from scoring again in the period.

The Flames showed grit as they set up camp around their goal and repeatedly tried to reach the back of the net. They made several attempts, failing each time to score as one kick sent the ball too high and two were pushed out of the goal by redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Charlee Bernal.

With three minutes remaining in the half, the Owls tried to tie it, but Workman did not allow the ball to get past her. The Flames tried for one more goal to end the period, but they could not succeed as the clock ran out, ending the first half 1-0. 

The second half began with as much energy as the first. The Flames tried to score first, but Bernal stopped the ball for a save. That wouldn’t stop the Flames, however, as Garner furthered their lead by finding a hole and kicking the ball into the top of the net, straight over Bernal’s head.

“We kind of caught them off guard,” Garner said. “She (redshirt sophomore defenseman Sallie Garner) threw it to me, I turned, and it was kind of strange to me that there was no pressure right away. I heard someone say shoot it, so I just took a shot and honestly hoped for the best, and it worked out well.”

The Flames continued to add fuel to their fire as redshirt junior midfielder Lysie Findley found the back of the net for her first career goal. Shortly after, a penalty on Kennesaw State allowed junior defender Elise Graf to set up at the penalty arc for a perfect goal, further extending Liberty’s lead.

“There were a couple of lulls in our play, but we scored really timely goals, and that was really important,” Wedemeyer said. “Halle’s goal early on set the tone, and then Ivy’s second goal in the second half really settled us down, and then we started to play really well from that point.”

This win put Liberty at 6-1-2 in CUSA, tying with Florida International University and earning the Lady Flames their first CUSA regular-season title. They are 14-1-4 to end their regular season.

Next up, the Lady Flames head to the CUSA Championship in Miami, Florida, where they will battle for a conference title. The championship begins Nov. 6, but the Flames have secured a first-round bye in the semifinals against an opponent that is to be determined.

The semifinal game will take place Nov. 8 at 4 p.m. From there, the Flames hope to earn a spot in the finals, which will be held Nov. 10 at 2 p.m. Each game will be streamed on ESPN+.

White is the asst. sports editor for the Liberty Champion.