Men’s Soccer Loses 2-0 To Incarnate Word
The Liberty University Men’s Soccer team kicked off its Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Championship run Sunday at Ralph Korte Stadium in Edwardsville, Illinois, with a crucial quarterfinal showdown against No. 5 seed Incarnate Word. As the No. 4 seed, the Flames were looking to advance to the semifinals and earn a shot at facing the No. 1 seed.
After falling last season in the OVC Championship quarterfinals to Eastern Illinois in a penalty shoot-out, The Flames were hungry for redemption and eager to make a deeper run in this year’s tournament. However, the Flames fell to the Incarnate Word Cardinals 2-0 in a fiercely fought quarterfinal match Nov. 10, putting an end to their 2024 season.
The match was the second time the two teams played this week and the third time this season. Their recent face-off resulted in a 2-2 draw at Osborne Stadium. However, earlier this season, Liberty came out on top with a 2-0 victory in San Antonio, Texas.
“We knew we were in for our last weekend,” Head Coach Kelly Findley said. “We really treated those games not as preseason but really, you know, you’re in the tournament — can we get a little bit better in this last weekend? Can we stay healthy? Can we just take some risks and do some different things to help us improve over the last two games?”
The Flames entered the OVC Championship after a solid regular-season performance, finishing with a 5-3-2 record and earning 17 points in their second season as an OVC member. They were eager to prove that they belong among the conference’s elites, but they knew the road ahead of them would not be easy.
“You’ve got to go win every game,” Findley said. “It doesn’t matter who you play at this point because you survive and advance.”
Despite a slow start, the Cardinals shut things down, netting two goals in the first period and holding the Flames off for the remainder of the match. This was the first lead the Cardinals took over the Flames this season.
Returning from halftime with a 2-point deficit, the Flames hit the pitch in a fury, seeking to turn the tide in their favor. None of the Flames’ scoring attempts found the back of the net, however, as UIW’s graduate goalkeeper Alejandro De La Torre stood strong in defense of his goal.
Following a yellow card on the Flames, the Cardinals were awarded a free kick, which junior goalkeeper Owen Moore pushed out of the goal for a save. Moore left an impact on Flames Soccer in the 2024 season, recording five shutouts with a .76 save ratio. Providing a solid backbone for Liberty, Moore started in 15 of the team’s 17 games this season.
With just under seven minutes left on the clock, sophomore forward Leo Conneh made a pass to senior forward Michael Huss in a desperate attempt for a goal, but it flew too far left of the net.
The Cardinals’ defense built a wall around the Flames’ offense for the remainder of the second period. Despite one final attempt to score, De La Torre prevented the ball from getting past, ending the game in a Flames loss.
UIW will advance to play SIUE in the semifinals later this week, while the Flames end their season 7-7-3 overall and 5-3-2 in the OVC.
Pais is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion. White is the asst. sports editor.