The Liberty University Women’s Soccer team closed out the regular season with a 2-0 win against Sam Houston State University Oct. 26.
With the victory, the Lady Flames became the regular season co-champions of Conference USA (CUSA), sharing the title with Western Kentucky University. The win also marked the 100th Liberty career win for Head Coach Lang Wedemeyer.
“One hundred wins at Liberty have been fantastic, and we just feel really blessed. God has given me an amazing platform to come and be able to pour into young women,” Wedemeyer said. “I’ve been incredibly blessed to have some amazing players and amazing people, and that’s really the heart of Liberty.”
The Lady Flames leading goal scorer, senior forward Ivy Garner, tested the Lady Bearkats defense right out of the gate, forcing Sam Houston graduate student goalkeeper Katie Bahn to record a save only 30 seconds into the game. Liberty stayed on the attack, controlling the ball throughout the first half to keep Sam Houston in its defensive set. However, despite constant attacks and multiple good looks, the two were tied for most of the first half.
With just under three minutes to halftime, the Lady Flames struck first, capitalizing on their fourth corner kick of the game. Junior defender Carly Keene lifted the ball across the field to find her fellow junior defender Lauren Littleton in front of the left post, where Littleton tapped the ball in for her second score of the season.
“Carly crossed the ball in. I thought the keeper was going to save it. She didn’t, and it came to me. I was like, ‘Oh shoot, I can’t miss this,’ and so I just tapped it in,” Littleton said.
Liberty set the tone to begin the second half with a near goal, as sophomore forward Avery Paulson took a shot just outside the top of the box, forcing Sam Houston’s Bahn to make a leaping save. The Lady Flames’ constant pressure paid off as sophomore midfielder Haley Noblit found Garner in the middle of the field. Garner turned the corner and raced around the defense to send the ball past Bahn for her 10th goal of the season.
The Lady Flames held off the Lady Bearkats to seal the 2-0 victory, finishing the regular season with a 11-3-4 record. Liberty outshot Sam Houston 25-9, only allowing two shots on goal, as the team enters the postseason with a six-game-winning streak.
“We’ve been able to put teams away recently. We’d like to score a few more goals, but we’re creating a lot of dangerous chances, so that’s a positive for us,” Wedemeyer said.
Liberty now turns to the CUSA tournament as the No. 2 seed. The tournament will be hosted at Osborne Stadium starting Nov. 2 where Liberty is set to take on Louisiana Tech University at 11 a.m. For the third year in a row, the Lady Flames look to reach the CUSA conference title game.
Szepanski is a sports reporter.