The Liberty University Field Hockey team captured its third BIG EAST Championship title Nov. 9 when captain senior midfielder Lou Combrinck scored 2:30 into overtime to give the Lady Flames the 2-1 victory over the University of Connecticut in an overtime thriller.
The tournament kicked off Nov. 7 with top-seeded Liberty defeating No. 4 seed Villanova University 3-1 to seal a spot in the championship game.
The Lady Flames operated with a slow burn as Villanova controlled the ball, creating three corner chances and four shots for the Lady Wildcats. The Lady Flames did not record a shot until less than three minutes were left in the second quarter after creating their first penalty corner chance.
Sophomore defender Dara Semmartin sent in a shot from the top of the circle to junior midfielder Maite Altamirano, who was in position to deflect the pass to the top of the net for her first goal of her career. The assist marked Semmartin’s 16th of the year as she continues to lead the program with the most assists in a single season.
Villanova did not back down without a fight, as graduate student forward Ava Borkowski tapped in junior forward Colleen Finnan’s pass to tie the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
With just under nine minutes remaining, Liberty freshman defender Paris-Gail Isaacs found sophomore forward Josefina Tomasi in front of the net, redirecting the pass for her sixth goal of the season.
“The poise that we had in that moment when we gather together. … I think that’s the mark of this team, that we’re super relentless and we don’t give up,” Tomasi said.
After Villanova pulled their goalkeeper in a last-ditch effort to score, sophomore forward Avery Pollock scored her fifth goal of the season on an empty net with three seconds left, giving the Lady Flames a 3-1 victory.
The Lady Flames carried over this momentum into the championship game against the UConn Lady Huskies. Liberty’s relentless pressure forced its fourth penalty corner chance with 39 seconds left in the first quarter. Freshman defender Julieta Tornati fired the ball toward the cage where UConn junior goalkeeper Natalie McKenna deflected the ball right to Liberty freshman defender Morena Giacosa, punching in her sixth goal of the season.
In the second quarter, UConn responded as freshman defender Zita Grigoleit sent the ball past the outstretched arms of freshman goalkeeper Diane Saint Martin to tie the score 1-1.
UConn amped up the pressure in the second half. Despite the attack, Liberty’s Saint Martin remained a brick wall, making crucial diving saves to drive the game into overtime.
As the championship hardware was on the line, Liberty relied on a familiar face to clinch the overtime victory. The Lady Flames generated another penalty-corner chance just under two and a half minutes into overtime. Combrinck passed the ball to the top of the circle to Tornati, who sent it right back to the fourth-year captain. Standing on the left side of the circle, Combrinck fired a shot into the back of the cage to take the 2-1 victory and crown the Lady Flames as the BIG EAST Champions. Combrinck’s seventh goal of the season tied her for team best with freshman forward Zoé Gaillard.
“(Tornati) sent a really good send. I kind of had the decision, did I want to one-time it or did I want to stop and flick it, and I made the decision to stop and put it past the goalie,” Combrinck said.
The win marked Liberty’s third BIG EAST title since joining the conference in 2016 and another automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
“Again, time and time, they show … if somebody does something, a goal gets scored, we’re not going to quit,” Head Coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker said. “You have to have that strong mindset to win championships.”
Combrinck received the BIG EAST Championship Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award, and Semmartin, Giacosa and Saint Martin joined Combrinck on the All-Tournament team.
“I can only give it all to the Lord. I’ve gone through a lot of injuries during my time at Liberty,” Combrinck said. “Being able to play and start and win these awards is just a testament of his strength and his faith through me. He is working so far on my journey here, and I can only credit it all to him.”
Liberty now turns their attention to the NCAA Tournament where the No. 7-ranked Lady Flames are slated to face Syracuse University Nov. 14 at 2:30 p.m. in Princeton, New Jersey.
“From here on out, every single game is survive and advance,” Parsley-Blocker said. “You’ve got to win on Friday in order to play on Sunday. I’m excited because I think this team has that X-factor. They have an ability under pressure to do things well.”
Szepanski is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion.