The Liberty University Women’s Lacrosse team closed out its regular season at home with a 17-5 loss against the University of Delaware, April 22.
Coming off a three-game win streak, the matchup began with an intense scramble at the opening faceoff, but a strong offensive push from the Lady Flames allowed senior attacker Ava Rajala to claim the first goal, 1-0.
Following that play, Delaware junior midfielder Julia Ciufo tied the score at 1-1 when she launched the ball between the pipes, assisted by senior attacker Jaclyn Marszal. This kick-started a rush of goals for the Blue Hens, creating a 3-1 lead over the Lady Flames.
Despite the push, Liberty did not make it easy for Delaware. Even with a player sitting out for a penalty, the Lady Flames forced the Blue Hens to get creative on offense. Senior attacker McKenzie Didio found the back of the net to further Delaware’s lead, 4-1.
“We can handle things not going our way,” Head Coach Kelly Nangle said. “But when it’s an effort issue or a heart issue, we always want to make sure we’re giving everything we have.”
Senior attacker Ella Rishko picked up one more unassisted tally for Delaware to extend the lead to 5-1 by the end of the first quarter.
The Lady Flames were the first to score in the second period. Redshirt senior midfielder Kate Troutman took advantage of a free position shot after a foul from Delaware, getting the ball in the back of the net to narrow the gap, 5-2.
Three more goals from the Blue Hens allowed them to solidify their lead before Liberty could respond, but a glimmer of hope showed when the Lady Flames caught a dropped ball and made their way down the field to the Blue Hens’ net. After some calculated ball movement, sophomore attacker Olivia Young sealed the deal with an unassisted goal to close the gap to 8-3.
That hope was diminished when Delaware landed one more goal in Liberty’s net during the final minute of the first half, extending its lead to 9-3.
Five unanswered goals in the third quarter for the Blue Hens set the score at 14-3.
Delaware began the fourth quarter with a man-up goal from Didio, assisted by senior attacker Callie Drab, less than a minute into play. Two more goals brought the score to 17-3 before Liberty rallied to stop them.
The Lady Flames managed to find multiple scoring opportunities as time dwindled. A dropped ball from the Blue Hens allowed Rajala to notch her second goal of the game, assisted by freshman attacker Sophia Nesci, which brought the score to 17-4.
Liberty claimed the final goal of the game less than a minute later. A penalty from Delaware gave the Lady Flames a man-up, which junior midfielder Hattie Messick capitalized on, assisted by senior midfielder Kendall Coss. The late surge was not enough, and Delaware took a decisive 17-5 victory.
The Lady Flames sit third in the Atlantic Sun (ASUN) Conference and will go to Jacksonville, Florida to compete in the conference championship April 28 to May 2. Each game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
“We love playing on the road,” Nangle said. “We’ve struggled a little bit at home this year, so we’re excited to get on the road, have another trip, have the opportunity to play some more games.”
Huckabay is a copy editor for the Liberty Champion.