LFSN's Nick Pierce recently had a chance to catch up with Liberty Field Hockey Head Coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker to recap the 2018 season.

In Parsley-Blocker's second year, the Lady Flames closed out the season with a 13-6 overall record. Liberty finished runner-up in the BIG EAST regular-season standings as well as at the 2018 BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship.

The Lady Flames played for a BIG EAST Championship title on their home turf on Nov. 4, falling to UConn 5-3.

2018 Season Highlights

• The Lady Flames finished No. 16 in the final national poll and No. 15 in the final NCAA RPI listing.
• Liberty senior Agueda Moroni was selected to the 2018 Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-America first team. Moroni is the first player in program history to be named a first team All-American and the first two-time All-American in program history (also garnered second team distinction in 2017). The Liberty field hockey program has now featured four All-Americans in eight years of the program's existence.
• Liberty placed three players on the 2018 Longstreth/NFHCA Division I All-South Region team: Moroni (first team), Jill Bolton (second team) and Ashley Dykema (second team).
• The Lady Flames placed four players on the All-BIG EAST Team, led by Offensive Player of the Year Agueda Moroni. Moroni also received first team honors, along with Bolton and Dykema. Senior midfielder Abby Julius was a second team selection for the second time in her career (also in 2016).
• Liberty placed three players on the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) All-State University Division first team, led by VaSID Player of the Year Agueda Moroni. Moroni, the first VaSID Player of the Year in Liberty field hockey program history, was also a first team selection, along with sophomores Jill Bolton and Ashley Dykema.
• Liberty was well-represented in the BIG EAST Weekly Honors as well as national honors throughout the year. Moroni garnered Longstreth/NFHCA Division I Offensive Player of the Week honors twice (Aug. 29, Oct. 3), BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week three times (Aug. 28, Sept. 3, Oct. 1) and BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll recognition on two occasions (Sept. 24 and Oct. 29). Other Lady Flames to be recognized included junior goalkeeper Allison Schaefer (Defensive Player of the Week, Aug. 28 and Sept. 24), freshman forward Alivia Klopp (Freshman of the Week, Oct. 29, and Weekly Honor Roll, Sept. 17), junior defender Mallory Fortenbaugh (Weekly Honor Roll, Oct. 8 and Oct. 22) and senior forward Moniek van Aarle (Weekly Honor Roll, Oct. 15).
• The Lady Flames won a program-record six BIG EAST regular-season contests against only one loss in their third year in the conference. Liberty posted identical 5-2 marks in the league in both 2016 and 2017 and is now 16-5 overall through three years in BIG EAST Conference play.
• Liberty defeated four ranked teams in 2018: No. 7 Virginia (Sept. 16), No. 11 Boston College (Oct. 21), No. 17 James Madison (Aug. 24) and No. 22 Old Dominion (Oct. 5).
• Lady Flames freshman Alivia Klopp's game-winning goal at home against No. 7 Virginia was featured as the No. 9 play on ESPN's SportsCenter Top 10 Plays listing. The Bernville, Pa., native's goal with 1:45 left lifted Liberty to its first ever win over Virginia by a score of 3-2.
• As a team, Liberty ranked among the nation's best in several statistical categories. The Lady Flames finished the year No. 6 in the nation in goals per game (3.47), No. 6 in scoring average (3.44), No. 6 in points per game (9.89), No. 8 in assists per game (2.95), No. 10 in scoring margin (1.51), No. 12 in winning percentage (.684), No. 18 in shutouts per game (0.26) and No. 20 in penalty corners per game (6.74).
• Individually, Moroni finished first in the nation in points per game (3.47), second in total goals (26) and goals per game (1.37) and seventh in assists per game (0.74). Schaefer placed No. 15 in the country in goalie win-loss percentage (.684) and No. 38 in goals-against-average (2.03). Junior Mallory Fortenbaugh (No. 17, 0.58) and junior Kendra Jones (No. 24, 0.53) both finished among the top 25 in the nation in assists per game.
• Seniors Abby Julius, Agueda Moroni, Lindsay Pratt and Moniek van Aarle closed out their careers in Liberty uniforms. Julius and Pratt were members of the team for four seasons, helping the Lady Flames win 41 games. Moroni was a part of the squad for three seasons (29 wins), while van Aarle's two years (2017-18) saw Liberty post a combined 21-17 mark.