Liberty Downs DSU 20-5 to Finish as Undefeated 2023 ASUN Regular Season Champ

The Liberty Lady Flames downed the Delaware State Hornets 20-5 on Saturday at Drass Field in the regular season finale, finishing unbeaten in the ASUN and earning their first regular season title in program history in the process.

Liberty improves to 11-6 overall and 7-0 in the ASUN to cap off a perfect run through league play. The Lady Flames' regular season crown is outright as well, with Liberty finishing a game ahead of Jacksonville (10-7, 6-1 ASUN) in the standings. This is the Lady Flames' first regular season title in the 14-year history of the program, which dates back to 2010.

Delaware State finishes the year 2-14 overall and 0-7 in conference.

Liberty earns the No. 1 seed for the upcoming 2023 ASUN Women's Lacrosse Championship. The Lady Flames will receive a bye through the quarterfinals and face a to-be-determined opponent in the semifinal round, Thursday at 1 p.m. at Jacksonville's Rock Stadium.

Freshman Katie Colavito notched her first career hat trick, scoring a game-high four goals on the day. Meanwhile, sophomore Cami Merkel scored three goals of her own and matched career highs in assists (3) and points (6). \

Junior Jordan Sheive notched her 100th career point in the contest. Junior Mia Blackburn notched her first career assist today, while sophomore goalkeeper Taylor Gallarello (10-1) became the fourth Liberty goalkeeper in program history to win 10 or more games in a season.

Liberty head coach Kelly Nangle won her 100th career game as a Division I head coach.

Scoring Summary

Liberty Goals: Katie Colavito 4, Cami Merkl 3, Kelly Scott 2, Andrea Colavito 2, Tori Banks 2, Lizzy Ferguson 1, Celena Kerr 1, Kate Troutman 1, Amelia Loughery 1, Jenna Burrow 1, Taiva Reinertson 1, Ava Rajala 1

Liberty Assists: Lizzy Ferguson 3, Cami Merkel 3, Olivia Glaze 2, Kelly Scott 2, Jordan Sheive 2, Mia Blackburn 1, Celena Kerr 1

Delaware State Goals: Zahra Smith 3, Ebony Reddick 2

Delaware State Assists: Saniya Craft 1, London Downing 1, Dylan Wilkes 1

Goalkeepers

W: Taylor Gallarello 10-1, three saves

L: Yeda Couto-Erickson 2-6, five saves

Turning Point

Liberty stormed out to a 10-0 lead after the first quarter with strong performances from Cami Merkel (three goals, one assists), Katie Colavito (three goals), Jordan Sheive (two assists) and Lizzy Ferguson (seven draw controls). Merkel scored the first three goals of the game in the opening six minutes, with the second and third goals coming on assists from Sheive.

Katie Colavito scored back-to-back-to-back goals at the 7:55, 7:22 and 4:08 marks to put the guests ahead 7-0. Andrea Colavito, Tori Banks and Kelly Scott closed out the scoring in the opening frame.

First Half Summary

• A dominant first half staked Liberty to a 14-1 lead through 30 minutes.

• The Lady Flames outshot the Hornets 24-5 and held a 14-2 advantage in the draw circle.

• Cami Merkel and Katie Colavito both notched hat tricks in the opening half. Tori Banks scored her 19th goal of the season with 2:40 left in the first period and later added her 20th with 3:59 left in the half. This is Banks' first 20-goal campaign in a Liberty uniform.

Second Half Summary

• All six of Liberty's goals in the final 30 minutes were tallied by different players. The Lady Flames outscored the Hornets a combined 6-4 in the third and fourth quarters.

Key Stats & Notes

• Sheive's first assist of the day to Merkel at the 14:15 mark gave her 100 career points. Sheive is the 14th player in program history to eclipse the century mark for career points. The junior finished the day with two points and is up to 64 goals, 37 assists and 101 points.

• Merkel finishes the regular season as the team leader in goals (36) and points (51) and tied for the team lead in assists (15).

• Liberty outshot Delaware State 35-12 and held an 18-9 edge in draw controls, led by a game-high 15 draws from attacker Lizzy Ferguson. Ferguson has 15 or more draws in back-to-back games, four games with 15-plus draws on the season and 166 total draws in 17 games this year.

• The Lady Flames recorded a season-high 14 assists today. Mia Blackburn tallied her first career assist on a pass to Amelia Loughery at the 4:45 mark of the fourth quarter for Liberty's 20th and final goal of the contest. Ferguson's three assists today are a new career high.

• Sophomores Kate Troutman, Taiva Reinertson and Celena Kerr each scored goals today. Freshmen Amelia Loughery, Ava Rajala and Jenna Burrow all found the back of the cage as well.

• Liberty was a perfect 7-of-7 (100 percent) on clearing opportunities, compared to only 58.3 percent for DSU (7-of-12).

• A total of 30 Lady Flames saw playing time today.

• Liberty closes the regular season on a four-game winning streak and having won nine of its last 10 contests.

• This is the first time since the ASUN was formed (2013, 11 years) that the Jacksonville Dolphins have not won at least a share of the regular season crown. JU captured the outright regular season crown in every season except for 2017, when it earned a share of the title with Coastal Carolina.

• Head coach Kelly Nangle's 100 victories as a head coach include 84 at Liberty and 16 at Central Connecticut State.

• Liberty improves to 4-0 all-time versus DSU. The Lady Flames have scored at least 20 goals in all four meetings. Liberty is averaging 21.75 goals per game against the Hornets while surrendering only 4.0 goals per game.

Up Next

• Liberty will be the No. 1 seed for next week's 2023 ASUN Women's Lacrosse Championship. The Lady Flames will receive a bye and will play in Thursday's semifinal round at 1 p.m. against a to-be-determined opponent.

• The Lady Flames are in search of their first conference title in program history and first ASUN crown. Liberty has finished as the runner-up at the ASUN Championship each of the last three seasons (2019, 2021, 2022) in which the tournament was contested.

Main Photo at Top of Story: No. 1 Mia Blackburn