Liberty Drops Season Opener to No. 25 Virginia Tech

In its season opener, Liberty traveled to Blacksburg, Va. to face one of the top teams in the country in No. 25 Virginia Tech. The Lady Flames had their chances early, but the Hokies jumped on the Lady Flames in the first half and never looked back, defeating Liberty 3-0.

Scoring Summary

9' – VIRGINIA TECH – Molly Feighan (Assist by Emmalee McCarter)

30' – VIRGINIA TECH – Mikayla Mance (Assists by Emmalee McCarter and Karlie Johnson)

70' – VIRGINIA TECH – Mak Graham (Assists by Emma Steigerwald and Emily Gray)

Turning Point

Liberty was able to catch the Hokies on the counter attack early in the contest with three quality looks in front of goal but were unable to capitalize. Gabrielle Farrell had Liberty's best chance in the seventh minute of the game off a cross from Sierra Lam but Farrell's shot went above the crossbar. Virginia Tech in return made the most of its opportunities, scoring on its fourth shot of the game, immediately after Farrell's missed scoring opportunity. Virginia Tech was able to control the pace of play throughout the game to come away with the win.

Key Stats & Notes

• Virginia Tech outshot Liberty 19-7.
• Virginia Tech maintained possession for 59% of the game.
• The Hokies were led by Molly Feighan with a game-high five shots including two on goal.
• Gabrielle Farrell led Liberty with three shots.
• Farrell (three shots) and Sierra Lam (two shots) combined for five of Liberty's seven shots.
• Liberty goalkeeper, Melody Jayroe, faced 19 shots, coming up with eight saves.
• Emmalee McCarter recorded a game-high two assists.

Thoughts from Head Coach Lang Wedemeyer

"When you play good teams and make mistakes, they are going to punish you and that is what happened this game. Virginia Tech is a really talented team and we gave the ball away in some very dangerous places. The positive is we created three to four really good and dangerous chances that we should have scored on and that creates a completely different environment. We had our opportunities and I thought the girls battled but we have to be sharper and a little more composed on the ball."

Up Next

The gauntlet continues for Liberty as they will close the weekend out with No. 9 Virginia at Klockner Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. and can be seen on the ACC Network.