No. 10 Liberty Tops No. 25 Stanford 5-1, Monday

The 10th-ranked Liberty field hockey squad topped host No. 25 Stanford 5-1, Monday afternoon at Varsity Turf Field.

Liberty runs its record to 3-0 to start the fall 2021 campaign. The Lady Flames have now started 3-0 in three straight seasons. Stanford falls to 0-2.

Daniella Rhodes of the Lady Flames led the way with two goals, while Reagan Underwood, Jill Bolton and Charlotte Vaanhold added goals for the visiting side. Underwood’s goal early in the second frame was the first of the sophomore midfielder’s collegiate career.

Scoring Summary

3’ – LIBERTY – Daniella Rhodes (Kendra Jones and Bethany Dykema) | Penalty Corner

7’ – STANFORD – Haley Mossmer (Rose Winter)

18’ – LIBERTY – Reagan Underwood (unassisted)

29’ – LIBERTY – Daniella Rhodes (Charlotte Vaanhold)

44’ – LIBERTY – Jill Bolton (unassisted)

60’ – LIBERTY – Charlotte Vaanhold | Penalty Stroke

Goalkeepers

W: Azul Iritxity Irigoyen 3-0, two saves

L: No Goalie, seven team defensive saves

Turning Point

Underwood’s first career goal put Liberty ahead for good at the 17:10 mark, providing the Lady Flames a 2-1 edge. On the ensuing scramble inside the circle following a Rhodes penalty corner shot, Underwood backhanded a shot into the left side of the cage.

Liberty tacked on a third goal at the 28:42 mark, as Rhodes found a seam in the defense and scored off a Vaanhold feed. Rhodes’ second goal of the contest and fourth of the season pushed the Lady Flames’ lead to 3-1 heading into intermission.

Key Stats & Notes

• Liberty scored late in both the third and fourth quarters to settle the final margin at 5-1. Bolton’s goal came on a reverse in the 44th minute, while Vaanhold scored on a penalty stroke with only eight seconds remaining in the match (59:52).

• Liberty finished the game with a 16-6 edge in shots and 12-3 advantage in shots on goal.

• The Lady Flames drew seven penalty corners on the afternoon, compared to three for the Cardinal.

• Stanford played the duration of the contest without a goalkeeper and used 11 field players.

• The Lady Flames outscored their competition 15-2 in the three games to open the year.

• With the win, Liberty holds a 3-2 advantage over Stanford in the all-time series.

Up Next

Liberty will return home to face No. 4 Northwestern (2-0), Sept. 7 in its home opener. Match time is slated for noon at the Liberty Field Hockey Field. The game can be seen on ESPN+. This is the first time Liberty will welcome a top-five foe to Lynchburg since hosting No. 4 Duke on Nov. 3, 2019.

This will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Liberty Field Hockey Head Coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker attended Northwestern and competed for the Wildcats from 2010-13. She earned second team All-American honors in 2013 as a senior at Northwestern.