No. 13 Liberty Knocks Off No. 15 UConn 3-1 at Home, Bolton Scores 50th Career Goal

No. 13 Liberty knocked off No. 15 Connecticut 3-1 on Friday afternoon at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.

This is the Lady Flames' first-ever home victory over UConn. Meanwhile, Liberty senior Jill Bolton joined elite company by scoring her 50th career goal, becoming the third player in program history to accomplish the feat.

Liberty improves to 6-2 overall and 2-0 in the BIG EAST and has won its last three contests. UConn drops to 4-5 on the season and 1-1 in conference play. The Lady Flames have won back-to-back games against the Huskies after dropping the first eight games in the all-time series.

Scoring Summary

8' – LIBERTY – Lizzie Hamlett (Charlotte Vaanhold)

21' – LIBERTY – Bethany Dykema (Maddie Hosler) | Penalty Corner

52' – LIBERTY – Jill Bolton (Martu Cian)

59' – UCONN – Abby Gooderham | Penalty Stroke

Goalkeepers

W: Azul Irixity Irigoyen 6-2, three saves

L: Cheyenne Sprecher 4-5, 12 saves

Turning Point

Liberty applied consistent pressure from the opening whistle and drew three penalty corners and a penalty stroke in the opening 4:09. The Lady Flames broke through in the eighth minute, as Lizzie Hamlett scored from in front, assisted by Charlotte Vaanhold. Hamlett's fifth goal of the season made it 1-0 Liberty.

The Lady Flames' lead grew to two goals at the 20:04 mark. Junior defender Bethany Dykema scored on a sweep following an insert from Maddie Hosler. Liberty led 2-0 at the break.

Bolton's milestone 50th career goal came midway through the fourth period (51:56), bumping the home lead to 3-0. The senior forward's goal was team-leading eighth of the year.

Key Stats & Notes

• Liberty earned a season-high 11 penalty corners in the match. UConn drew six short corners.

• The Lady Flames outshot the Huskies 23-10 today and held a 15-4 edge in shots on frame. Bolton led all players with seven shots, all of which were on frame.

• Bolton joins Agueda Moroni (55 goals, 2016-18) and Natalie Barr (54 goals, 2012-15) as one of only three players with 50 or more career goals.

• Bolton's goal gives her 131 career points. The program record is 135 career points, held by Moroni.

• The victory was Liberty Field Hockey Head Coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker's 50th career win. In her fifth season as head coach, Parsley-Blocker is 50-30 overall and 28-7 in BIG EAST play.

• Cian's assist on the Bolton goal was the first of her career.

• UConn scored its lone goal of the game on a penalty stroke from Abby Gooderham at 58:39. Huskies goalkeeper Cheyenne Sprecher made 12 saves in the contest.

• Liberty improves to 2-2 versus top-25 foes, this fall. UConn falls to 3-5 against ranked squads this season.

• This is Liberty's second-ever win over UConn. The Lady Flames bested the Huskies 4-0 during the spring season (March 14) at Temple's Howarth Field.

• Prior to today, the Huskies held a 3-0 record versus the Lady Flames at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.

Up Next

Liberty will be back in action a week from today when it takes on BIG EAST foe Quinnipiac (0-7, 0-2 BIG EAST) on the road. Match time between the Lady Flames and Bobcats is scheduled for a 1 p.m. at the Quinnipiac Field Hockey Stadium in Hamden, Conn.

Liberty and Quinnipiac did not face each other during the spring 2021 campaign. The two teams last met on Oct. 4, 2019, a 5-1 Lady Flames triumph. Liberty is 3-1 all-time versus Quinnipiac.