Liberty University Flames

The No. 16-ranked Liberty field hockey team will play a road BIG EAST match at Villanova on Friday and will then host No. 7 Louisville, Sunday afternoon.

The Lady Flames (7-4), who currently lead the BIG EAST with a 3-0 conference mark, will match up with Villanova (7-4, 1-2 BIG EAST) on Friday. Game time is 3 p.m. at the Villanova Field Hockey Field.

Liberty will return home to face the seventh-ranked Louisville Cardinals (9-2) in a non-conference contest. Match time is noon at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.

The Lady Flames split a pair of home games last weekend, topping Quinnipiac 5-0 and falling 6-3 to No. 1 North Carolina. Meanwhile, the Villanova Wildcats lost in overtime to Lehigh by a 2-1 score in their most recent action. Louisville downed VCU 3-1 in its last game.

Lady Flames News and Notes

• Liberty stands atop the BIG EAST standings at 3-0. No. 12 Connecticut, No. 13 Old Dominion, Temple and Providence are all a game behind at 2-1.

• The Lady Flames are 8-0 all-time versus Villanova and 7-0 since joining the BIG EAST prior to the 2016 season. Liberty has outscored Villanova 38-3 in those seven league matches.

• Liberty and Louisville met last fall (Sept. 12, 2021), with the Cardinals prevailing 3-1 at Trager Stadium in Louisville, Ky. After the setback, the Lady Flames won their next 17 games before falling to Northwestern in the NCAA Field Hockey Championship title game. Liberty is 1-2 all-time against Louisville.

• The last time the Cardinals visited Lynchburg was on Sept. 28, 2014, a 2-1 Lady Flames win at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.

• Midfielder Lizzie Hamlett was tabbed the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week, Tuesday. Hamlett scored three goals and had one assist and seven points in Liberty’s games last weekend against Quinnipiac and No. 1 North Carolina, both at home.

• Defender Bethany Dykema garnered inclusion on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the third time this year. The Newport News, Va., native had one goal, one assist and three points last weekend and was a part of a defensive unit which shut out Quinnipiac (5-0 win) for Liberty’s seventh clean sheet of 2022.

• The Liberty offense is currently first in the nation in goals per game (4.45), assists per game (4.18) and points per game (13.09). The Lady Flames rank second in scoring average (4.39) and scoring margin (3.23).

• Liberty leads the country in shutouts per game (0.64). All seven of the Lady Flames’ wins have come by shutout. In those victories, Liberty has outscored its opposition 44-0.

• Liberty dropped two spots to No. 16 in this week’s Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll. The Lady Flames have been listed in the No. 16 position twice in the past three polls (other: Sept. 20). Louisville slid two spots to the No. 7 position in this week’s national poll.

• Liberty checks in at No. 8 nationally in penalty corners per game (7.55). The Lady Flames have scored 21 goals off corners in 2022 while not giving up a short corner goal in 11 games. Opponents are 0-of-32 on penalty corner chances.

Schedule

No. 16 Lady Flames to Face Villanova, No. 7 Louisville