No. 5 Northwestern Edges No. 11 Liberty 4-3, Tuesday

Northwestern's Clara Roth scored the game-winning goal with 1:37 left, lifting the No. 5 Wildcats to a 4-3 victory over host No. 11 Liberty, Tuesday afternoon at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.

Liberty suffers its first loss of the fall 2021 campaign and drops to 3-1. Meanwhile, Northwestern improves to 4-1 following the victory in what was the first-ever meeting in field hockey between the two schools.

Liberty senior midfielder Lizzie Hamlett scored a career-best two goals in the match, while freshman Martu Cian tallied her first collegiate goal in the contest.

Scoring Summary

10' – LIBERTY – Martu Cian (Charlotte Vaanhold)

14' – NORTHWESTERN – Alia Marshall (Maren Seidel) | Penalty Corner

37' – NORTHWESTERN – Maren Seidel (Katie Jones)

45' – LIBERTY – Lizzie Hamlett (Jill Bolton)

50' – NORTHWESTERN – Liese Wareham (unassisted)

54' – LIBERTY – Lizzie Hamlett (unassisted)

59' – NORTHWESTERN – Clara Roth (unassisted)

Goalkeepers

W: Annabel Skubisz 2-1, three saves

L: Azul Iritxity Irigoyen 3-1, eight saves

Turning Point

Liberty erased one-goal deficits on two occasions in the second half to even the game up. The Lady Flames' Lizzie Hamlett scored both of those goals in woman-up situations following cards from Northwestern's Lauren Wadas (green card, 43:41) and Bente Baekers (yellow card, 51:48). Hamlett's first goal at the 44:01 mark evened the score at 2-all.

Hamlett's second goal tied the contest up at 3-3 and came following a blocked shot on a Liberty penalty corner at the 53:28 mark.

With less than two minutes to play in the contest, the Wildcats' Clara Roth entered the left side of the circle and ripped a reverse shot past Liberty goalkeeper Azul Iritxity Irigoyen and into the right side of the cage at 58:23. The forward's fourth goal of the season held up as the game winner for Northwestern.

Key Stats & Notes

• Cian's first career goal put Liberty ahead 1-0 at the 9:54 mark. The Buenos Aires, Argentina native batted a ball from Charlotte Vaanhold out of the air and into the center of the goal for her first collegiate goal.

• Liberty defenders Jodie Conolly and Bethany Dykema each made defensive saves in the contest. Conolly made her first defensive save as a Lady Flame in the second quarter (19:54). Dykema's was the third of her career and came in the third quarter (39:03).

• Northwestern held edges in total shots (22-10), shots on goal (14-6) and penalty corners (7-5).

• The Lady Flames' Iritxity Irigoyen made a season-best eight saves in the contest.

• Following her two-goal effort, Hamlett ranks third on the squad in goals (3) and points (8).

• Vaanhold and Jill Bolton both dished out assists for Liberty. Bolton's was her team-best third of the season, while Vaanhold notched her second of the year. Bolton paces the squad with 13 points (5 g, 3 a).

Up Next

Liberty will play its fourth road game of the season when it takes on No. 6 Louisville (4-0). Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Trager Stadium in Louisville, Ky.

The Lady Flames and Cardinals will meeting for the third time. The series is even 1-1. The two squads last met in 2015, a 3-2 double overtime triumph for Louisville. Liberty topped Louisville 2-1 on Sept. 28, 2014 at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.