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BB

vs Sam Houston

Thursday, March 28,

4:00 PM ET

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SB

vs Louisiana Tech

Thursday, March 28,

6:00 PM ET

at

TRACK

at Raleigh Relays

Thursday, March 28,

8:09 PM ET

at

TRACK

at Hornet Open

Friday, March 29

at

MTEN

at Florida Atlantic

March 27,

Final

4

3

at

WLAX

at No. 11 Florida

March 27,

Final

3

23

vs

SB

vs Virginia

March 26,

Final

1

3

vs

BB

vs No. 12 Wake Forest

March 26,

Final

6

7

Full Schedule
Saturday, February 12
Nashville, Tenn.
2:00 PM

Liberty University

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Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt Tops Liberty 18-13 in 2022 Season Opener Image

Vanderbilt Tops Liberty 18-13 in 2022 Season Opener

2/12/2022 10:21:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

The Vanderbilt Commodores topped the visiting Liberty Lady Flames 18-13 in both teams' 2022 season opener, Saturday afternoon at the Vandy Lacrosse Complex.

Vanderbilt took an early 3-0 lead and never trailed in the closely-contested game. The Commodores, a 2021 NCAA Tournament team, improve to 1-0 on the young season. Liberty falls to 0-1 after the setback.

Liberty attackers Jordan Baerga and Cami Merkel scored nine of the Lady Flames' 13 goals on the day. Baerga established a new career high with five goals, while Merkel scored four times in her collegiate debut. Sophomore midfielder Mackenzie Lehman won a career-best and game-high 10 draw controls in the contest.

Thoughts From Head Coach Kelly Nangle

"What a great game of lacrosse. There is nothing like opening up your season against a quality opponent. We were tested and challenged today, and I am proud of how we responded and adjusted. We have a lot to be excited about, and we have plenty of things we need to work on this week to better for another big test on Saturday. I can't wait to keep growing and building with this special group. Go Flames!"

Scoring Summary

Liberty Goals: Jordan Baerga 5, Cami Merkel 4, Mackenzie Lehman 2, Jordan Sheive 1, Mia Toscano 1

Liberty Assists: Brooke Bryan 2, Jordan Sheive 2, Tori Banks 1, Olivia Glaze 1, Mackenzie Lehman 1, Mia Toscano 1

Vanderbilt Goals: Lila Huddles 4, Bri Gross 3, Gabby Fornia 2, Karlie Bucci 2, Callie Sundlin 2, Kayla Rieu 2, Paige Finneran 1, Ella Smith 1, Ellie Hilsabeck 1

Vanderbilt Assists: Gabby Fornia 6, Karlie Bucci 2, Paige Finneran 2, Ella Smith 2, Lila Huddles 1

Goalkeepers

W: Paige Gunning 1-0, 13 saves

L: Mara Tellers 0-1, seven saves

Turning Point

Leading 11-9 heading into the third quarter, Vanderbilt scored four of the first five second half goals to go ahead 15-10. Liberty drew within three (15-12) following goals from Merkel and Mia Toscano late in the third quarter but got no closer the rest of the way.

First Half Summary

• Liberty erased an early 3-0 deficit in the first quarter to even the game at 3-all following goals from Jordan Sheive (7:52 mark), Baerga (7:03 mark) and Merkel (5:57 mark). Merkel's first career goal found the right side of the goal following a feed from Sheive from behind the cage.

• A high-scoring first half between the two teams saw 20 goals, with Vanderbilt leading 11-9 at intermission. Liberty's Baerga scored four of her five goals before the break, including back-to-back goals late in the half to bring the Lady Flames within two. Lehman collected eight of her 10 draw controls in the first 30 minutes, helping Liberty to a 13-9 edge in that category.

Second Half Summary

• Liberty's first goal of the second came from Merkel, assisted by Olivia Glaze, giving her a hat trick at the 5:32 mark of the third quarter. Vanderbilt responded with goals from Lila Huddles and Kayla Rieu to regain a take a five-goal lead. Liberty trailed 16-12 after three quarters.

• After a combined 28 goals in the first 45 minutes, the two teams combined for only three goals in the final 15 minutes. Vanderbilt scored two of those three goals. Liberty was held off the scoreboard for the final 10:35.

Key Stats & Notes

• Lehman is the seventh player in program history with 10 or more draw controls in a game. Prior to Lehman, the last player to reach double digits was Carly White in the 2020 season opener at Oregon.

•  Baerga's five-goal performance was the first from a Liberty player since Lehman scored five times in last year's ASUN Championship semifinal win over Kennesaw State.

• Defender Maggie Anderson, Merkel and goalkeeper Mara Tellers each made their first career starts today. Redshirt senior Hannah Quast made her first appearance in a game in 724 days after missing nearly two years due to injury. The Mullica Hill, N.J., native started as a defender today.

• Vanderbilt held a narrow 33-32 edge in shots. Liberty held advantages in draw controls (19-15), ground balls (21-18) and caused turnovers (11-10).

• Merkel led all players with nine shots in the game. Baerga paced the Lady Flames with four ground balls. Defender Alexa Evernham shared game-high honors with three caused turnovers.

• Both teams found success in their clearing opportunities. Liberty converted 90 percent of its clears (18-of-20), while Vanderbilt was slightly better at 91.3 percent (21-of-23).

• The Lady Flames converted only 3-of-11 free-position shots. The Commodores were 2-of-4 on their free-position chances.

• Liberty drops to 0-3 against Vanderbilt and 4-9 all-time in season openers.

• Saturday's game was the first since the NCAA adopted four 15-minute quarters prior to the season, a change from the previous standard of two 30-minute halves.

Up Next

• Liberty will face Richmond (1-0) in its home opener, next Saturday at the Liberty Lacrosse Field. First draw is 1 p.m.

• The Lady Flames are in search of their first victory against the Spiders. Richmond topped Liberty 18-9 in the most recent meeting on Feb. 29, 2020. The Spiders are 7-0 against the Lady Flames.