Lady Flames Hold off Leopards

Team	1	2	Final F
Lafayette	0	1	1
Liberty	1	1	2

Lafayette

Liberty

For the first time in program history, the Lady Flames field hockey squad began the season with a 3-0 record. Liberty reached the achievement after upending the Lafayette Leopards (3-1) by a score of 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.

With the victory, the Lady Flames have now evened the all-time series at one apiece, avenging last year's 4-2 loss in Easton, Pa.

After showcasing the high-powered offense in the first two contests, Liberty displayed a stout defensive performance. Lafayette was only able to record three shots during the contest with only two shots on goal.

Liberty took its first lead late in the first half when Ashlee Krulock buried her team-leading third goal of the season in the 30^th minute. Fellow senior Morgan Mummau spotted Krulock from the top of the circle, zipping a pass toward the Pennsylvania native. Krulock deflected the ball, untouched, into the bottom right corner for the 1-0 advantage.

The Leopards netted the equalizer in the 56^th minute on their third and final shot of the contest. Katie Birle flung the ball towards the net, deflecting off a Liberty defender to knot the contest at one apiece.

Less than three minutes later, Sarah Gipe punched in her second goal of the season in what would become the game-winning goal. After Serena Barr's initial shot was blocked, Gipe corralled the rebound and whipped the ball to the bottom right corner of the goal, past the outstretched arms of Lafayette goalkeeper, Katelyn Arnold.

After regaining the 2-1 advantage, the Lady Flames' defense did not surrender a single shot in the closing 12 minutes of play, solidifying the one-goal victory.

Liberty proved too much for the Leopards, outshooting the visitors 20-3 including a 10-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Lady Flames also forced 11 penalty corners while only surrendering two.

Mallory Cuccio improved to 3-0 on the season after etching her 28^th career victory. The Colorado native recorded one save today, placing her 37 saves shy of passing Ann Jefferis on the program's all-time saves leaderboard.

The Lady Flames will take the field on Tuesday when they host the Richmond Spiders at 6 p.m. Tuesday's contest is a rematch of the 2014 NCAA Tournament Play-In game where Liberty advanced to the first round after defeating Richmond by a score of 3-1 in Lynchburg, Va. Tuesday's showdown also marks the first time that head coach Jodi Murphy will compete against her alma mater during the regular season.

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Team Stats

Sarah Gipe

Ashlee Krulock

Morgan Mummau

Serena Barr