Liberty University
No. 25 Providence
No. 18 Liberty Shuts Out No. 25 Providence 2-0 at Home, Friday
11/1/2019 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
No. 18 Liberty earned its seventh shutout of the 2019 campaign, defeating visiting No. 25 Providence 2-0 in its BIG EAST regular-season finale on Friday afternoon at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.
With the win, the Lady Flames improve to 10-6 on the season and finish 5-2 in BIG EAST regular season play. Liberty has earned the No. 3 seed for next weekend's 2019 BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship at the Quinnipiac Field Hockey Stadium in Hamden, Conn. The Lady Flames will face No. 2 seed and 19th-ranked Old Dominion (10-6, 6-1 BIG EAST), next Friday in the semifinal round.
Meanwhile, the Friars drop to 12-6 overall and 4-3 in the BIG EAST and see their five-game winning streak snapped. Providence will be the No. 4 seed at the BIG EAST Championship and will face No. 1 seed and third-ranked UConn (14-3, 6-0 BIG EAST) in the other semifinal match.
Liberty's Charlotte Vaanhold and Daniella Rhodes scored goals in the win. Lady Flames goalkeeper Allison Schaefer made four stops in the contest, and the Liberty defense withstood seven Friar penalty corners and 12 total shots to secure another shutout.
Scoring Summary
30' – LIBERTY – Charlotte Vaanhold (unassisted)
49' – LIBERTY – Daniella Rhodes (Maddie Hosler)
Goalkeepers
W: Allison Schaefer 10-6, four saves
L: Lydia Rice 12-6, six saves
Turning Point
Liberty drew its fifth penalty corner of the game with under a minute to play in the opening half and broke through. Following a pair of Mallory Fortenbaugh shots, with one hitting the post and the other being saved by the Friars' Mary O'Reilly, the Lady Flames' Charlotte Vaanhold gathered the loose ball from in close.
The sophomore pivoted and ripped a reverse strike into the top right corner of the cage for her sixth goal of the year to put the Lady Flames ahead 1-0 at 29:22. Liberty led by that score at the break and held a 10-3 edge in shots through 30 minutes.
The Lady Flames' Daniella Rhodes scored an insurance goal, her team-best 13th of the season, to make it 2-0 early in the fourth period (48:33). Rhodes gathered a pass into the circle from Maddie Hosler and knocked a shot into the right side of the cage and past Providence netminder Lydia Rice.
Key Stats & Notes
- Liberty outshot Providence 18-12. Both teams drew seven penalty corners in the match.
- The Lady Flames are now 7-0 all-time against the Friars. Liberty has shut out Providence in five straight meetings, dating back to the BIG EAST Championship semifinals in 2016.
- Friday's victory gave the Lady Flames their second straight 10-win season and sixth season of more 10 or more victories in program history.
- Rhodes led all players with eight total shots (five on goal), while Corinne Kenney paced Providence with four shots (one on goal).
- This is Liberty's first ranked win of 2019. The Lady Flames are 1-6 against ranked foes and lost five of those six matches by just one goal.
- Liberty has now won five or more BIG EAST regular-season games in all four years they have competed in the league.
- With the win, Liberty bolsters its home record to 6-2 this season.
Up Next
Sunday is Senior Day for the Liberty field hockey program. Prior to its 1 p.m. contest against No. 4 Duke (12-5), Liberty's regular-season finale, the program will honor seven seniors for their contributions to the program.
