Dykema-Pereira Named to NFHCA Senior Team
11/16/2021 11:45:11 AM | Field Hockey
NFHCA Division I Senior Team Announcement
NFHCA Division I Senior Team Release
Liberty field hockey redshirt senior Ashley Dykema-Pereira has been named to the 2021 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division I Senior Team.
Dykema-Pereira is one of 38 seniors being recognized on the team. The members of the 2021 Division I Senior Team were announced during a live video presentation featuring member coaches.
The selected student-athletes were nominated by their NFHCA member coaches and were chosen based on their career accomplishments. All 10 Division I conference and five NCAA regions that sponsor field hockey are represented on the list of 2021 honorees.
Dykema-Pereira, a defender from Newport News, Va., was a Longstreth/NFHCA Division I All-America second team honoree as a junior in 2019 and was also named BIG EAST Co-Defensive Player of the Year during that season. She is also a two-time NFHCA All-South Region honoree and three-time All-BIG EAST first team selection as well. Dykema-Pereira has also been honored at the state level three times as a VaSID All-State team member.
After missing the spring season, Dykema-Pereira has started all 21 games as a redshirt senior in helping No. 9 Liberty reach its first Final Four in school history. Dykema-Pereira and the Liberty defense have seven shutouts this year, the second most in a season in program history, and rank 11th nationally in goals-against-average (1.11). She has two assists this season
Dykema-Pereira and Liberty (19-2) will compete at the NCAA Championship Field Hockey Final on Friday against No. 5 Maryland (15-6). Game time is noon at Michigan’s Phyllis Ocker Field Hockey Field in Ann Arbor, Mich. and can be seen on ESPN+. The winner of that match will face either No. 7 Northwestern (16-5) or No. 12 Harvard (17-1) in Sunday’s national championship game, set for 2 p.m. on ESPNU.
Dykema-Pereira is the sixth player in program history to garner this recognition as a senior. Her teammate Jill Bolton received the same honor during the spring season. Former Lady Flames Agueda Moroni (2018), Bethany Barr (2016), Serena Barr (2016) and Sarah Gipe (2015) competed in the NFHCA Division I Senior Game at the end of their respective careers. There is no Division I Senior Game this fall due to limitations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
