Liberty University
(16-2)
Temple
(8-11)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temple | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Liberty | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
Top-Seeded Liberty Defeats No. 4 Seed Temple 4-2 in BIG EAST Championship Semis
11/5/2021 5:42:00 PM | Field Hockey
Top-seeded Liberty earned a 4-2 victory over the No. 4-seeded Temple Owls in the BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship semifinal round, Friday afternoon at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex.
With the win, Liberty advances to Sunday afternoon's championship game and will face the winner of No. 2 seed Connecticut (10-10) and No. 3 seed Old Dominion (13-4). The Lady Flames will be making their fourth appearance in the title game after making the final in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Liberty improves to 16-2 this year, and Temple's season ends at 8-11.
Liberty's victory today is its 13th in a row overall, establishing a new program record for winning streak. The Lady Flames' winning streak is also currently the longest in the country.
Liberty's Charlotte Vaanhold scored two goals in the win. BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year Daniella Rhodes scored the first goal of the goal for the Lady Flames, while All-BIG EAST first team selection Jill Bolton tallied Liberty's final goal.
Scoring Summary
1' – LIBERTY – Daniella Rhodes (Bethany Dykema and Kendra Jones) | Penalty Corner
21' – TEMPLE – Sydney Beck (Annie Judge)
27' – LIBERTY – Charlotte Vaanhold (Jodie Conolly) | Penalty Corner
33' – LIBERTY – Charlotte Vaanhold (Jodie Conolly) | Penalty Corner
37' – LIBERTY – Jill Bolton (Ashley Dykema-Pereira)
54' – TEMPLE – Devin Kinzel (Kerrie Lorenz) | Penalty Corner
Goalkeepers
W: Azul Iritxity Irigoyen 16-2, two saves
L: Megan Ragusa 8-11, two saves
Turning Point
With Liberty and Temple tied at 1-all in the waning stages of the second quarter, senior Charlotte Vaanhold delivered her fifth goal of the season at the 26:02 mark on a penalty corner redirect for a 2-1 Lady Flames advantage heading into the break.
Coming out of halftime, Liberty earned its sixth penalty corner of the contest and capitalized for a 3-1 edge. Vaanhold once again found the back of the cage on a feed from Jodie Conolly at the 32:28 mark, staking the top-seeded Lady Flames to a 3-1 advantage. Forward Jill Bolton scored exactly four minutes later (36:28), staking Liberty to a 4-1 lead.
Key Stats & Notes
• Liberty outshot Temple 14-5 on the day and held a 9-2 advantage in penalty corners. Three of the Lady Flames' four goals today came on short corners.
• Rhodes' goal was her 16th of the year. She shares the team lead in goals (16) with Bolton and paces the squad in points with 39.
• Jodie Conolly dished out two assists today, bringing her season total to a team-best 10 assists. The All-BIG EAST second team honoree also shared the team lead with three shots this afternoon.
• Kendra Jones and sisters Bethany Dykema and Ashley Dykema-Pereira also notched assists in the game. Jones' helper was her ninth of the year, good for second most on the squad.
• Liberty improves to 11-1 all-time versus Temple, including a perfect 10-0 mark since joining the BIG EAST Conference. Today was the first meeting in the BIG EAST Championship between the two programs.
• Liberty posted a 2-0 record versus Temple this season, outscoring the Owls 10-3.
• The Lady Flames came into this afternoon's contest as the national leader in goals per game (4.00) and matched that mark with the four-goal effort. Liberty also entered the day as the national leader in points per game (11.41) and assists per game (3.41) and eclipsed those totals with 13 points and five assists.
• Liberty holds a 2-8 all-time mark against the UConn Huskies but has won the last two meetings. The Lady Flames are 8-6 all-time versus the ODU Monarchs. With the 14 meetings, ODU is Liberty's most common all-time opponent.
• The Lady Flames bolster their all-time record in the BIG EAST Championship to 4-5.
Up Next
Liberty will await the winner of No. 2 seed Connecticut (10-10) and No. 3 seed Old Dominion (13-4). Sunday's championship game will be played at 1 p.m. and can be seen on the BIG EAST Digital Network via FloSports.
The Lady Flames defeated both UConn (3-1 final on Sept. 24) and ODU (2-1 final last Friday) in the regular season. Liberty holds a 2-8 all-time mark against the UConn Huskies but has won the last two meetings. The Lady Flames are 8-6 all-time versus the ODU Monarchs. With the 14 meetings, ODU is Liberty's most common all-time opponent.
Team Stats
RHODES, Daniella (16)
Assisted By: JONES, Kendra , DYKEMA, Bethany
Scored on penalty corner
0:44
BECK, Sydney (2)
Assisted By: JUDGE, Annie
GOAL by TEM BECK, Sydney, Assist by JUDGE, Annie, goal number 2 for season.
20:39
VAANHOLD, Charlotte (5)
Assisted By: CONOLLY, Jodie
Redirect on penalty corner
26:02
VAANHOLD, Charlotte (6)
Assisted By: CONOLLY, Jodie
Redirect on penalty corner
32:28
BOLTON, Jill (16)
Assisted By: DYKEMA, Ashley
Scored from right side into top of cage
36:28
KINZEL, Devin (3)
Assisted By: LORENZ, Kerrie
GOAL by TEM KINZEL, Devin, Assist by LORENZ, Kerrie, goal number 3 for season.
53:55
