No. 11 Syracuse Edges No. 7 Liberty 2-1 in OT in NCAA Sweet 16

DURHAM, N.C. – No. 11 Syracuse scored the equalizer with 2:21 to play in regulation, and Charlotte de Vries scored the game winner in the 63rd minute to lift the Orange past No. 7 Liberty by a 2-1 score in overtime, Friday in the Sweet 16 of the 2023 NCAA Field Hockey Championship.

Liberty sees its season end with a 17-3 record following the loss in a game that was played at Duke's Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium. Syracuse improves to 11-7 and advances to the NCAA Championship quarterfinals, where it will face No. 3 and host Duke (17-4), Sunday at 1 p.m. The Blue Devils edged American 2-1 in the first game of the day in Durham.

Scoring Summary
47' – LIBERTY – Jodie Conolly (Reagan Underwood and Bethany Dykema) | Penalty Corner
58' – SYRACUSE – Lieke Leeggangers (Charlotte de Vries) | Penalty Corner
63' – SYRACUSE – Charlotte de Vries (Pieke van de Pas) | Penalty Corner

Goalkeepers
W: Abby Neitch 2-3, one save
L: Azul Iritxity Irigoyen 17-3, six saves

Turning Point
After a scoreless opening three quarters, Liberty struck first in the 47th minute, with Jodie Conolly scoring on a penalty corner for a 1-0 lead. Conolly's blast into the left side of the cage, assisted by Reagan Underwood and Bethany Dykema, was her 11th goal of the season.

Liberty goalkeeper Azul Iritxity Irigoyen made three saves in the 51st minute alone to keep the Orange off the scoreboard. Syracuse pulled its goalkeeper at the 56:45 mark for an extra field player, and it ended up earning a penalty corner and seeing Liberty issued a yellow card at the 57:24 mark. On the ensuing corner, Syracuse's Lieke Leeggangers scored from the right post on a redirect.

The Orange played to a 7-on-6 advantage in the overtime session with Liberty's yellow card and finished off the game at the 62:34 mark, scoring on a penalty corner. This time, it was Charlotte de Vries who scored the game winner into the left side of the goal.

Key Stats & Notes

Azul Iritxity Irigoyen, Bethany Dykema, Jodie Conolly, Lexi Hosler, Milagros Arteta, Maddie Vicars, Pima Iturraspe, Alyssa Maryanopolis and Maitland Demand see their Liberty careers end.
Iritxity Irigoyen closes out her career as the winningest goalkeeper in program history with 60 victories. She is also the program's career shutouts leader with 24. Dykema wraps up her time as the program's all-time leader in career assists with 47. Conolly finishes her time with 28 goals and 34 assists, including career highs in goals (11), assists (12, tied) and points (34).
Syracuse held a 14-6 edge in total shots, 8-3 advantage in shots on goal and 8-4 edge in penalty corners.
This was Liberty's sixth overtime game of 2023. The Lady Flames drop to 4-2 in those contests. Liberty's six overtime games are the most in a single season in school history.
Liberty falls to 0-2 all-time against Syracuse. The other time the two squads met, the Lady Flames also dropped an overtime decision by a 3-2 score in 2016.
This is the second straight year Liberty has lost in the Sweet 16 in overtime. Last year, the Lady Flames fell 2-1 in double overtime at No. 2 Maryland.
Liberty drops to 4-5 all-time in NCAA Championship play.
The Lady Flames made their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance and played in the event for the third straight season.

Schedule

No. 11 Syracuse Edges No. 7 Liberty 2-1 in OT in NCAA Sweet 16

Team Stats

Jodie Conolly

Reagan Underwood

Bethany Dykema

Milagros Arteta

Players Mentioned

Milagros Arteta

Jodie Conolly

Maitland Demand

Bethany Dykema

Lexi Hosler

Azul Iritxity Irigoyen

Pima Iturraspe

Alyssa Maryanopolis

Reagan Underwood

Maddie Vicars