Liberty Features Trio of Major Award Winners and 5 All-BIG EAST Selections
11/2/2023 9:10:00 AM | Field Hockey
BIG EAST Release
LYNCHBURG, Va. – BIG EAST regular season champion No. 6 Liberty featured three major award winners and five 2023 All-BIG EAST honorees, it was announced on Thursday morning prior to this weekend's BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship.
Senior Azul Iritxity Irigoyen has been selected as the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year. Liberty fifth-year senior Jodie Conolly has been voted the unanimous BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, while the Liberty coaching staff has been named the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.
Iritxity Irigoyen and Conolly are both unanimous All-BIG EAST first team selections. Bethany Dykema and Reagan Underwood are also first team honorees. Rounding out the awards for Liberty is All-BIG EAST second team honoree Martu Cian.
The Lady Flames' four first team selections are the most in the conference, and its five All-BIG EAST selections are tied for the most in the league. In eight years in the conference, Liberty has featured 40 total all-conference recipients (28 first team, 12 second team).
The awards were determined by voting from BIG EAST coaches who cannot cast ballots for their own players.
No. 6 Liberty (16-1) posted an unblemished 7-0 BIG EAST regular season mark this fall to earn the outright BIG EAST regular season title for the second time in the last three seasons. The Lady Flames, the No. 1 seed, will face No. 4 seed Villanova (9-8, 4-3 BIG EAST) in Friday's first semifinal contest at 1 p.m. The match will be held at Temple's Howarth Field in Philadelphia, Pa.
Azul Iritxity Irigoyen (BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year, All-BIG EAST first team)
Iritxity Irigoyen is the conference's first BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year since 2010 after the award was readded prior to the start of the year. She is also being honored as an All-BIG EAST first team selection for a third time in her career and is now a four-time All-BIG EAST selection overall (also second team in 2022). The goalkeeper from Buenos Aires, Argentina has earned four BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week awards this fall, along with two NFHCA Division I Defensive Player of the Week honors and one BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll recognition.
Iritxity Irigoyen has started all 17 games in cage for the Lady Flames, compiling a 16-1 record, 0.69 goals-against-average (GAA), a .818 save percentage, 54 saves and seven shutouts. In seven BIG EAST regular season games, Iritxity Irigoyen held a 7-0 record with a 0.44 GAA, .870 save percentage, 20 saves and four shutouts.
The netminder has a pair of seven-save games on the year, both on the road. Iritxity Irigoyen made seven saves in Liberty's 2-1 double overtime win at No. 1 North Carolina (Oct. 8) and also made seven stops at No. 13 Duke (Sept. 10). Iritxity Irigoyen is currently first in the nation in goalie win-loss percentage (.941), second in goals-against-average (0.69) and fourth in save percentage (.818) while leading the BIG EAST in all three categories.
This is Iritxity Irigoyen's second major postseason award after being named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year during the spring 2021 campaign. She is a 12-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week for her career, the most such awards in league history.
Jodie Conolly (BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, All-BIG EAST first team)
Conolly earns her first major postseason award with the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year distinction. She is now a four-time All-BIG EAST honoree (two first team, two second team), earning the awards in each of the past four seasons. The fifth-year senior back was selected as the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week four times this fall (Aug. 29, Sept. 12, Oct. 17, Oct. 24).
Conolly, who hails from Pietermartizburg, South Africa, has appeared in and started all 17 games. She leads the team in goals (9) and points (29) and shares the team lead in assists with 11 while ranking tied for fifth in the nation in assists per game (0.65). Conolly also leads the squad in defensive saves with two. In seven league games, Conolly tallied four goals, six assists (No. 2 in BIG EAST) and 14 points (tied for third in BIG EAST). Conolly notched her first three-goal game in a Liberty uniform, doing so in the Lady Flames' 3-0 win over Connecticut (Oct. 20). The fifth-year senior scored five goals in the team's final three games of the regular season and has three two-assist games on the year as well.
Conolly and the Liberty defensive unit currently rank second in the nation and first in the BIG EAST in both goals-against-average (0.67) and shutouts per game (0.47). The Lady Flames defense has surrendered only two goals on 83 penalty corners for their opposition.
Bethany Dykema (All-BIG EAST first team)
A fifth-year senior, Dykema is being recognized on the All-BIG EAST first team for the second straight season. Dykema is also a four-time All-BIG EAST honoree. The defender earned BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 5 as well as BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll recognition on two occasions (Oct. 17, Oct. 31).
In 17 appearances this year, all starts, Dykema shares the team lead with 11 assists to go along with five goals and 21 points (second on team). Her 0.65 assists per game is tied for the fifth-best mark in the country. Dykema compiled three goals, five assists and 11 points in seven BIG EAST regular season matches. She is the program's all-time leader in career assists with 45, which is also tied for the most among all active Division I players in the country.
Dykema scored the first two goals of the game in Liberty's 3-1 triumph at Virginia on Aug. 29 and closed out the regular season with six assists in the last three games. She dished out a career-best three assists in the 3-0 triumph over UConn, Oct. 20.
Reagan Underwood (All-BIG EAST first team)
Underwood is being recognized on an All-BIG EAST squad for the first time in her Lady Flames career. The senior midfielder from Sinking Spring, Pa. garnered BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll distinction on Aug. 29.
Underwood has totaled five goals, four assists and 14 points in 17 games (all starts). The midfielder totaled three goals, one assist and seven points in seven BIG EAST regular season matches. Underwood's goals in league play came against Old Dominion, Quinnipiac and Villanova. The senior scored the game-winning goal on a penalty stroke in overtime in Liberty's 2-1 triumph over Indiana, Aug. 27 in Lynchburg.
Martu Cian (All-BIG EAST second team)
Cian is being honored for the first time on an All-BIG EAST squad. The junior midfielder from Buenos Aires, Argentina earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll in back-to-back weeks (Oct. 3, Oct. 10) in early October.
Cian has started all 17 games this year and has six goals (third on team), one assist and 13 points. The midfielder tallied three goals and six points in seven BIG EAST regular season contests, scoring against Providence, Temple and Villanova. Cian also had goals against No. 1 North Carolina and No. 14 Harvard. She scored the game-winning goal in double overtime of Liberty's 2-1 triumph at top-ranked UNC, Oct. 8.
Liberty Coaching Staff (Coaching Staff of the Year)
This is the third time the Liberty field hockey coaching staff has been named the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year. The staff received the same honor in both the spring and fall 2021 seasons. The coaching staff consists of seventh-year head coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker, sixth-year assistant coach Heather Hefner, fourth-year assistant coach Alan Good and first-year assistant coach Lizzie Hamlett.
The staff has guided Liberty to a 16-1 mark so far this season, the best regular season mark in school history. Additionally, the Lady Flames posted a perfect 7-0 BIG EAST regular season record, their second outright BIG EAST regular season crown in the last three seasons and are currently riding an 11-game winning streak entering postseason. Liberty is ranked No. 6 in the nation and No. 6 in the NCAA Field Hockey RPI listing at present. The Lady Flames have been ranked among the top 10 teams in the country in nine of 10 national polls this season.
Liberty ranks second in the nation and leads the BIG EAST in goals-against-average (0.67), save percentage (.826) and shutouts per game (0.47). The Lady Flames are also fourth in the country in scoring margin (2.13), 10th in goals per game (2.94) and 10th in assists per game (2.53). Liberty has three victories against top-20 teams so far this season, including wins over No. 1 North Carolina (defending national champions), No. 6 Virginia and No. 14 Harvard.
BIG EAST Awards
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
Meghan Mitchell, Villanova, Sr., F
BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year
Stella Tegtmeier, Quinnipiac, Gr., M
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Jodie Conolly, Liberty, Gr., D*
BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Azul Iritxity Irigoyen, Liberty, Sr., GK
BIG EAST Co-Freshman of the Year
Suus Broers, Old Dominion, Fr., GK
Florencia Talerico, Providence, Fr., M
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year
Liberty
All-BIG EAST First Team
Sol Simone, Connecticut, So., M
Jodie Conolly, Liberty, Gr., D*
Bethany Dykema, Liberty, Gr., D
Azul Iritxity Irigoyen, Liberty, Sr., GK*
Reagan Underwood, Liberty, Sr., M
Marlon de Bruijne, Old Dominion, Sr., F*
Nicole Fredricks, Old Dominion, Gr., D
Frederique Zandbergen, Old Dominion, Jr., M
Stella Tegtmeier, Quinnipiac, Gr., M*
Tess Muller, Temple, Jr., M/F*
Meghan Mitchell, Villanova, Sr., F
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Julianna Kratz, Connecticut, Gr., F
Sanne Stout, UConn, Fr., D
Martu Cian, Liberty, Jr., M
Eléonore De Keyser, Providence, Sr., D
Florencia Talerico, Providence, Fr., M
Suus Broers, Old Dominion, Fr., GK
Sacha de Gier, Old Dominion, So., F
Lucia Pompeo, Quinnipiac, Jr., F
Molly Frey, Temple, 5th-Yr., GK
Alizé Maes, Temple, Jr., D
Sabine DeRuijter, Villanova, Sr., F/M
*denotes unanimous selection
LYNCHBURG, Va. – BIG EAST regular season champion No. 6 Liberty featured three major award winners and five 2023 All-BIG EAST honorees, it was announced on Thursday morning prior to this weekend's BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship.
Senior Azul Iritxity Irigoyen has been selected as the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year. Liberty fifth-year senior Jodie Conolly has been voted the unanimous BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, while the Liberty coaching staff has been named the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.
Iritxity Irigoyen and Conolly are both unanimous All-BIG EAST first team selections. Bethany Dykema and Reagan Underwood are also first team honorees. Rounding out the awards for Liberty is All-BIG EAST second team honoree Martu Cian.
The Lady Flames' four first team selections are the most in the conference, and its five All-BIG EAST selections are tied for the most in the league. In eight years in the conference, Liberty has featured 40 total all-conference recipients (28 first team, 12 second team).
The awards were determined by voting from BIG EAST coaches who cannot cast ballots for their own players.
No. 6 Liberty (16-1) posted an unblemished 7-0 BIG EAST regular season mark this fall to earn the outright BIG EAST regular season title for the second time in the last three seasons. The Lady Flames, the No. 1 seed, will face No. 4 seed Villanova (9-8, 4-3 BIG EAST) in Friday's first semifinal contest at 1 p.m. The match will be held at Temple's Howarth Field in Philadelphia, Pa.
Azul Iritxity Irigoyen (BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year, All-BIG EAST first team)
Iritxity Irigoyen is the conference's first BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year since 2010 after the award was readded prior to the start of the year. She is also being honored as an All-BIG EAST first team selection for a third time in her career and is now a four-time All-BIG EAST selection overall (also second team in 2022). The goalkeeper from Buenos Aires, Argentina has earned four BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week awards this fall, along with two NFHCA Division I Defensive Player of the Week honors and one BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll recognition.
Iritxity Irigoyen has started all 17 games in cage for the Lady Flames, compiling a 16-1 record, 0.69 goals-against-average (GAA), a .818 save percentage, 54 saves and seven shutouts. In seven BIG EAST regular season games, Iritxity Irigoyen held a 7-0 record with a 0.44 GAA, .870 save percentage, 20 saves and four shutouts.
The netminder has a pair of seven-save games on the year, both on the road. Iritxity Irigoyen made seven saves in Liberty's 2-1 double overtime win at No. 1 North Carolina (Oct. 8) and also made seven stops at No. 13 Duke (Sept. 10). Iritxity Irigoyen is currently first in the nation in goalie win-loss percentage (.941), second in goals-against-average (0.69) and fourth in save percentage (.818) while leading the BIG EAST in all three categories.
This is Iritxity Irigoyen's second major postseason award after being named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year during the spring 2021 campaign. She is a 12-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week for her career, the most such awards in league history.
Jodie Conolly (BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, All-BIG EAST first team)
Conolly earns her first major postseason award with the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year distinction. She is now a four-time All-BIG EAST honoree (two first team, two second team), earning the awards in each of the past four seasons. The fifth-year senior back was selected as the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week four times this fall (Aug. 29, Sept. 12, Oct. 17, Oct. 24).
Conolly, who hails from Pietermartizburg, South Africa, has appeared in and started all 17 games. She leads the team in goals (9) and points (29) and shares the team lead in assists with 11 while ranking tied for fifth in the nation in assists per game (0.65). Conolly also leads the squad in defensive saves with two. In seven league games, Conolly tallied four goals, six assists (No. 2 in BIG EAST) and 14 points (tied for third in BIG EAST). Conolly notched her first three-goal game in a Liberty uniform, doing so in the Lady Flames' 3-0 win over Connecticut (Oct. 20). The fifth-year senior scored five goals in the team's final three games of the regular season and has three two-assist games on the year as well.
Conolly and the Liberty defensive unit currently rank second in the nation and first in the BIG EAST in both goals-against-average (0.67) and shutouts per game (0.47). The Lady Flames defense has surrendered only two goals on 83 penalty corners for their opposition.
Bethany Dykema (All-BIG EAST first team)
A fifth-year senior, Dykema is being recognized on the All-BIG EAST first team for the second straight season. Dykema is also a four-time All-BIG EAST honoree. The defender earned BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 5 as well as BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll recognition on two occasions (Oct. 17, Oct. 31).
In 17 appearances this year, all starts, Dykema shares the team lead with 11 assists to go along with five goals and 21 points (second on team). Her 0.65 assists per game is tied for the fifth-best mark in the country. Dykema compiled three goals, five assists and 11 points in seven BIG EAST regular season matches. She is the program's all-time leader in career assists with 45, which is also tied for the most among all active Division I players in the country.
Dykema scored the first two goals of the game in Liberty's 3-1 triumph at Virginia on Aug. 29 and closed out the regular season with six assists in the last three games. She dished out a career-best three assists in the 3-0 triumph over UConn, Oct. 20.
Reagan Underwood (All-BIG EAST first team)
Underwood is being recognized on an All-BIG EAST squad for the first time in her Lady Flames career. The senior midfielder from Sinking Spring, Pa. garnered BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll distinction on Aug. 29.
Underwood has totaled five goals, four assists and 14 points in 17 games (all starts). The midfielder totaled three goals, one assist and seven points in seven BIG EAST regular season matches. Underwood's goals in league play came against Old Dominion, Quinnipiac and Villanova. The senior scored the game-winning goal on a penalty stroke in overtime in Liberty's 2-1 triumph over Indiana, Aug. 27 in Lynchburg.
Martu Cian (All-BIG EAST second team)
Cian is being honored for the first time on an All-BIG EAST squad. The junior midfielder from Buenos Aires, Argentina earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll in back-to-back weeks (Oct. 3, Oct. 10) in early October.
Cian has started all 17 games this year and has six goals (third on team), one assist and 13 points. The midfielder tallied three goals and six points in seven BIG EAST regular season contests, scoring against Providence, Temple and Villanova. Cian also had goals against No. 1 North Carolina and No. 14 Harvard. She scored the game-winning goal in double overtime of Liberty's 2-1 triumph at top-ranked UNC, Oct. 8.
Liberty Coaching Staff (Coaching Staff of the Year)
This is the third time the Liberty field hockey coaching staff has been named the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year. The staff received the same honor in both the spring and fall 2021 seasons. The coaching staff consists of seventh-year head coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker, sixth-year assistant coach Heather Hefner, fourth-year assistant coach Alan Good and first-year assistant coach Lizzie Hamlett.
The staff has guided Liberty to a 16-1 mark so far this season, the best regular season mark in school history. Additionally, the Lady Flames posted a perfect 7-0 BIG EAST regular season record, their second outright BIG EAST regular season crown in the last three seasons and are currently riding an 11-game winning streak entering postseason. Liberty is ranked No. 6 in the nation and No. 6 in the NCAA Field Hockey RPI listing at present. The Lady Flames have been ranked among the top 10 teams in the country in nine of 10 national polls this season.
Liberty ranks second in the nation and leads the BIG EAST in goals-against-average (0.67), save percentage (.826) and shutouts per game (0.47). The Lady Flames are also fourth in the country in scoring margin (2.13), 10th in goals per game (2.94) and 10th in assists per game (2.53). Liberty has three victories against top-20 teams so far this season, including wins over No. 1 North Carolina (defending national champions), No. 6 Virginia and No. 14 Harvard.
BIG EAST Awards
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
Meghan Mitchell, Villanova, Sr., F
BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year
Stella Tegtmeier, Quinnipiac, Gr., M
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Jodie Conolly, Liberty, Gr., D*
BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Azul Iritxity Irigoyen, Liberty, Sr., GK
BIG EAST Co-Freshman of the Year
Suus Broers, Old Dominion, Fr., GK
Florencia Talerico, Providence, Fr., M
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year
Liberty
All-BIG EAST First Team
Sol Simone, Connecticut, So., M
Jodie Conolly, Liberty, Gr., D*
Bethany Dykema, Liberty, Gr., D
Azul Iritxity Irigoyen, Liberty, Sr., GK*
Reagan Underwood, Liberty, Sr., M
Marlon de Bruijne, Old Dominion, Sr., F*
Nicole Fredricks, Old Dominion, Gr., D
Frederique Zandbergen, Old Dominion, Jr., M
Stella Tegtmeier, Quinnipiac, Gr., M*
Tess Muller, Temple, Jr., M/F*
Meghan Mitchell, Villanova, Sr., F
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Julianna Kratz, Connecticut, Gr., F
Sanne Stout, UConn, Fr., D
Martu Cian, Liberty, Jr., M
Eléonore De Keyser, Providence, Sr., D
Florencia Talerico, Providence, Fr., M
Suus Broers, Old Dominion, Fr., GK
Sacha de Gier, Old Dominion, So., F
Lucia Pompeo, Quinnipiac, Jr., F
Molly Frey, Temple, 5th-Yr., GK
Alizé Maes, Temple, Jr., D
Sabine DeRuijter, Villanova, Sr., F/M
*denotes unanimous selection
Congrats to Jodie Conolly, the 2023 @BIGEAST Defensive Player of the Year!??#CatchingFire????? #RiseWithUs pic.twitter.com/AbTBSsAIGC
— Liberty Field Hockey (@LibertyFH) November 2, 2023
Congrats to Jodie Conolly, the 2023 @BIGEAST Defensive Player of the Year!??#CatchingFire????? #RiseWithUs pic.twitter.com/AbTBSsAIGC
— Liberty Field Hockey (@LibertyFH) November 2, 2023
Congrats to our 5?? All-@BIGEAST honorees!??#CatchingFire????? #RiseWithUs pic.twitter.com/1tvtyXSwbd
— Liberty Field Hockey (@LibertyFH) November 2, 2023
Your @BIGEAST Coaching Staff of the Year!??#CatchingFire????? #RiseWithUs pic.twitter.com/LcuEMWsH06
— Liberty Field Hockey (@LibertyFH) November 2, 2023
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