Top-Seeded Liberty Aims for 3rd Straight BIG EAST Title
11/2/2023 10:46:00 AM | Field Hockey
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Top-seeded and BIG EAST outright regular season champion Liberty will head to Temple for the BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship, which gets under way on Friday.
No. 6-ranked Liberty (16-1, 7-0 BIG EAST) will start its journey for a third straight BIG EAST title, Friday at 1 p.m. against the No. 4 seed Villanova Wildcats (9-8, 4-3 BIG EAST).
The four-team 2023 BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship will be hosted by Temple at Howarth Field in Philadelphia, Pa. The victor in Friday's first semifinal match between the Lady Flames and Wildcats will move on to face either No. 2 seed Old Dominion (12-5, 6-1 BIG EAST) or No. 3 seed and host Temple (11-7, 4-3 BIG EAST). The Monarchs and Owls will square off in the second semifinal, Friday at 4 p.m.
The tournament champion will earn the conference's automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship. This year's NCAA Tournament features 18 teams, with 10 conference champions and eight at-large selections included in the field. The 2023 NCAA Field Hockey Selection Show will be held Sunday evening at 10 p.m. on ncaa.com.
Liberty is in search of its third straight BIG EAST crown. The Lady Flames are the No. 1 seed at the championship for the second time overall and second time in the last three years. Liberty has four total conference tournament titles in program history – two BIG EAST (fall 2021, 2022) and two NorPac (2013 and 2014).
Liberty finished a perfect 7-0 in BIG EAST regular season play for the second time in the last three seasons (other: fall 2021). The Lady Flames are 51-10 all-time in BIG EAST regular season competition, including a 46-8 mark under current head coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker. Liberty holds a 7-5 all-time mark at the BIG EAST Tournament.
All three BIG EAST Championship games will be carried live on the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by FloSports.
BIG EAST Championship Schedule
Friday (Semifinals)
1 p.m. – No. 1 seed Liberty (16-1) vs. No. 4 seed Villanova (9-8)
4 p.m. – No. 2 seed Old Dominion (12-5) vs. No. 3 seed Temple (11-7)
Sunday (Championship Game)
1 p.m. – Winners of semifinals
*All three BIG EAST Championship games will air live on the BIG EAST Digital Network on FloSports.
Liberty and Villanova by the Numbers
2022
The second-seeded Lady Flames bested No. 1 seed and tournament host Old Dominion 3-1 in the 2022 BIG EAST title match in Norfolk, Va. Bethany Dykema scored the go-ahead goal in the 54th minute, and Martu Cian scored an insurance goal with 19 seconds left in the game. Azul Iritxity Irigoyen, who was named BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player, made four saves in the game and 13 saves in two tournament games.
Iritxity Irigoyen, Dykema, Cian and Jodie Conolly were named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament team. Liberty's title was its second straight BIG EAST crown and fourth overall conference title.
Liberty topped the Connecticut Huskies 2-1 in the semifinal round. Cian and Conolly scored the goals for the Lady Flames, with Conolly scoring the game winner in the 47th minute.
2021
Top-seeded Liberty topped No. 2 seed UConn 1-0 in the 2021 BIG EAST title game in Storrs, Conn. Jill Bolton, who went on to be named BIG EAST Championship MVP, scored the lone goal of the match late in the third quarter at the 41:08 mark. Bolton, along with Charlotte Vaanhold, Bethany Dykema and Daniella Rhodes, were named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament team.
Liberty's title was its first conference crown since 2014 (NorPac) and first while a member of the BIG EAST (sixth season at the time).
The Lady Flames bested the Temple Owls 4-2 in the semifinals. Rhodes (two goals), Vaanhold (one goal) and Bolton (one goal) did the scoring for Liberty.
Lady Flames News and Notes
No. 6-ranked Liberty (16-1, 7-0 BIG EAST) will start its journey for a third straight BIG EAST title, Friday at 1 p.m. against the No. 4 seed Villanova Wildcats (9-8, 4-3 BIG EAST).
The four-team 2023 BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship will be hosted by Temple at Howarth Field in Philadelphia, Pa. The victor in Friday's first semifinal match between the Lady Flames and Wildcats will move on to face either No. 2 seed Old Dominion (12-5, 6-1 BIG EAST) or No. 3 seed and host Temple (11-7, 4-3 BIG EAST). The Monarchs and Owls will square off in the second semifinal, Friday at 4 p.m.
The tournament champion will earn the conference's automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship. This year's NCAA Tournament features 18 teams, with 10 conference champions and eight at-large selections included in the field. The 2023 NCAA Field Hockey Selection Show will be held Sunday evening at 10 p.m. on ncaa.com.
Liberty is in search of its third straight BIG EAST crown. The Lady Flames are the No. 1 seed at the championship for the second time overall and second time in the last three years. Liberty has four total conference tournament titles in program history – two BIG EAST (fall 2021, 2022) and two NorPac (2013 and 2014).
Liberty finished a perfect 7-0 in BIG EAST regular season play for the second time in the last three seasons (other: fall 2021). The Lady Flames are 51-10 all-time in BIG EAST regular season competition, including a 46-8 mark under current head coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker. Liberty holds a 7-5 all-time mark at the BIG EAST Tournament.
All three BIG EAST Championship games will be carried live on the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by FloSports.
BIG EAST Championship Schedule
Friday (Semifinals)
1 p.m. – No. 1 seed Liberty (16-1) vs. No. 4 seed Villanova (9-8)
4 p.m. – No. 2 seed Old Dominion (12-5) vs. No. 3 seed Temple (11-7)
Sunday (Championship Game)
1 p.m. – Winners of semifinals
*All three BIG EAST Championship games will air live on the BIG EAST Digital Network on FloSports.
Liberty and Villanova by the Numbers
- Regular Season Matchup: Liberty bested Villanova 6-0 at home on Oct. 6 in what was a battle for first place in the BIG EAST at the time.
- Top performers: Pima Iturraspe 1 g, 1 a, 3 pts | Reagan Underwood 1 g, 2 pts | Milagros Arteta 1 g, 2 pts | Kyleigh Faust 1 g, 2 pts | Tuti Dell Anna 1 g, 2 pts | Martu Cian 1 g, 2 pts | Azul Iritxity Irigoyen five saves, combined shutout with Michaela Skinner
- All-time series: Liberty is 10-0 all-time against Villanova and 9-0 in BIG EAST contests.
- All-time series in the BIG EAST Championship: The Lady Flames and Wildcats will be meeting for the first time in the BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship.
2022
The second-seeded Lady Flames bested No. 1 seed and tournament host Old Dominion 3-1 in the 2022 BIG EAST title match in Norfolk, Va. Bethany Dykema scored the go-ahead goal in the 54th minute, and Martu Cian scored an insurance goal with 19 seconds left in the game. Azul Iritxity Irigoyen, who was named BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player, made four saves in the game and 13 saves in two tournament games.
Iritxity Irigoyen, Dykema, Cian and Jodie Conolly were named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament team. Liberty's title was its second straight BIG EAST crown and fourth overall conference title.
Liberty topped the Connecticut Huskies 2-1 in the semifinal round. Cian and Conolly scored the goals for the Lady Flames, with Conolly scoring the game winner in the 47th minute.
2021
Top-seeded Liberty topped No. 2 seed UConn 1-0 in the 2021 BIG EAST title game in Storrs, Conn. Jill Bolton, who went on to be named BIG EAST Championship MVP, scored the lone goal of the match late in the third quarter at the 41:08 mark. Bolton, along with Charlotte Vaanhold, Bethany Dykema and Daniella Rhodes, were named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament team.
Liberty's title was its first conference crown since 2014 (NorPac) and first while a member of the BIG EAST (sixth season at the time).
The Lady Flames bested the Temple Owls 4-2 in the semifinals. Rhodes (two goals), Vaanhold (one goal) and Bolton (one goal) did the scoring for Liberty.
Lady Flames News and Notes
- Liberty featured five All-BIG EAST honorees, led by BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Jodie Conolly and BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year Azul Iritxity Irigoyen. Conolly, Iritxity Irigoyen, Bethany Dykema and Reagan Underwood were All-BIG EAST first team selections. Martu Cian was tabbed to the All-BIG EAST second team. The Lady Flames led all BIG EAST squads with four first team selections.
- The Liberty coaching staff earned BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year honors for the third time in the last four seasons.
- Liberty is ranked No. 6 in both the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll and in the NCAA Field Hockey RPI listing.
- Liberty enters postseason play ranked first in the nation in winning percentage (.941), second in goals-against-average (0.67), save percentage (.826) and shutouts per game (0.47), fourth in scoring margin (2.13) and 10th in goals per game (2.94) and assists per game (2.53).
- 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.
- Jodie Conolly and Bethany Dykema are tied for fifth in the country in assists per game (0.65). Conolly also ranks 23rd nationally and third in the BIG EAST in points per game (1.71).
- If Liberty were to reach Sunday's championship match, it would face either No. 2 seed Old Dominion or No. 3 seed and host Temple. Liberty topped ODU 2-0 in its BIG EAST opener, Sept. 15 at the Liberty Field Hockey Field. The Lady Flames earned a 3-0 road win at Temple, Sept. 29.
- Liberty is 10-7 all-time against the ODU Monarchs. With the 17 meetings, ODU is Liberty's most common all-time opponent. The Lady Flames are 13-1 all-time versus the Temple Owls, including a 12-0 mark since joining the BIG EAST.
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