No. 6 Liberty Receives NCAA At-Large Bid, to Take on No. 12 Syracuse in Sweet 16
11/5/2023 10:35:00 PM | Field Hockey
LYNCHBURG, Va. – No. 6 Liberty has received an at-large bid to the NCAA Field Hockey Championship for the first time in school history and will take on No. 12 Syracuse.
The No. 6-ranked Lady Flames (17-2), the outright BIG EAST regular season champions, will face the Syracuse Orange (10-7), Friday at 2:30 p.m. in the NCAA Sweet 16. The match will be held at Duke's Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium. The other matchup at the site will be No. 3 overall seed and No. 3-ranked Duke (16-4) taking on American (11-7) at noon.
The Lady Flames have automatically qualified for the NCAA Tournament four times, and this will be their fifth appearance in the event in the 13-year history of the program. Liberty has qualified for the NCAA Field Hockey Championship in three straight seasons.
Liberty earned the at-large bid after finishing No. 7 in the NCAA Field Hockey RPI listing following the conclusion of all conference tournament championships today. The Lady Flames own victories over North Carolina (No. 1 RPI), Virginia (No. 4 RPI) and Harvard (No. 8 RPI) and took Duke (No. 3 RPI) to overtime. Liberty also finished 7-0 in the BIG EAST for the second time in the last three years.
The Lady Flames are one of eight at-large selections in this year's field along with 10 automatic qualifiers to comprise the 18-team field.
This will be the second all-time meeting between Liberty and Syracuse and first since 2016. The Orange, the 2015 national champions, edged the Lady Flames 3-2 in overtime at Hofstra on Sept. 3, 2016.
Liberty holds a 4-4 all-time mark in the NCAA Field Hockey Championship in four appearances. The Lady Flames made it all the way to the title game of the NCAA Field Hockey Championship during the fall 2021 campaign, knocking off No. 11 Saint Joseph's (Sweet 16), No. 1 Rutgers (Elite 8) and No. 5 Maryland (Final Four) to reach the national final. No. 7 Northwestern edged Liberty 2-0 in the national championship game.
No. 1 seed Liberty dropped a 3-1 decision to No. 2 seed Old Dominion in Sunday's BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship title game, held at Temple's Howarth Field in Philadelphia, Pa. The Monarchs received the conference's automatic bid and will face No. 4 overall seed Maryland in the opening round. This is the first time two BIG EAST squads have qualified for the NCAA Championship in the same season since 2013.
Liberty featured three BIG EAST All-Tournament team selections – Jodie Conolly, Bethany Dykema and Milagros Arteta.
Opening round games will be played on two campus sites, Wednesday. First and second round games will be played at four campus sites, Friday and Sunday. North Carolina will host the semifinals and final on Nov. 17 and 19 at Karen Shelton Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The No. 6-ranked Lady Flames (17-2), the outright BIG EAST regular season champions, will face the Syracuse Orange (10-7), Friday at 2:30 p.m. in the NCAA Sweet 16. The match will be held at Duke's Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium. The other matchup at the site will be No. 3 overall seed and No. 3-ranked Duke (16-4) taking on American (11-7) at noon.
The Lady Flames have automatically qualified for the NCAA Tournament four times, and this will be their fifth appearance in the event in the 13-year history of the program. Liberty has qualified for the NCAA Field Hockey Championship in three straight seasons.
Liberty earned the at-large bid after finishing No. 7 in the NCAA Field Hockey RPI listing following the conclusion of all conference tournament championships today. The Lady Flames own victories over North Carolina (No. 1 RPI), Virginia (No. 4 RPI) and Harvard (No. 8 RPI) and took Duke (No. 3 RPI) to overtime. Liberty also finished 7-0 in the BIG EAST for the second time in the last three years.
The Lady Flames are one of eight at-large selections in this year's field along with 10 automatic qualifiers to comprise the 18-team field.
This will be the second all-time meeting between Liberty and Syracuse and first since 2016. The Orange, the 2015 national champions, edged the Lady Flames 3-2 in overtime at Hofstra on Sept. 3, 2016.
Liberty holds a 4-4 all-time mark in the NCAA Field Hockey Championship in four appearances. The Lady Flames made it all the way to the title game of the NCAA Field Hockey Championship during the fall 2021 campaign, knocking off No. 11 Saint Joseph's (Sweet 16), No. 1 Rutgers (Elite 8) and No. 5 Maryland (Final Four) to reach the national final. No. 7 Northwestern edged Liberty 2-0 in the national championship game.
No. 1 seed Liberty dropped a 3-1 decision to No. 2 seed Old Dominion in Sunday's BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship title game, held at Temple's Howarth Field in Philadelphia, Pa. The Monarchs received the conference's automatic bid and will face No. 4 overall seed Maryland in the opening round. This is the first time two BIG EAST squads have qualified for the NCAA Championship in the same season since 2013.
Liberty featured three BIG EAST All-Tournament team selections – Jodie Conolly, Bethany Dykema and Milagros Arteta.
Opening round games will be played on two campus sites, Wednesday. First and second round games will be played at four campus sites, Friday and Sunday. North Carolina will host the semifinals and final on Nov. 17 and 19 at Karen Shelton Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C.
We're in the @NCAA Field Hockey Championship field!#CatchingFire????? #RiseWithUs pic.twitter.com/NpJWu3zDcw
— Liberty Field Hockey (@LibertyFH) November 6, 2023
Going dancing for a 3??rd straight year!??????#CatchingFire????? #RiseWithUs pic.twitter.com/ZRpOEFvUDP
— Liberty Field Hockey (@LibertyFH) November 6, 2023
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— Liberty Field Hockey (@LibertyFH) November 6, 2023
We'll face No. 12 Syracuse on Friday at 2:30 p.m. at Duke.
1??st at-large bid in program history
3??rd straight year in the NCAA Championship
5??th NCAA Tournament appearance in school history in only 13 seasons#CatchingFire????? #RiseWithUs pic.twitter.com/JkTBOnzF80
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