No. 7 Liberty to Match Up With No. 11 Syracuse in NCAA Championship Sweet 16
11/9/2023 9:58:00 AM | Field Hockey
LYNCHBURG, Va. – BIG EAST regular season champion No. 7 Liberty will take on No. 11 Syracuse in the Sweet 16 of the 2023 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship, Friday afternoon.
The Lady Flames (17-2) and the Orange (10-7) will square off at 2:30 p.m. at Duke's Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium in Durham, N.C. Liberty earned its first-ever at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament and will be making its third straight appearance and fifth overall (2013, 2014, fall 2021, 2022, 2023).
The Lady Flames claimed the BIG EAST regular season crown with a perfect 7-0 mark, their second time going unbeaten in league play in the last three seasons. Liberty fell 3-1 to Old Dominion in the BIG EAST championship final this past Sunday.
Meanwhile, Syracuse finished 2-4 in the ACC and fell 3-2 to No. 4 Virginia in the ACC Championship quarterfinals.
This will be the second all-time meeting between the two programs and first since 2016. During that season, the Orange edged the Lady Flames 3-2 in overtime in a game that was played at Hofstra.
The winner of the Liberty/Syracuse match will move on to the NCAA quarterfinals to face either No. 3 national seed and third-ranked Duke (16-4) or American (11-7). The Blue Devils and Eagles play in the other first round match at Duke beginning at noon.
Friday's matchup can be seen on ESPN+.
NCAA Championship First and Second Round Games
Duke's Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium, Durham, N.C.
Friday (First Round/Sweet 16)
Noon – American (11-7) at No. 3 Duke (16-4)
2:30 p.m. – No. 7 Liberty (17-2) vs. No. 11 Syracuse (10-7)
Sunday (Second Round/Elite 8)
1 p.m. – Winners of first round games
Liberty History in the NCAA Championship and History Versus the Four Teams
The Lady Flames (17-2) and the Orange (10-7) will square off at 2:30 p.m. at Duke's Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium in Durham, N.C. Liberty earned its first-ever at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament and will be making its third straight appearance and fifth overall (2013, 2014, fall 2021, 2022, 2023).
The Lady Flames claimed the BIG EAST regular season crown with a perfect 7-0 mark, their second time going unbeaten in league play in the last three seasons. Liberty fell 3-1 to Old Dominion in the BIG EAST championship final this past Sunday.
Meanwhile, Syracuse finished 2-4 in the ACC and fell 3-2 to No. 4 Virginia in the ACC Championship quarterfinals.
This will be the second all-time meeting between the two programs and first since 2016. During that season, the Orange edged the Lady Flames 3-2 in overtime in a game that was played at Hofstra.
The winner of the Liberty/Syracuse match will move on to the NCAA quarterfinals to face either No. 3 national seed and third-ranked Duke (16-4) or American (11-7). The Blue Devils and Eagles play in the other first round match at Duke beginning at noon.
Friday's matchup can be seen on ESPN+.
NCAA Championship First and Second Round Games
Duke's Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium, Durham, N.C.
Friday (First Round/Sweet 16)
Noon – American (11-7) at No. 3 Duke (16-4)
2:30 p.m. – No. 7 Liberty (17-2) vs. No. 11 Syracuse (10-7)
Sunday (Second Round/Elite 8)
1 p.m. – Winners of first round games
Liberty History in the NCAA Championship and History Versus the Four Teams
- NCAA Championship appearances for Liberty: 5 – 2013, 2014, Fall 2021, 2022 and 2023
- NCAA Tournament record: 4-4
- NCAA Tournament wins: No. 20 Liberty topped Richmond 3-1 in an opening round game on Nov. 12, 2014 at the Liberty Field Hockey Field. The No. 9 Lady Flames defeated No. 11 Saint Joseph's 2-0 in the Sweet 16 on Nov. 12, 2021 at Rutgers' Bauer Track and Field Hockey Complex. Liberty bested No. 1 Rutgers 3-2 (4-2 in the shootout) in the Elite 8 (Nov. 14, 2021). The Lady Flames edged No. 5 Maryland 3-2 in double overtime in the Final 4 (Nov. 19, 2021).
- NCAA Tournament losses: No. 20 Liberty lost 2-1 to No. 1 North Carolina in a first round game on Nov. 15, 2014 in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Lady Flames fell to No. 14 Delaware 1-0 in a play-in game on Nov. 13, 2013 in Newark, Del. Liberty lost 2-0 to No. 7 Northwestern in the 2021 National Championship Game (Nov. 21, 2021). The No. 13 Lady Flames dropped a 2-1 double overtime decision at No. 2 Maryland in last year's NCAA Sweet 16 (Nov. 11, 2022).
- Series history with Syracuse: 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.
- Series history with Duke: The Blue Devils hold a 7-2 advantage in the all-time series, but the Lady Flames have won two of the last three meetings. Of the nine all-time meetings between the two squads, six have gone to overtime. Earlier this season (Sept. 10), Duke edged Liberty 2-1 in overtime in Durham.
- Series history with American: Liberty and American squared off earlier this season in Lynchburg, with the Lady Flames prevailing 1-0 (2-1 PS) in a game that went to a shootout. Liberty is 2-0 all-time versus American, with the other result being a 2-1 overtime triumph in 2016 in Washington, D.C. Lady Flames senior midfielder Reagan Underwood and American senior goalkeeper Bryn Underwood are twin sisters.
- What a win on Friday over Syracuse would mean: A win on Friday would be Liberty's second ever victory in the NCAA Championship Round of 16.
- Liberty featured five All-BIG EAST team honorees, led by BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Jodie Conolly and BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year Azul Iritxity Irigoyen. Both were All-BIG EAST first team selections along with Bethany Dykema and Reagan Underwood. Junior Martu Cian was tabbed to the All-BIG EAST second team.
- Conolly, Dykema and Milagros Arteta were selected to the BIG EAST All-Tournament team.
- Liberty claimed its third straight BIG EAST regular season crown with a perfect 7-0 mark in league play. The Lady Flames were the outright regular season champions for the second time in the last three seasons.
- Liberty enters the NCAA Field Hockey Championship in the No. 7 slot in both the NCAA Field Hockey RPI and the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll. The Lady Flames were listed among the top 10 teams in the coaches poll in all 10 regular season weeks this season. Liberty was No. 14 in the preseason poll.
- Liberty enters the NCAA Tournament in the top five in the country in five different statistical categories: goals-against-average (No. 2, 0.86), winning percentage (No. 2, .895), shutouts per game (No. 5, 0.42), scoring margin (No. 7, 1.86) and assists per game (No. 8, 2.47). The Lady Flames are also 11th in the nation in save percentage (.779), 12th in goals per game (2.84) and 15th in points per game (8.16).
- Individually, Iritxity Irigoyen ranks second in the country in goals-against-average (0.88) and 14th in save percentage (.770) Conolly and Dykema are both seventh nationally in assists per game (0.63). Conolly is also No. 21 in the country in points per game (1.68).
- Dykema is the program's all-time career assists leader with 46. Her 46 assists are also the most of any active Division I player. Conolly is third in program history with 37 career assists and is tied for fourth in the country for career assists among active players.
- Liberty has three wins over top-20 teams in 2023 and 16 ranked wins over the past three seasons. This fall, the Lady Flames have defeated No. 1 North Carolina, No. 6 Virginia and No. 14 Harvard. All three of those teams are in the NCAA Tournament field.
- North Carolina will host the Final Four of the NCAA Field Hockey Championship on Nov. 17 and 19 at Karen Shelton Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C.
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