Liberty Travels to Richmond, Seeks First Win on the Season and Against Spiders
2/17/2023 10:50:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
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The Liberty Lady Flames women's lacrosse squad hits the road to Richmond, Va. to take on the No. 21 Richmond Spiders on Saturday afternoon. First draw is 3 p.m. at Robins Stadium.
It will be the second game of the season and the week for the Lady Flames (0-1) after facing No. 1 North Carolina on the road Wednesday.
The Richmond Spiders (2-0) are coming off a pair of road wins at Queens (13-6 final) and William & Mary (20-4 final). It will be the home opener for the Spiders after they were visitors for Liberty's home opener last season, a match the Lady Flames dropped in overtime 13-12 on Feb. 19, 2022.
Liberty looks to rebound after grabbing an early 3-1 lead off last season's NCAA champion Tar Heels. The Lady Flames fought hard until the end, but the Tar Heels surged back to get an eventual 18-6 win.
The Lady Flames are in search of their first victory in nine contests against the in-state Spiders. Richmond holds the 8-0 series edge, with two of the last three meetings being decided by one goal.
Lady Flames News and Notes
• Against the Tar Heels on Wednesday, Liberty had three players with multiple points. The Lady Flames were led by Cami Merkel (2 g, 1 a, 3 pts), along with Lizzy Ferguson (1 g, 1 a, 2 pts) and Kelly Scott (1 g, 1 a, 2 pts)
• Liberty had eight caused turnovers, four more than the Tar Heels for the match, and held an 11-10 edge in ground balls. Liberty is looking to replicate a defense that led the nation in caused turnovers per game (13.58) and fourth in ground balls per game (20.89).
• A win over the Spiders would be Liberty's first win in program history over a ranked team.
• Including No. 1 UNC and No. 22 Richmond, Liberty will face seven teams who were ranked in the preseason 2023 ILWomen/IWLCA Division I poll. Liberty will host No. 7 Florida (April 12) and No. 12 James Madison (March 8) at the Liberty Lacrosse Field. The Lady Flames will travel to No. 11 Duke (Feb. 28), No. 19 Jacksonville (April 1) and No. 16 Notre Dame (March 19).
• Liberty was 5-4 in road games in 2022.
• Four Lady Flames were named to the ASUN Preseason All-Conference team. Presented on Jan. 26, Liberty attacker Jordan Baerga, midfielders Mackenzie Lehman and Ferguson and defender Mikayla Coghill received the honor. It was the second straight year Coghill and Lehman were named on the team.
• Liberty was picked to finish second in the conference by the 2023 ASUN Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll for the third straight season.
• Richmond moved up one spot in the weekly ILWomen/IWLCA Division l Poll. The Spiders went from No. 22 to No. 21 following their win in the 2023 opener.
• Richmond went 14-4 during the 2022 season, concluding in a first round loss in the Atlantic 10 Tournament to Saint Joseph's, 10-9. The Spiders were undefeated in nine home matches over the course of the season.
Main Photo at Top of Story: No. 9 Mikayla Coghill
