Friday, August 25
Lynchburg, Va.
7:00 PM ET
Liberty University
(1-0)
2
vs
0
Kent State
(0-1)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Liberty | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
No. 14 Liberty Earns 2-0 Shutout Win Over Kent State in Opener
8/25/2023 10:22:00 PM | Field Hockey
LYNCHBURG, Va. – No. 14 Liberty earned a 2-0 shutout victory over Kent State in its 2023 season opener, Friday evening at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.
Reagan Underwood and Jodie Conolly did the scoring for the home side to secure the two-goal win, while Azul Iritxity Irigoyen notched her 18th career shutout.
The Lady Flames improve to 1-0 after blanking the Golden Flashes (0-1) in the season opener for a second straight season. Liberty is 5-0 all-time against Kent State and has won its last six season openers overall.
Scoring Summary
4' – LIBERTY – Reagan Underwood (Milagros Arteta)
42' – LIBERTY – Jodie Conolly (Reagan Underwood and Bethany Dykema) | Penalty Corner
Goalkeepers
W: Azul Iritxity Irigoyen 1-0, three saves
L: Cecile van Eijck 0-1, six saves
Turning Point
Liberty got on the scoreboard in the early going, with Milagros Arteta driving the baseline and finding an open Reagan Underwood in front of the cage. With the Kent State goalkeeper down after sliding in an attempt to cut off Arteta, the ball found the stick of Underwood. The senior midfielder buried a shot into the cage for the first Liberty goal of the 2023 campaign and a 1-0 lead at the 3:38 mark.
It remained a 1-0 game until the latter stages of the third quarter when Liberty tacked on an insurance goal. Following a penalty corner insert from Bethany Dykema and ensuing stick stop from Underwood, Conolly sent a one-hop shot into the left side of the goal for a 2-0 Lady Flames edge in the 42nd minute.
Kent State earned four penalty corners in the final quarter, but the Liberty defense thwarted those attempts to preserve the shutout.
Key Stats & Notes
• Fifth-year senior Jodie Conolly made two defensive saves in the opening seven minutes of the contest, making the stops at the 4:18 and 6:20 mark on two Golden Flashes penalty corner efforts. Conolly's two defensive saves are a new program single-game record.
• Arteta, Kyleigh Faust and Tuti Dell Anna each made their first starts in a Liberty uniform this evening, with Arteta dishing out her first assist as a Lady Flame. Additionally, Nicole Enslin and Danielle Hamm saw their first game action as Lady Flames with reserve minutes.
• Liberty outshot Kent State 12-8 on the night and held a 10-7 edge in penalty corners.
• Underwood led Liberty with three points on the night (1 g, 1 a), matching a career high in the process.
• Dykema, who paced the Lady Flames with 12 assists a season ago, notched her 35th career assist. The fifth-year senior back is up to 35 career assists, tied for the second most in program history with Bethany Barr (2013-16).
• Dating back to the start of the 2022 season, Liberty has 11 shutouts over the last 21 games. The Lady Flames tallied a program-record 10 shutouts in 2022 and finished second nationally in shutouts per game (0.50).
• Liberty is 9-4 all-time in season openers after tonight's triumph.
• Tonight's attendance of 561 is the second largest for a regular season home game in program history and the third largest home crowd in school history, including postseason.
Up Next
No. 14 Liberty will be back in action on Sunday morning at home against the Indiana Hoosiers (0-1). Game time is set for 11 a.m.
Last season, the Lady Flames topped the Hoosiers 2-0 in what was the first-ever meeting between the two squads. Indiana fell 3-2 at No. 20 Duke in its season opener, Friday night.
Reagan Underwood and Jodie Conolly did the scoring for the home side to secure the two-goal win, while Azul Iritxity Irigoyen notched her 18th career shutout.
The Lady Flames improve to 1-0 after blanking the Golden Flashes (0-1) in the season opener for a second straight season. Liberty is 5-0 all-time against Kent State and has won its last six season openers overall.
Scoring Summary
4' – LIBERTY – Reagan Underwood (Milagros Arteta)
42' – LIBERTY – Jodie Conolly (Reagan Underwood and Bethany Dykema) | Penalty Corner
Goalkeepers
W: Azul Iritxity Irigoyen 1-0, three saves
L: Cecile van Eijck 0-1, six saves
Turning Point
Liberty got on the scoreboard in the early going, with Milagros Arteta driving the baseline and finding an open Reagan Underwood in front of the cage. With the Kent State goalkeeper down after sliding in an attempt to cut off Arteta, the ball found the stick of Underwood. The senior midfielder buried a shot into the cage for the first Liberty goal of the 2023 campaign and a 1-0 lead at the 3:38 mark.
It remained a 1-0 game until the latter stages of the third quarter when Liberty tacked on an insurance goal. Following a penalty corner insert from Bethany Dykema and ensuing stick stop from Underwood, Conolly sent a one-hop shot into the left side of the goal for a 2-0 Lady Flames edge in the 42nd minute.
Kent State earned four penalty corners in the final quarter, but the Liberty defense thwarted those attempts to preserve the shutout.
Key Stats & Notes
• Fifth-year senior Jodie Conolly made two defensive saves in the opening seven minutes of the contest, making the stops at the 4:18 and 6:20 mark on two Golden Flashes penalty corner efforts. Conolly's two defensive saves are a new program single-game record.
• Arteta, Kyleigh Faust and Tuti Dell Anna each made their first starts in a Liberty uniform this evening, with Arteta dishing out her first assist as a Lady Flame. Additionally, Nicole Enslin and Danielle Hamm saw their first game action as Lady Flames with reserve minutes.
• Liberty outshot Kent State 12-8 on the night and held a 10-7 edge in penalty corners.
• Underwood led Liberty with three points on the night (1 g, 1 a), matching a career high in the process.
• Dykema, who paced the Lady Flames with 12 assists a season ago, notched her 35th career assist. The fifth-year senior back is up to 35 career assists, tied for the second most in program history with Bethany Barr (2013-16).
• Dating back to the start of the 2022 season, Liberty has 11 shutouts over the last 21 games. The Lady Flames tallied a program-record 10 shutouts in 2022 and finished second nationally in shutouts per game (0.50).
• Liberty is 9-4 all-time in season openers after tonight's triumph.
• Tonight's attendance of 561 is the second largest for a regular season home game in program history and the third largest home crowd in school history, including postseason.
Up Next
No. 14 Liberty will be back in action on Sunday morning at home against the Indiana Hoosiers (0-1). Game time is set for 11 a.m.
Last season, the Lady Flames topped the Hoosiers 2-0 in what was the first-ever meeting between the two squads. Indiana fell 3-2 at No. 20 Duke in its season opener, Friday night.
Team Stats
KENTST
LIBERTY
Goals
0
2
Shots
8
12
Shots on Goal
5
8
Saves
6
5
Corners
7
10
Offsides
0
0
Fouls
0
0
Scoring Plays
UNDERWOOD, Reagan (1)
Assisted By: ARTETA, Milagros
Cross, shot from middle into open net
3:38
CONOLLY, Jodie (1)
Assisted By: UNDERWOOD, Reagan , DYKEMA, Bethany
Shot on corner into left side
41:25
Game Leaders
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
1
Shots
4
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Field Hockey
D
/ Field Hockey
F
/ Field Hockey
D
/ Field Hockey
M/D
/ Field Hockey
D
/ Field Hockey
D
/ Field Hockey
GK
/ Field Hockey
M
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Tuesday, November 11
Monday, November 10