Sunday, September 3
Lynchburg, Va.
1:00 PM ET
Liberty University
6-0-0, 0-0-0
3
vs
1
West Virginia
2-4-0, 0-0-0
1st half1
2nd half2
FinalF
West Virginia
1
0
1
Liberty
0
3
3
Liberty Comes Back to Top West Virginia 3-1, Improves to 6-0
9/3/2023 4:53:00 PM | Women's Soccer
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Liberty women's soccer team secured a comeback 3-1 victory over reigning Big 12 champion West Virginia on Sunday afternoon. The victory marks Liberty's 19th consecutive unbeaten result (16-0-3) and moves the team to a perfect 6-0 in 2023.
In their first-ever meeting with the Mountaineers, Liberty secures its first win over West Virginia and over a Big 12 opponent in program history.
Down much of the game following an early West Virginia goal, the Lady Flames evened the match with a Rachel DeRuby penalty kick in the 72nd minute.
Carrying momentum late, the Lady Flames seized control of the game with consecutive goals from Saydie Holland and Allison Hansford during the 87th minute.
Holland knocked in a header off a Garner cross to take a 2-1 lead. Within a minute of the ensuing kickoff, Holland cashed in a breakaway opportunity after West Virginia's clear attempt bounced off Chloe Marr's shoulder at midfield.
The Lady Flames controlled the majority of the contest despite allowing a first-half goal to West Virginia's Chloe Adler.
Scoring Summary
16' – West Virginia – Taylor White
72' – Liberty – Rachel DeRuby
87' – Liberty – Saydie Holland (Ivy Garner)
87' – Liberty – Allison Hansford
Thoughts from Head Coach Lang Wedemeyer
"This was an incredible performance by our players to get a result against such a quality opponent like West Virginia. Their perseverance was amazing. We give God all the glory!"
Lady Flames News & Notes
Up Next
Liberty prepares for back-to-back road contest, taking on Queens (1-3-1) on Thursday before heading to Marshall (4-0-1) on Sunday. Match times are set for 6 p.m.
In their first-ever meeting with the Mountaineers, Liberty secures its first win over West Virginia and over a Big 12 opponent in program history.
Down much of the game following an early West Virginia goal, the Lady Flames evened the match with a Rachel DeRuby penalty kick in the 72nd minute.
Carrying momentum late, the Lady Flames seized control of the game with consecutive goals from Saydie Holland and Allison Hansford during the 87th minute.
Holland knocked in a header off a Garner cross to take a 2-1 lead. Within a minute of the ensuing kickoff, Holland cashed in a breakaway opportunity after West Virginia's clear attempt bounced off Chloe Marr's shoulder at midfield.
The Lady Flames controlled the majority of the contest despite allowing a first-half goal to West Virginia's Chloe Adler.
Scoring Summary
16' – West Virginia – Taylor White
72' – Liberty – Rachel DeRuby
87' – Liberty – Saydie Holland (Ivy Garner)
87' – Liberty – Allison Hansford
Thoughts from Head Coach Lang Wedemeyer
"This was an incredible performance by our players to get a result against such a quality opponent like West Virginia. Their perseverance was amazing. We give God all the glory!"
Lady Flames News & Notes
- The Lady Flames outshot West Virginia 7-5, outnumbering their opponents with eight shots on goal to two.
- The West Virginia goal in the first half (Adler, 16') marked the first moment in 2023 that Liberty had trailed in a match.
- Liberty controlled 64 percent of its possession on the attacking side of the field. West Virginia managed 44 percent of its possession on the Lady Flames' side of the field.
- The Lady Flames' three goals on Sunday tied a season-high in goals, matching their total in a 3-0 win at UNCW on Aug. 27.
- Five Lady Flames - Ainsley Leja, Elise Graf, Bridie Herman, Rebekah Earnest and Sallie Garner - played the full match on Sunday afternoon.
- Goalkeeper Ainsley Leja recorded one save today. The junior currently owns a 0.50 GAA and a .500 save percentage, allowing just three goals on the season.
- Liberty won six corner opportunities and held the Mountaineers to just a single chance.
- Liberty extended its NCAA Division I leading unbeaten streak to 19 games (16-0-3). The Lady Flames' last loss was a 3-2 defeat at Pitt on Sept. 11, 2022.
- The Lady Flames remain unbeaten at home in the last 12 contests (10-0-2). Liberty went undefeated at Osborne Stadium in 2022.
Up Next
Liberty prepares for back-to-back road contest, taking on Queens (1-3-1) on Thursday before heading to Marshall (4-0-1) on Sunday. Match times are set for 6 p.m.
Team Stats
WVA
LIB
Goals
1
3
Shots
7
12
Shots on Goal
2
8
Saves
5
1
Corners
1
6
Fouls
11
8
Scoring Plays
Chloe Adler (1)
Assisted By: Taylor White
GOAL by WVA Adler, Chloe Assist by White, Taylor.
15:40
Rachel DeRuby (1)
LIB Rachel DeRuby PENALTY KICK GOAL.
71:43
Saydie Holland (2)
Assisted By: Ivy Garner
GOAL by LIB Holland, Saydie Assist by Garner, Ivy.
86:05
Allison Hansford (3)
GOAL by LIB Hansford, Allison.
86:56
Game Leaders
Shots
3
SOG
3
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
fwd
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
Players Mentioned
MF
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's SoccerF
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's SoccerF
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's SoccerMF
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's SoccerIvy Garner Highlights
Monday, February 02
Coach Wedemeyer Talks About Preparing For Clemson
Tuesday, November 11
Briana Myers & Ivy Garner Talk About Preparing For Clemson
Tuesday, November 11
Coach Wedemeyer & Halle Engle React To The NCAA Women's Soccer Selection Show
Monday, November 10