Thursday, March 21
Lynchburg, Va.
12:00 PM ET
Liberty University
3-6
8
vs
11
Louisville
5-5
1
2
3
4
F
Louisville
6
1
0
4
11
Liberty
2
2
2
2
8
Liberty Falls to Louisville 11-8 as Comeback Bid Comes Up Short
3/21/2024 4:40:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Lady Flames lacrosse team was edged at home 11-8 by Louisville on Thursday afternoon. The contest was held at the Liberty Lacrosse Field.
Liberty (3-6) suffers its second consecutive loss with the setback to Louisville (5-5). The Cardinals were led by a five-point performance from Kokoro Nakazawa (three goals, two assists).
Trailing by five (11-6) with over nine minutes remaining in the contest, Liberty began a comeback push with two scores in the next three minutes. Louisville buckled down and controlled possession the rest of the quarter, running out the clock for the 11-8 victory.
Goalkeeper Mara Tellers (1-3) stood out despite taking the loss. The junior recorded a career-high 12 saves, playing the full 60 minutes of the contest. It is the first time a Liberty goalkeeper has played a full game this season.
Jordan Sheive tied a season high with four goals in Thursday's contest. The senior added a highlight reel behind-the-back no-look goal to jumpstart Liberty's comeback attempt in the fourth quarter.
Liberty Goals: Jordan Sheive 4, Kelly Scott 2, Katie Colavito 1, Taiva Reinertson 1
Liberty Assists: Ava Rajala 2, Katie Colavito 1, Delaney Donahue 1, Cami Merkel 1
Louisville Goals: Kokoro Nakazawa 3, Kylea Dobson 2, Nicole Perroni 1, Ava Peers 1, Maggie McMahon 1, Allegra Catalano 1, Madi McKee 1, Izzy Seikel 1
Louisville Assists: Kokoro Nakazawa 2, Kylea Dobson 1, Lauren Figas 1, Maggie McMahon 1, Negai Nakazawa 1, Ava Peers 1, Nicole Perroni 1
Goalkeepers
Liberty: L, Mara Tellers, 1-3, 12 saves
Louisville: W, Sara Addeche, 4-5, four saves
Turning Point
Liberty narrowed Louisville's lead to 7-6 with just five seconds remaining in the third quarter. On the ensuing draw control, the Cardinals' Madi McKee secured the draw and managed to draw a yellow card off Taiva Reinertson with just one second left on the clock.
Receiving an automatic possession to kick off the fourth quarter, Louisville's Nicole Perroni raced across the field to score on an empty net, capitalizing on Liberty pulling goalkeeper Mara Tellers out of her crease and into defense.
The score started a stretch of four consecutive Louisville goals, extending the lead to 11-6.
First Half Recap
Second Half Recap
Key Stats & Notes
Up Next
Liberty heads out for another road trip next week. The Lady Flames begin the trip at No. 11 Florida (8-2) on Wednesday, with first draw set for 3 p.m. Liberty then kicks off Atlantic Sun play against Stetson (3-4) on Friday, set for a noon start time.
Liberty (3-6) suffers its second consecutive loss with the setback to Louisville (5-5). The Cardinals were led by a five-point performance from Kokoro Nakazawa (three goals, two assists).
Trailing by five (11-6) with over nine minutes remaining in the contest, Liberty began a comeback push with two scores in the next three minutes. Louisville buckled down and controlled possession the rest of the quarter, running out the clock for the 11-8 victory.
Goalkeeper Mara Tellers (1-3) stood out despite taking the loss. The junior recorded a career-high 12 saves, playing the full 60 minutes of the contest. It is the first time a Liberty goalkeeper has played a full game this season.
Jordan Sheive tied a season high with four goals in Thursday's contest. The senior added a highlight reel behind-the-back no-look goal to jumpstart Liberty's comeback attempt in the fourth quarter.
Liberty Goals: Jordan Sheive 4, Kelly Scott 2, Katie Colavito 1, Taiva Reinertson 1
Liberty Assists: Ava Rajala 2, Katie Colavito 1, Delaney Donahue 1, Cami Merkel 1
Louisville Goals: Kokoro Nakazawa 3, Kylea Dobson 2, Nicole Perroni 1, Ava Peers 1, Maggie McMahon 1, Allegra Catalano 1, Madi McKee 1, Izzy Seikel 1
Louisville Assists: Kokoro Nakazawa 2, Kylea Dobson 1, Lauren Figas 1, Maggie McMahon 1, Negai Nakazawa 1, Ava Peers 1, Nicole Perroni 1
Goalkeepers
Liberty: L, Mara Tellers, 1-3, 12 saves
Louisville: W, Sara Addeche, 4-5, four saves
Turning Point
Liberty narrowed Louisville's lead to 7-6 with just five seconds remaining in the third quarter. On the ensuing draw control, the Cardinals' Madi McKee secured the draw and managed to draw a yellow card off Taiva Reinertson with just one second left on the clock.
Receiving an automatic possession to kick off the fourth quarter, Louisville's Nicole Perroni raced across the field to score on an empty net, capitalizing on Liberty pulling goalkeeper Mara Tellers out of her crease and into defense.
The score started a stretch of four consecutive Louisville goals, extending the lead to 11-6.
First Half Recap
- The Cardinals jumped ahead to a 2-0 lead thanks to two scores from Kylea Dobson. Louisville managed three separate back-to-back goal stretches in the first quarter.
- Louisville led Liberty 6-2 at the end of the first quarter. The Cardinals outshot the Lady Flames 14-7 in the first quarter and 19-14 in the first half.
- Defense began to dominate the game beginning in the second quarter on Thursday. Liberty outscored Louisville by a count of 2-1 as the two teams combined for 11 turnovers.
Second Half Recap
- Liberty trailed 7-4 entering the second half. The Lady Flames continued to lean on their defense, not allowing a single Louisville score in the third quarter.
- Despite the strong defensive play, Liberty managed just two goals in the quarter, narrowing the lead to 7-6.
- Louisville used a stretch of four consecutive goals to begin the fourth, putting the game just out of Liberty's reach.
- The Lady Flames outshot Louisville 16-15 in the second half and 10-7 in the fourth quarter.
Key Stats & Notes
- Liberty falls to 3-6 in 2024 and 2-4 at home this spring. The Lady Flames lose in their first-ever matchup with Louisville.
- Jordan Sheive extends her goal-scoring streak to six games. Across the streak, the senior has totaled 17 goals and eight assists for 25 points.
- For the first time this season, Liberty was edged in caused turnovers. Louisville topped Liberty 16-11 in that category in the contest.
- Liberty's goalkeeping, led by Tellers, stood out with 12 saves compared to Louisville's four.
- The Lady Flames were outshot by a 34-30 total.
- Three Lady Flames, Sheive (seven), Katie Colavito (seven) and Taiva Reinertson (five) recorded at least five shots on Thursday.
Up Next
Liberty heads out for another road trip next week. The Lady Flames begin the trip at No. 11 Florida (8-2) on Wednesday, with first draw set for 3 p.m. Liberty then kicks off Atlantic Sun play against Stetson (3-4) on Friday, set for a noon start time.
Team Stats
UL
LIBERTY
Shots
34
30
Turnovers
18
23
Caused Turnovers
16
12
Draw Controls
14
6
Free-Position Shots
4
2
Ground Balls
21
17
Game Leaders
G
4
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
1
G
1
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
1
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
Players Mentioned
M
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's LacrosseM
/ Women's LacrosseA
/ Women's LacrosseA
/ Women's Lacrosse
GK
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