Sunday, September 29
Albany, N.Y.
12:00 PM ET
Liberty University
2
at
4
UAlbany
No. 14 Liberty Falls 4-2 at No. 17 UAlbany, Sunday Afternoon
9/29/2024 2:53:00 PM | Field Hockey
ALBANY, N.Y. – No. 14 Liberty fell 4-2 in a road non-conference contest at No. 17 UAlbany, Sunday afternoon at Alumni Turf.
Liberty drops to 5-4 on the season and finishes the weekend with a 1-1 mark. The Lady Flames bested Providence 2-1 on Friday for their first BIG EAST Conference win of 2024. UAlbany improves to 8-1 on the year following its eighth straight victory. This was the first-ever meeting between the Lady Flames and Great Danes in field hockey.
Scoring Summary
2' – UALBANY – Lotje Ligthart (unassisted) | Penalty Corner
4' – LIBERTY – Tuti Dell Anna (Dara Semmartin) | Penalty Corner
23' – UALBANY – Alison Smisdom | Penalty Stroke
27' – UALBANY – Alison Smisdom (Lotje Ligthart) | Penalty Corner
49' – LIBERTY – Martu Cian (unassisted)
51' – UALBANY – Alison Smisdom | Penalty Stroke
Goalkeepers
W: Lara Behn 8-1, one save
L: Michael Skinner 5-4, three saves
Turning Point
UAlbany and Liberty both scored goals in the game's first four minutes. The Great Danes got on the board at the 1:52 mark, as Lotje Ligthart scored on a penalty corner rebound. Just over a minute later (3:06 mark), Liberty knotted the game at 1-all with a penalty corner marker. Dara Semmartin sent a ball from the top of the circle to the stick of Tuti Dell Anna, who redirected the ball into the cage for the goal.
UAlbany scored twice in the second quarter to take a 3-1 lead into intermission. Both goals were scored by Alison Smisdom, one on a penalty stroke (22:46 mark) and one on a penalty corner (26:53 mark).
Liberty cut the UAlbany lead in half (3-2) in the 49th minute on a Martu Cian reverse strike over Great Danes goalkeeper Lara Behn. The Great Danes answered back just over two minutes later (50:19 mark) with another penalty stroke goal from Smisdom to give her a hat trick. Liberty had a chance to get within a goal again in the 58th minute, but Behn saved a penalty stroke from the Lady Flames' Kyleigh Faust.
Key Stats & Notes
Liberty (5-4, 1-1 BIG EAST) will welcome Temple (4-4, 1-1 BIG EAST) to Lynchburg for its BIG EAST home opener, Friday afternoon. Match time is slated for 1 p.m. at the Liberty Field Hockey Field. The contest can be seen on ESPN+.
The Lady Flames are 13-1 all-time versus the Owls and 12-0 against Temple since joining the BIG EAST. Last season, Liberty shut out Temple 3-0 at Howarth Field in Philadelphia, Pa. (Sept. 29, 2023).
Liberty drops to 5-4 on the season and finishes the weekend with a 1-1 mark. The Lady Flames bested Providence 2-1 on Friday for their first BIG EAST Conference win of 2024. UAlbany improves to 8-1 on the year following its eighth straight victory. This was the first-ever meeting between the Lady Flames and Great Danes in field hockey.
Scoring Summary
2' – UALBANY – Lotje Ligthart (unassisted) | Penalty Corner
4' – LIBERTY – Tuti Dell Anna (Dara Semmartin) | Penalty Corner
23' – UALBANY – Alison Smisdom | Penalty Stroke
27' – UALBANY – Alison Smisdom (Lotje Ligthart) | Penalty Corner
49' – LIBERTY – Martu Cian (unassisted)
51' – UALBANY – Alison Smisdom | Penalty Stroke
Goalkeepers
W: Lara Behn 8-1, one save
L: Michael Skinner 5-4, three saves
Turning Point
UAlbany and Liberty both scored goals in the game's first four minutes. The Great Danes got on the board at the 1:52 mark, as Lotje Ligthart scored on a penalty corner rebound. Just over a minute later (3:06 mark), Liberty knotted the game at 1-all with a penalty corner marker. Dara Semmartin sent a ball from the top of the circle to the stick of Tuti Dell Anna, who redirected the ball into the cage for the goal.
UAlbany scored twice in the second quarter to take a 3-1 lead into intermission. Both goals were scored by Alison Smisdom, one on a penalty stroke (22:46 mark) and one on a penalty corner (26:53 mark).
Liberty cut the UAlbany lead in half (3-2) in the 49th minute on a Martu Cian reverse strike over Great Danes goalkeeper Lara Behn. The Great Danes answered back just over two minutes later (50:19 mark) with another penalty stroke goal from Smisdom to give her a hat trick. Liberty had a chance to get within a goal again in the 58th minute, but Behn saved a penalty stroke from the Lady Flames' Kyleigh Faust.
Key Stats & Notes
- Martu Cian leads the Lady Flames with five goals on the season. She paces Liberty in points as well with 11.
- Tuti Dell Anna's goal was her fourth of 2024. The forward scored five goals in 20 games last season.
- Freshman defender Dara Semmartin notched her team-best third assist of the year.
- Freshman midfielder Josefina Tomasi tallied her first career defensive save, Liberty's first defensive save of the season.
- UAlbany held an 11-5 edge in shots and 8-3 advantage in shots on goal. The Great Danes won six penalty corners compared to three for Liberty. UAlbany converted 2-of-2 penalty stroke attempts, while Liberty was 0-of-1.
- Liberty drops to 1-4 against top-20 teams this year.
Liberty (5-4, 1-1 BIG EAST) will welcome Temple (4-4, 1-1 BIG EAST) to Lynchburg for its BIG EAST home opener, Friday afternoon. Match time is slated for 1 p.m. at the Liberty Field Hockey Field. The contest can be seen on ESPN+.
The Lady Flames are 13-1 all-time versus the Owls and 12-0 against Temple since joining the BIG EAST. Last season, Liberty shut out Temple 3-0 at Howarth Field in Philadelphia, Pa. (Sept. 29, 2023).
Players Mentioned
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