No. 6 Liberty to Take on Old Dominion, No. 17 Appalachian State

LYNCHBURG, Va. – No. 6 Liberty is set to take on Old Dominion in a matchup of BIG EAST Conference unbeatens on Friday in Lynchburg, followed by a Sunday road game at No. 17 Appalachian State.

The Lady Flames (7-1, 2-0 BIG EAST) will meet the ODU Monarchs (4-5, 2-0 BIG EAST) on Friday afternoon with first place in the BIG EAST on the line. Game time is 3 p.m. at the Liberty Field Hockey Field. On Sunday, Liberty will play a non-conference contest at Appalachian State (8-1), a battle of top-20 teams. Game time is noon from Dr. Jan C. Watson Field at the Brandon & Erica M. Adcock Field Hockey Complex in Boone, N.C..

Liberty carries a three-match winning streak into the weekend, with all three of those victories coming in shutout fashion. This past weekend, the Lady Flames edged Connecticut 1-0 in their BIG EAST home opener and blanked William & Mary 4-0 on the road. ODU played a pair of home games last weekend, defeating Quinnipiac 2-0 in league play, followed by a 4-1 loss to No. 12 Michigan. Appalachian State bested Bellarmine 2-0 this past weekend, followed by a 5-4 overtime win versus No. 18 James Madison. The Mountaineers are nationally ranked (No. 17) for the first time in program history.

Lady Flames News and Notes

Liberty sophomore Dara Semmartin was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this season, announced Tuesday by the league. The Buenos Aires, Argentina native scored a pair of goals in the wins over UConn and William & Mary and helped the Lady Flames shut out both of their opponents.
Freshman goalkeeper Diane Saint Martin and senior midfielder Lou Combrinck garnered inclusion on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. Saint Martin posted a 2-0 record, 0.00 goals-against-average, five saves, a perfect 1.000 save percentage and two shutouts over the weekend. Combrinck tallied two goals, two assists and six points against the Huskies and Tribe.
Liberty and ODU will be meeting for the 20th time. The Monarchs are the Lady Flames' most common all-time opponent. Liberty holds a 10-9 edge in the series. Last year, the Monarchs prevailed 3-2 in Norfolk, Va. Liberty's goal scorers in that match were Josefina Tomasi and Tuti Dell Anna.
The Lady Flames are 8-1 all-time against the App State Mountaineers. The two teams will square off for a second straight year. In 2024, Liberty topped App State 5-0 in Lynchburg. The two squads met in an exhibition game earlier this fall on Aug. 24.
The Lady Flames have been ranked among the top 10 teams in the country in each of the last four national polls. Liberty started at No. 17 in the preseason poll.
(Preseason) – Aug. 26 – No. 17
Week 1 – Sept. 9 – No. 9
Week 2 – Sept. 16 – No. 6
Week 3 – Sept. 23 – No. 5
Week 4 – Sept. 30 – No. 6
Liberty is currently No. 5 in the NCAA Field Hockey RPI listing.
App State is Liberty's third top-20 foe of the season. The Lady Flames are 1-1 in ranked games in 2025. They defeated No. 5 Duke 4-3 in the season opener (Aug. 29) and fell 3-1 to No. 2 North Carolina (Sept. 14).
Combrinck is No. 9 in the country and first in the BIG EAST in assists per game (1.00) and ranks 22th nationally and first in the league in points per game (2.00). Saint Martin is No. 9 nationally and first in the BIG EAST in goals-against-average (1.00) while ranking 21st in the country and second in the conference in save percentage (.758). Semmartin is third in the BIG EAST and 21st nationally in assists per game (0.75).
As a team, Liberty ranks No. 2 in the nation in shutouts per game (0.50). The Lady Flames have recorded shutouts in four of their last five matches. Liberty is also among the top 20 teams in the nation in assists per game (No. 12, 2.88), goals-against-average (No. 13, 1.13), scoring margin (No. 17, 1.50) and save percentage (No. 18, .743). The Lady Flames lead the BIG EAST in shutouts per game, assists per game, goals-against-average and scoring margin.
ODU is Liberty's fourth opponent from the state of Virginia so far this year. Liberty is 3-0 against Commonwealth foes, including victories over James Madison (4-1, home, Sept. 3), Richmond (4-2, home, Sept. 7) and William & Mary (4-0, road, last Sunday). The Lady Flames will face a total of six teams from the Commonwealth during the regular season.
Liberty has collected 10 weekly awards through five weeks of the season – three defensive player of the week awards, two offensive player of the week honors, one freshman of the week accolade and four weekly honor roll selections.
Liberty is 4-0 at home in 2025. The Lady Flames have won eight straight home games dating back to the 2024 season.

Schedule

No. 6 Liberty to Take on Old Dominion, No. 17 Appalachian State

Players Mentioned

Lou Combrinck

Tuti Dell Anna

Diane Saint Martin

Dara Semmartin

Josefina Tomasi