No. 7 Liberty Travels to Face Temple and Longwood, Friday and Sunday

LYNCHBURG, Va. – No. 7-ranked Liberty will play a pair of road games at Temple and Longwood, Friday and Sunday.

Friday's BIG EAST matchup between the Lady Flames (12-2, 5-0 BIG EAST) and Owls (10-5, 2-3 BIG EAST) is slated for a 3 p.m. start at the Temple Sports Complex in Philadelphia, Pa. At 5-0 in the league, Liberty is the lone unbeaten team remaining in the conference standings. The Lady Flames can clinch at least a share of the BIG EAST regular season title with a triumph at Temple as well as the No. 1 seed for the 2025 BIG EAST Championship by virtue of a victory.

On Sunday, Liberty will meet in-state foe Longwood (4-10) for a non-conference matchup. Game time is noon at Elizabeth Burger Jackson Field in Farmville, Va. The Lancers will host Central Michigan on Friday prior to facing the Lady Flames.

Lady Flames News and Notes

With a win on Friday, Liberty can earn at least a share of the BIG EAST regular season title for the fourth time in the last five seasons. The Lady Flames have earned a spot in the BIG EAST Championship for a 10th consecutive season. Liberty will serve as the host of the BIG EAST Tournament, Nov. 7-9 at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.
Liberty is 13-2 all-time against Temple. The Lady Flames are 12-1 versus the Owls since joining the BIG EAST in 2016. The lone setback came last year, a 5-1 Temple victory in Lynchburg. Liberty's last road trip to Temple resulted in a 3-0 shutout win in 2023.
Freshman defender Julieta Tornati was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on Monday afternoon. Tornati tallied one goal, one assist and three points in a trio of games last week. She assisted on the game winner against Providence in a 2-0 win and scored what proved to be the game winner in a 2-1 victory over Saint Joseph's.
Dara Semmartin was tabbed to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll, her team-best sixth weekly honor of the year. The sophomore defender notched two assists against Saint Joseph's and helped the Liberty defense surrender only two goals in three games last week.
This will be the 15th all-time meeting between Liberty and Longwood. Last year, the Lady Flames edged the Lancers 2-1 in overtime in Lynchburg. Martu Cian scored the game winner in the 63rd minute. Liberty is 10-4 all-time versus Longwood and has won five straight meetings.
Liberty is No. 7 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll for a third straight week. The Lady Flames are No. 6 in the NCAA Field Hockey RPI listing.
As a team, Liberty ranks fifth nationally and first in the BIG EAST in shutouts per game (0.50). The Lady Flames are also No. 6 in the country in goals-against average (0.86), No. 13 in assists per game (2.64), No. 17 in scoring margin (1.58) and No. 20 in points per game (7.50). Liberty leads the conference in goals-against average, scoring margin and points per game and ranks second in the league in assists per game.
With 10 assists each, Dara Semmartin and Lou Combrinck lead the BIG EAST in assists per game (0.71) and rank No. 14 in the nation in the category. Goalkeeper Diane Saint Martin ranks sixth in the country and No. 1 in the BIG EAST in goals-against average (0.79). Saint Martin has seven shutouts in 2025 and is one away from tying the program single-season record of eight, held by Azul Iritxity Irigoyen (2022).
Liberty is 5-2 on the road in 2025, with its only two setbacks coming to No. 2 North Carolina (Sept. 14) and No. 3 Virginia (Oct. 14).
Through eight weeks of the season, Liberty has earned 19 total weekly awards (two national, 17 BIG EAST) – two NFHCA Division I Offensive Player of the Week honorable mention selections, four defensive player of the week awards, three offensive player of the week honors, three freshman of the week accolades and seven weekly honor roll selections.

Schedule

No. 7 Liberty Travels to Face Temple and Longwood, Friday and Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Martu Cian

Lou Combrinck

Diane Saint Martin

Dara Semmartin

Julieta Tornati