No. 7 Liberty to Close Regular Season at Home Versus Villanova

LYNCHBURG, Va. – No. 7 Liberty will have a chance to earn the outright BIG EAST regular season title when it hosts Villanova in the regular season finale, Friday at the Liberty Field Hockey Field. Game time is 3 p.m.

The Lady Flames (14-2, 6-0 BIG EAST) have already clinched a share of the BIG EAST regular season title and the No. 1 seed for next weekend's 2025 BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship, hosted by Liberty. A win over the Wildcats (5-11, 3-3 BIG EAST) would give Liberty its third outright BIG EAST title and fourth BIG EAST regular season crown in the past five seasons.

Liberty is in search of its third perfect 7-0 BIG EAST regular season mark in program history (others: fall 2021 and 2023). With a win over the Lady Flames, Villanova would secure a spot in next weekend's BIG EAST Tournament. If the Wildcats lose to Liberty, they would still secure a spot in the BIG EAST Championship if No. 20 Connecticut defeats Quinnipiac on Friday.

Lady Flames News and Notes

A win on Friday would give Liberty its third outright BIG EAST title. The Lady Flames are in search of their fourth BIG EAST regular season crown in the last five years. Liberty won the outright BIG EAST crown during the fall 2021 and 2023 seasons and shared the regular season title in 2022.
Liberty has earned a spot in the BIG EAST Championship for a 10th straight year. The Lady Flames will host next weekend's BIG EAST Tournament (Nov. 7-9) at the Liberty Field Hockey Field for the second time in program history. The program hosted the event for the first time in 2018.
The Lady Flames are 7-0 at home in 2025 and looking to end the regular season with an unbeaten mark at the Liberty Field Hockey Field. Liberty's last unbeaten home season came two years ago in 2023 when the Lady Flames went 9-0 on their home turf.
Freshman goalkeeper Diane Saint Martin was selected as the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Saint Martin was tabbed NFHCA Division I Defensive Player of the Week honorable mention. Fellow freshman Morena Giacosa was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.
Saint Martin posted a 2-0 record, 1.44 goals-against average (GAA), 16 saves and an .842 save percentage in a pair of road triumphs over Temple and Longwood. Giacosa led Liberty with two goals in two matches last weekend.
Saint Martin leads the conference and ranks No. 6 in the nation in goals-against average (0.87). The best single-season goals-against average for a Liberty goalkeeper for a full season is 0.93, set by Azul Iritxity Irigoyen in 2023. Saint Martin's seven shutouts in 2025 are the second most in program history, only to Iritxity Irigoyen's eight clean sheets in 2022.
Liberty is No. 7 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll for the fourth straight week. The Lady Flames are also No. 7 in the NCAA Field Hockey RPI listing.
Dara Semmartin's 13 assists this season are tied for the second most in a single season in program history. The program record is 14, set by Agueda Moroni in 2018.
Semmartin leads the BIG EAST and ranks No. 9 in the country in assists per game (0.81). Senior Lou Combrinck has 11 total assists and ranks No. 2 in the BIG EAST and 17th nationally in assists per game (0.69).
As a team, Liberty ranks seventh nationally and first in the BIG EAST in both goals-against average (0.92) and shutouts per game (0.44). The Lady Flames also lead the BIG EAST in assists per game (2.81), ranking ninth in the country in the category. Liberty is No. 13 in the nation in scoring margin (1.72), No. 15 in points per game (8.19), No. 19 in save percentage (.758), No. 19 in scoring average (2.64) and No. 20 in goals per game (2.69). The Lady Flames pace the BIG EAST in all of those categories except for save percentage (second).
Through nine weeks of the season, the Lady Flames have earned 23 total weekly awards (three national, 20 BIG EAST) – two NFHCA Division I Offensive Player of the Week honorable mention selections, one NFHCA Division I Defensive Player of the Week honorable mention selection, five defensive player of the week awards, three offensive player of the week honors, four freshman of the week accolades and eight weekly honor roll selections.

Schedule

No. 7 Liberty to Close Regular Season at Home Versus Villanova

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Players Mentioned

Lou Combrinck

Morena Giacosa

Diane Saint Martin

Dara Semmartin