Liberty to Face Eastern Illinois in OVC Quarterfinal Sunday

LYNCHBURG, VA. – The No. 3 seed Liberty Flames will square off with the No. 6 seed Eastern Illinois Panthers in the second quarterfinal match of the Ohio Valley Men's Soccer Championship on Sunday at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles, Mo. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT. The winner of the contest will advance to play the No. 2 seed Houston Christian Huskies in a semifinal match on Wednesday.
   The contest will be the second meeting between the Flames and Panthers this season. Liberty (8-4-6, 4-2-4 OVC) and Eastern Illinois (4-8-4, 3-4-3 OVC) tied 2-2 in Charleston, Ill., on Oct. 16. The Flames took a 2-1 lead early in the second half, only to see the host Panthers score during the 53^rd minute and then hold off Liberty in the game's closing minutes in the draw.
   Sunday's quarterfinal match-up will be the second time the two teams have met in the OVC quarterfinals. In 2023, the two teams played to a 0-0 tie after two overtimes. No. 6 seed Eastern Illinois advanced to the semifinals on penalty kicks 3-1.

   Liberty News & Notes

Liberty finished the OVC regular season with its best record in OVC play in program history with a 4-2-4 mark and 16 points. The record eclipses the Flames' previous top conference record of 4-4-2 and 14 points in 2023.
Liberty fell at Incarnate Word 1-0 in its final regular-season game this past Sunday. Before Sunday's setback, the Flames had been unbeaten over their last six games, posting a 2-0-4 record during the span.
The Flames have failed to advance past the OVC quarterfinals in each of the past two seasons. In 2023, No. 3 seed Liberty played No. 6 seed Eastern Illinois to a 0-0 tie before falling 3-1 on penalty kicks. In 2024, No. 5 seed Incarnate Word defeated No. 4 seed Liberty 2-0.
Liberty finished the regular season with a 7-2-1 record at home. The Flames outscored their opponents, 26-9, at Osborne Stadium. On the road, Liberty posted a 1-2-5 record and was outscored 14-9.
The Flames outscored their opponents, 35-22, during the regular season. Liberty is second in the OVC and 13th nationally in goals scored.
Liberty finished the regular season first in the OVC and 16^th in the nation by averaging 6.89 shots on goal per game. The Flames enter Sunday's quarterfinal 18^th in the country with a 0.475 shot accuracy.
11 Flames have scored at least one goal this season and six have scored three or more goals.
Zach Lifferth is tied for the OVC lead and paces the Flames with eight goals. In addition, the senior leads Liberty and is tied for third in the OVC with 18 points (8 goals, 2 assists).
Leo Conneh has scored a career-high six goals and tallied a career-high 14 points (6 goals, 2 assists) for the Flames this season. Conneh enters the week tied for fifth in the OVC in goals scored and tied for ninth in points.
Senior forward Sam Farner has posted career highs in goals (4), assists (4) and points (12) this season. Farner is tied for seventh in the OVC in assists.
Defender Perry Blay leads the Flames and is second in the OVC with seven assists.
Senior defender and captain Casey McCarthy leads Liberty's field players in minutes played, having logged over 1,600 minutes. Only Flames goalkeeper Tyler Beck has played more minutes than McCarthy.
Tyler Beck has played every minute in goal this season for the Flames. The sophomore, in his first season as the Liberty goalkeeper, has posted a 1.28 goals-against average and has a 0.750 save percentage over 1,620 minutes. Beck is currently second nationally in goalkeeper minutes played.
Head coach Kelly Findley is in his seventh season at Liberty. He has announced his retirement from coaching at the end of the 2025 season. Findley has posted a 46-48-20 record at Liberty and is 167-146-48 during his 20-year head coaching career.

Schedule

Liberty to Face Eastern Illinois in OVC Quarterfinal Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Tyler Beck

Perry Blay

Leo Conneh

Sam Farner

Zach Lifferth

Casey McCarthy