Friday, November 7
Lynchburg, Va.
1:00 PM ET
Liberty University
(16-2)
3
vs
1
Villanova
(5-13)
1
2
3
4
F
Villanova
0
0
0
1
1
Liberty
0
1
0
2
3
No. 1 Seed Liberty Earns Slot in BIG EAST Final With 3-1 Win Over No. 4 Seed Villanova
11/7/2025 7:31:00 PM | Field Hockey
LYNCHBURG, Va. – No. 1 seed Liberty earned a slot in the 2025 BIG EAST Championship final with a 3-1 semifinal win over No. 4 seed Villanova, Friday afternoon at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.
Liberty, the seventh-ranked team in the nation, improves to 16-2 on the year and has won six straight matches. The Lady Flames will advance to play No. 2 seed Connecticut (11-7) in the final, Sunday at 1 p.m. The Huskies topped No. 3 seed Old Dominion 4-1 in Friday's second semifinal.
The Wildcats see their 2025 season end with a 5-13 record. Liberty topped Villanova two times in the last eight days. The Lady Flames bested the Wildcats 5-0 in last Friday's regular season finale to earn the outright BIG EAST regular season crown.
Liberty sophomore Josefina Tomasi scored the go-ahead goal in midway through the quarter to propel the hosts to victory. The Lady Flames are looking for their third BIG EAST title in program history on Sunday. Liberty has qualified for the BIG EAST final in seven of its 10 years in the league.
Scoring Summary
28' – LIBERTY – Maite Altamirano (Dara Semmartin) | Penalty Corner
47' – VILLANOVA – Ava Borkowski (Colleen Finnan)
52' – LIBERTY – Josefina Tomasi (Paris-Gail Isaacs) | Penalty Corner
60' – LIBERTY – Avery Pollock (Lou Combrinck)
Goalkeepers
W: Diane Saint Martin 16-2, two saves
L: Sophie Volkel 5-10, four saves
Turning Point
Liberty led 1-0 after a 28th minute goal from Maite Altamirano on a penalty corner. Altamirano's first career goal came on a penalty corner tip into the top of the goal on a feed from Dara Semmartin.
The Lady Flames led by that margin at the break and into the early stage of the fourth quarter until the visiting Wildcats evened it up at 1-all on an Ava Borkowski goal at the 46:47 mark. Liberty answered back less than five minutes later on a penalty corner goal from Josefina Tomasi, her sixth tally of the season. Tomasi's go-ahead tally, which was the game winner, came on a beautiful combination of passing from Maite Altamirano and Paris-Gail Isaacs. Altamirano sent a pass across the circle to Isaacs, and Isaacs sent a ball onto the stick of Tomasi for a redirect in front of the cage for a 2-1 lead at the 51:09 mark.
Villanova pulled goalkeeper Sophie Volkel with 4:35 looking for the equalizer. The Wildcats earned one more penalty corner in the closing stretch but were unsuccessful in converting. Liberty closed the match with an empty-net goal from Avery Pollock, assisted by Lou Combrinck, with three seconds remaining.
Key Stats & Notes
Sunday's title game matchup will be the fifth BIG EAST title game all-time between Liberty and UConn but first since the fall 2021 campaign, when the Lady Flames edged the Huskies 1-0 for their first-ever BIG EAST Tournament crown.
Game time for Sunday is 1 p.m. from the Liberty Field Hockey Field. The match can be seen on ESPN+. Liberty bested UConn 1-0 in this year's regular season contest on Sept. 26 in Lynchburg. The Huskies lead the overall all-time series by a 10-7 count.
Liberty, the seventh-ranked team in the nation, improves to 16-2 on the year and has won six straight matches. The Lady Flames will advance to play No. 2 seed Connecticut (11-7) in the final, Sunday at 1 p.m. The Huskies topped No. 3 seed Old Dominion 4-1 in Friday's second semifinal.
The Wildcats see their 2025 season end with a 5-13 record. Liberty topped Villanova two times in the last eight days. The Lady Flames bested the Wildcats 5-0 in last Friday's regular season finale to earn the outright BIG EAST regular season crown.
Liberty sophomore Josefina Tomasi scored the go-ahead goal in midway through the quarter to propel the hosts to victory. The Lady Flames are looking for their third BIG EAST title in program history on Sunday. Liberty has qualified for the BIG EAST final in seven of its 10 years in the league.
Scoring Summary
28' – LIBERTY – Maite Altamirano (Dara Semmartin) | Penalty Corner
47' – VILLANOVA – Ava Borkowski (Colleen Finnan)
52' – LIBERTY – Josefina Tomasi (Paris-Gail Isaacs) | Penalty Corner
60' – LIBERTY – Avery Pollock (Lou Combrinck)
Goalkeepers
W: Diane Saint Martin 16-2, two saves
L: Sophie Volkel 5-10, four saves
Turning Point
Liberty led 1-0 after a 28th minute goal from Maite Altamirano on a penalty corner. Altamirano's first career goal came on a penalty corner tip into the top of the goal on a feed from Dara Semmartin.
The Lady Flames led by that margin at the break and into the early stage of the fourth quarter until the visiting Wildcats evened it up at 1-all on an Ava Borkowski goal at the 46:47 mark. Liberty answered back less than five minutes later on a penalty corner goal from Josefina Tomasi, her sixth tally of the season. Tomasi's go-ahead tally, which was the game winner, came on a beautiful combination of passing from Maite Altamirano and Paris-Gail Isaacs. Altamirano sent a pass across the circle to Isaacs, and Isaacs sent a ball onto the stick of Tomasi for a redirect in front of the cage for a 2-1 lead at the 51:09 mark.
Villanova pulled goalkeeper Sophie Volkel with 4:35 looking for the equalizer. The Wildcats earned one more penalty corner in the closing stretch but were unsuccessful in converting. Liberty closed the match with an empty-net goal from Avery Pollock, assisted by Lou Combrinck, with three seconds remaining.
Key Stats & Notes
- After a slow start offensively, Liberty finished the game outshooting Villanova 14-7 (8-3 shots on goal) while holding an 11-4 edge in penalty corners. The Lady Flames outshot the Wildcats 13-3 in the second half and held a 10-1 edge in penalty corners over the final 30 minutes.
- Altamirano's goal was the first of her career. Tomasi, an All-BIG EAST second team honoree, notched her sixth goal of the year. Meanwhile, Avery Pollock's tally was her fifth of the season.
- Dara Semmartin, the 2025 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, added to her assist total with one assist today. The sophomore's 16 assists this year are the most in program history.
- This is Liberty's fifth season all-time with 16 or more wins. The Lady Flames have won 16 or more games in three of the last five years.
- Diane Saint Martin, the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year, notched two saves in the victory, improving to 16-2.
- Liberty improves to 14-0 all-time against Villanova. The Lady Flames have now defeated the Wildcats in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament in two of the last three seasons (also 2023).
- Sunday's matchup will be the seventh meeting between the Lady Flames and Huskies in the BIG EAST Championship. Liberty is 2-4 all-time against UConn at the event. The two teams have met in four BIG EAST finals, with the Huskies holding a 3-1 edge over the Lady Flames in those matchups.
Sunday's title game matchup will be the fifth BIG EAST title game all-time between Liberty and UConn but first since the fall 2021 campaign, when the Lady Flames edged the Huskies 1-0 for their first-ever BIG EAST Tournament crown.
Game time for Sunday is 1 p.m. from the Liberty Field Hockey Field. The match can be seen on ESPN+. Liberty bested UConn 1-0 in this year's regular season contest on Sept. 26 in Lynchburg. The Huskies lead the overall all-time series by a 10-7 count.
Team Stats
VILLANOV
LIBERTY
Goals
1
3
Shots
7
14
Shots on Goal
3
8
Saves
4
2
Corners
4
11
Offsides
0
0
Fouls
0
0
Scoring Plays
Maite Altamirano (1)
Assisted By: Dara Semmartin
Tip on corner, top shelf
27:21
Ava Borkowski (9)
Assisted By: Colleen Finnan
Scored on cross from 32
46:47
Josefina Tomasi (6)
Assisted By: Paris-Gail Isaacs
Redirect on ball from 26
51:09
Avery Pollock (5)
Assisted By: Lou Combrinck
Shot into empty net on cross
59:57
Game Leaders
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
Players Mentioned
M
/ Field Hockey
F/M
/ Field Hockey
D/M
/ Field HockeyF
/ Field Hockey
GK
/ Field HockeyD
/ Field HockeyF
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