Sunday, November 9
Lynchburg, Va.
1:00 PM ET
Liberty University
(17-2)
2
vs
1
Connecticut
(11-8)
1
2
3
4
5
F
UConn
0
1
0
0
0
1
Liberty
1
0
0
0
1
2
Combrinck’s OT Game Winner Lifts No. 1 Seed Liberty to BIG EAST Title, 2-1 Over No. 2 Seed UConn
11/9/2025 4:41:00 PM | Field Hockey
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Senior Lou Combrinck scored the championship-winning goal in overtime, lifting No. 1 seed Liberty to a 2-1 victory over No. 2 seed Connecticut in the final of the 2025 BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship in front of a home crowd, Sunday afternoon.
Liberty (17-2) earns its third BIG EAST title in program history. The Lady Flames receive the BIG EAST's automatic berth into the 2025 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship. Tune into ncaa.com tonight for the NCAA Selection Show at 10 p.m. to find out where Liberty will head in the NCAA Tournament. No. 20 UConn falls to 11-8 and will wait to see it if it will be selected as an at-large team tonight.
This is Liberty's first BIG EAST title on its home field at the Liberty Field Hockey Field. The Lady Flames have claimed all three tournament titles in the last five seasons. Liberty's BIG EAST All-Tournament team selections included Combrinck, who was named BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player, along with goalkeeper Diane Saint Martin, defender Morena Giacosa and defender Dara Semmartin.
This is Liberty's fifth conference title all-time in 15 years of the program's history. The Lady Flames have won the BIG EAST crown three times (fall 2021, 2022 and 2025) and claimed back-to-back NorPac crowns (2013, 2014). Liberty has qualified for the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship in four of the last five seasons.
Liberty will carry a seven-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament with its 17-2 overall record. The Lady Flames are one of 10 automatic qualifiers as conference champions and will be joined by eight at-large selections when tonight's field is announced.
Scoring Summary
15' – LIBERTY – Morena Giacosa (unassisted)
24' – UCONN – Zita Grigoliet (unassisted)
63 – LIBERTY – Lou Combrinck (Julieta Tornati) | Penalty Corner
W: Diane Saint Martin 17-2, seven saves
L: Natalie McKenna 11-8, seven saves
Turning Point
A back-and-forth game saw Liberty lead in shots by a 14-8 count in the first half and earn eight of the game's first 10 penalty corners. The Lady Flames broke through first late in the first quarter (14:36), as Morena Giacosa scored on a rebound from in front to give Liberty the first goal of the afternoon.
UConn answered back in the 24th minute to even the game at 1-1. Following a ball sent from outside the circle that deflected off a Liberty defender's stick, Zita Grigoliet drilled a shot into the left side.
The Huskies came out strong in the second half with an 11-1 edge in shots and 5-0 advantage in penalty corners. UConn earned two penalty corners in the final period, including one with under 3:30 to play, but the Liberty defense stood tall.
In overtime, the Lady Flames earned a pair of penalty corners in the 63rd minute and converted on the second one. Following a Lou Combrinck insert and stick stop by Maite Altamirano, freshman Julieta Tornati sent a pass to Combrinck on the left side. Combrinck gathered the pass, turned and fired a shot into the net for the game winner at the 62:29 mark.
Key Stats & Notes
Up Next
Liberty will await its NCAA Tournament fate tonight, with the NCAA Selection Show taking place at 10 p.m. on NCAA.com.
Liberty (17-2) earns its third BIG EAST title in program history. The Lady Flames receive the BIG EAST's automatic berth into the 2025 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship. Tune into ncaa.com tonight for the NCAA Selection Show at 10 p.m. to find out where Liberty will head in the NCAA Tournament. No. 20 UConn falls to 11-8 and will wait to see it if it will be selected as an at-large team tonight.
This is Liberty's first BIG EAST title on its home field at the Liberty Field Hockey Field. The Lady Flames have claimed all three tournament titles in the last five seasons. Liberty's BIG EAST All-Tournament team selections included Combrinck, who was named BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player, along with goalkeeper Diane Saint Martin, defender Morena Giacosa and defender Dara Semmartin.
This is Liberty's fifth conference title all-time in 15 years of the program's history. The Lady Flames have won the BIG EAST crown three times (fall 2021, 2022 and 2025) and claimed back-to-back NorPac crowns (2013, 2014). Liberty has qualified for the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship in four of the last five seasons.
Liberty will carry a seven-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament with its 17-2 overall record. The Lady Flames are one of 10 automatic qualifiers as conference champions and will be joined by eight at-large selections when tonight's field is announced.
???????????? ???? ?????? ?????? ???????? ??#EyesFixed #RiseWithUs pic.twitter.com/Uu1sBrt5wc
— Liberty Field Hockey (@LibertyFH) November 9, 2025
Scoring Summary
15' – LIBERTY – Morena Giacosa (unassisted)
24' – UCONN – Zita Grigoliet (unassisted)
63 – LIBERTY – Lou Combrinck (Julieta Tornati) | Penalty Corner
Goalkeepers63' | ????????! Lou Combrinck scores the goal for the title!
— Liberty Field Hockey (@LibertyFH) November 9, 2025
No. 7 Flames 2 | No. 20 Huskies 1#EyesFixed #RiseWithUs
?? @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/pbfyiscTxj
W: Diane Saint Martin 17-2, seven saves
L: Natalie McKenna 11-8, seven saves
Turning Point
A back-and-forth game saw Liberty lead in shots by a 14-8 count in the first half and earn eight of the game's first 10 penalty corners. The Lady Flames broke through first late in the first quarter (14:36), as Morena Giacosa scored on a rebound from in front to give Liberty the first goal of the afternoon.
UConn answered back in the 24th minute to even the game at 1-1. Following a ball sent from outside the circle that deflected off a Liberty defender's stick, Zita Grigoliet drilled a shot into the left side.
The Huskies came out strong in the second half with an 11-1 edge in shots and 5-0 advantage in penalty corners. UConn earned two penalty corners in the final period, including one with under 3:30 to play, but the Liberty defense stood tall.
In overtime, the Lady Flames earned a pair of penalty corners in the 63rd minute and converted on the second one. Following a Lou Combrinck insert and stick stop by Maite Altamirano, freshman Julieta Tornati sent a pass to Combrinck on the left side. Combrinck gathered the pass, turned and fired a shot into the net for the game winner at the 62:29 mark.
Key Stats & Notes
- Liberty has claimed three BIG titles in the last five years (fall 2021, 2022 and 2025). Two of those three crowns have come against UConn. The Lady Flames bested the Huskies 1-0 during the fall 2021 season to claim their first BIG EAST crown.
- Lou Combrinck's game-winning goal was her seventh tally of 2025. She is tied for first on the squad in goals (7), second in assists (12) and second in points (26). Morena Giacosa's first half tally was her sixth goal of the year.
- Combrinck, the BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player, finished with one goal, one assist and three points in two BIG EAST Tournament games. Diane Saint Martin was 2-0 with a 0.98 goals-against average, nine saves and a .818 save percentage. Giacosa (one goal) and Dara Semmartin (one assist) had strong showings this weekend as well on the way to all-tournament team nods.
- Liberty improves to 10-0 at home, its third unbeaten home season in program history. This is the first time the Lady Flames have ever finished a year 10-0 at home.
- The Lady Flames are 8-1 in one-goal games this year.
- Liberty and UConn both attempted 17 shots in the game, with the Lady Flames holding a 10-8 edge in shots on goal. The tightly-contested game saw Liberty have a 10-8 advantage in penalty corners.
- Sunday's championship game was the first overtime BIG EAST title game since 2013.
- Liberty bolsters its all-time mark in the BIG EAST Championship to 10-7.
- The Lady Flames improve to 3-4 all-time in BIG EAST title games.
- Liberty's win over UConn was its eighth all-time against the Huskies. The Lady Flames are now 8-10 all-time versus the Huskies.
- This is Liberty's fourth season all-time with 17 or more wins. The Lady Flames have won 17 or more contests in three of the last five years.
- The Lady Flames are No. 6 in the NCAA Field Hockey RPI listing entering the NCAA Tournament.
- Liberty served as the host site for the BIG EAST Championship for the second time in program history and first since 2018.
Hear from Coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker about todays championship win! ??#EyesFixed #RiseWithUs pic.twitter.com/jpshebEAaM
— Liberty Field Hockey (@LibertyFH) November 9, 2025
Up Next
Liberty will await its NCAA Tournament fate tonight, with the NCAA Selection Show taking place at 10 p.m. on NCAA.com.
Team Stats
UCONN
LIBERTY
Goals
1
2
Shots
17
17
Shots on Goal
8
10
Saves
7
7
Corners
8
10
Offsides
0
0
Fouls
0
0
Scoring Plays
Morena Giacosa (6)
Scored on rebound
14:36
Zita Grigoliet (1)
Scored into left side
23:47
Lou Combrinck (7)
Assisted By: Julieta Tornati
Corner shot rom left post
62:29
Game Leaders
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
M
/ Field HockeyF/M
/ Field HockeyD
/ Field Hockey
GK
/ Field Hockey
D
/ Field HockeyD
/ Field HockeyCoach Parsley-Blocker Talks About Preparing For Syracuse
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Lou Combrinck & Dara Semmartin Talk About Preparing For Syracuse
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Monday, November 10
Coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker & Lou Combrinck Talk About Winning The Big East Championship
Monday, November 10