Wednesday, February 26
Lynchburg, Va.
4:00 PM ET
Liberty University
3-2
26
vs
21
High Point
1-2
1
2
3
4
F
HPUW
6
2
8
5
21
LIBERTY
5
10
6
5
26
Colavito Lifts Liberty Past High Point, 26-21 in a High-Scoring Affair
2/26/2025 10:05:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Katie Colavito's monster game with six goals, four assists and 14 draw controls powered the Lady Flames to a high-octane 26-21 triumph over High Point on Wednesday. The contest was the highest-scoring game in Liberty program history (47 goals), passing the previous record of 43 goals in a 22-21 (OT) win over Presbyterian on April 15, 2013. Wednesday matched a Liberty program record with 26 goals scored (April 15, 2023 vs. Stetson).
Colavito's career-high 10 points fell just shy of Kayla Foster's program record for points in a game (11 in two games). The junior's 14 draw controls is a season-high mark. Colavito added a caused turnover and two ground balls.
The Lady Flames earned their first three-game winning streak since March 13-March 26, 2023, when Liberty also bested High Point for its third consecutive win (11-10, March 26).
Five Lady Flames, Colavito, Ava Rajala (4g, 1a), Cami Merkel (3g, 3a), Mackenzie Lehman (4g, 1a) and Taiva Reinertson (3g, 1a), recorded at least three goals on Wednesday.
Liberty recorded a program record 30 draw controls, surpassing the previous record of 24 (two games). Along with Colavito's 14, Freshman Ava Menna secured a career-high 10 draw controls.
The prolific scoring came about on 85 total shots, 61 shots on goal and 14 total saves.
Liberty Goals: Katie Colavito 6; Ava Rajala 4; Mackenzie Lehman 4; Cami Merkel 3; Taiva Reinertson 3; Kendall Coss 2; Delaney Donohue 1; Olivia Young 1; Amelia Loughery 1; Kate Troutman 1
Liberty Assists: Katie Colavito 4; Cami Merkel 3; Brooke Beard 2; Mackenzie Lehman 1; Ava Rajala 1; Taiva Reinertson 1
High Point Goals: Esprit Cha 6; Reese Dowgiallo 4; Allie Connally 4; Bella Germani 2; Shannon Smith 2; Mandy Brockamp 2; Lily Trout 1
High Point Assists: Esprit Cha 2; Bella Germani 2; Jaidyn Donley 1; Reese Dowgiallo 1; Shannon Smith 1
Liberty Goalkeepers: W – Rachel Hines (3-2, no saves, 36:43 minutes)
Taylor Gallarello (two saves, 8:17 minutes)
Mara Tellers (three saves, 15:00 minutes)
High Point Goalkeepers: L- Ava Welsh (1-2, four saves, 29:48 minutes)
Joy Coffey (five saves, 30:12 minutes)
Turning Point
At the 5:36 mark in the second quarter, High Point's Allie Connally scored to narrow Liberty's lead to 11-8. Sparked by two scores from Mackenzie Lehman, the Lady Flames erupted for four goals to end the first half and opened the second half with an initial score from Lehman at the 14:28 mark.
The Panthers responded with a score from Lily Trout (13:23) to trim the deficit to 16-9. Liberty charged back with three consecutive goals (Colavito 13:09, Olivia Young 12:06 and Rajala 11:55) to propel the lead to 19-9. High Point outscored Liberty 12-7 the rest of the contest while the teams drew an even five goals in the fourth quarter.
First Half Summary
Second Half Summary
Lady Flames News & Notes
Up Next
Liberty (3-2) hunts its best start to a season since a 4-2 start in 2019 and a four-game winning streak when they take on Longwood (0-2) at home on Saturday at 3 p.m. The contest will be streamed live on ESPN+ from the Liberty Lacrosse Field.
Colavito's career-high 10 points fell just shy of Kayla Foster's program record for points in a game (11 in two games). The junior's 14 draw controls is a season-high mark. Colavito added a caused turnover and two ground balls.
The Lady Flames earned their first three-game winning streak since March 13-March 26, 2023, when Liberty also bested High Point for its third consecutive win (11-10, March 26).
Five Lady Flames, Colavito, Ava Rajala (4g, 1a), Cami Merkel (3g, 3a), Mackenzie Lehman (4g, 1a) and Taiva Reinertson (3g, 1a), recorded at least three goals on Wednesday.
Liberty recorded a program record 30 draw controls, surpassing the previous record of 24 (two games). Along with Colavito's 14, Freshman Ava Menna secured a career-high 10 draw controls.
The prolific scoring came about on 85 total shots, 61 shots on goal and 14 total saves.
Liberty Goals: Katie Colavito 6; Ava Rajala 4; Mackenzie Lehman 4; Cami Merkel 3; Taiva Reinertson 3; Kendall Coss 2; Delaney Donohue 1; Olivia Young 1; Amelia Loughery 1; Kate Troutman 1
Liberty Assists: Katie Colavito 4; Cami Merkel 3; Brooke Beard 2; Mackenzie Lehman 1; Ava Rajala 1; Taiva Reinertson 1
High Point Goals: Esprit Cha 6; Reese Dowgiallo 4; Allie Connally 4; Bella Germani 2; Shannon Smith 2; Mandy Brockamp 2; Lily Trout 1
High Point Assists: Esprit Cha 2; Bella Germani 2; Jaidyn Donley 1; Reese Dowgiallo 1; Shannon Smith 1
Liberty Goalkeepers: W – Rachel Hines (3-2, no saves, 36:43 minutes)
Taylor Gallarello (two saves, 8:17 minutes)
Mara Tellers (three saves, 15:00 minutes)
High Point Goalkeepers: L- Ava Welsh (1-2, four saves, 29:48 minutes)
Joy Coffey (five saves, 30:12 minutes)
Turning Point
At the 5:36 mark in the second quarter, High Point's Allie Connally scored to narrow Liberty's lead to 11-8. Sparked by two scores from Mackenzie Lehman, the Lady Flames erupted for four goals to end the first half and opened the second half with an initial score from Lehman at the 14:28 mark.
The Panthers responded with a score from Lily Trout (13:23) to trim the deficit to 16-9. Liberty charged back with three consecutive goals (Colavito 13:09, Olivia Young 12:06 and Rajala 11:55) to propel the lead to 19-9. High Point outscored Liberty 12-7 the rest of the contest while the teams drew an even five goals in the fourth quarter.
First Half Summary
- Liberty outscored High Point 15-8 in the first half, pushed by 10 second-quarter tallies.
- The Lady Flames registered 27 shots in the opening 30 minutes to 16 from the Panthers. High Point recorded five shots in the second quarter.
- Liberty notched the first two goals of the contest followed by five straight High Point marks. The Panthers were boosted by converting 3-of-4 free-position attempts in the first quarter while falling flat (0-of-3 in the second quarter). Liberty went without a first-quarter free-position opportunity but converted 4-5 in the second quarter.
- Liberty took its second lead of the game on a Reinertson score at the 13:18 mark in the second quarter and held the lead until the final buzzer.
- The Lady Flames doubled High Point's draw control output 16-8 in the first half.
Second Half Summary
- The Lady Flames were outscored in the second half 13-11 behind an 8-6 third-quarter tally favoring the Panthers.
- Liberty inserted backup goalkeeper Taylor Gallarello midway through the third quarter. She and Mara Tellers combined for five saves and ten goals allowed.
- The two teams drew an even 21 shots in the second half.
- High Point ended the game with four of the final five scores after Liberty opened the fourth quarter with four of five tallies.
- Liberty went 3-of-4 in free position opportunities while the Panthers scored on 2-of-3 attempts.
Lady Flames News & Notes
- Three Lady Flames, Rajala (9), Reinertson (9), Colavito (8) and Lehman (8), recorded at least eight shots on Wednesday.
- Entering Wednesday's game, Liberty was 6-of-25 (.240) in free-position attempts. The Lady Flames went 7-of-9 (.778) in their free-position opportunities, boosting their season total to 13-of-34 (.382).
- Three Lady Flames, Rajala, Menna and Burrow recorded two draw controls.
Up Next
Liberty (3-2) hunts its best start to a season since a 4-2 start in 2019 and a four-game winning streak when they take on Longwood (0-2) at home on Saturday at 3 p.m. The contest will be streamed live on ESPN+ from the Liberty Lacrosse Field.
Team Stats
HPUW
LIBERTY
Shots
37
48
Turnovers
17
18
Caused Turnovers
12
12
Draw Controls
20
31
Free-Position Shots
10
9
Ground Balls
19
18
Game Leaders
G
6
A
4
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
1
G
4
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
3
G
4
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
0
G
3
A
3
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
0
Players Mentioned
A
/ Women's LacrosseM
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's Lacrosse
GK
/ Women's Lacrosse
GK
/ Women's LacrosseA
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
/ Women's LacrosseA
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
/ Women's Lacrosse
GK
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's LacrosseLiberty Lacrosse: Giving Hope to a New Teammate
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Coach Nangle Talks About Preparing For The NCAA WLAX Tournament
Tuesday, May 06
Mackenzie Lehman & Katie Colavito Talk About Preparing For The NCAA WLAX Tournament
Tuesday, May 06
Coach Nangle & Mackenzie Lehman Talk About Winning The ASUN Tournament
Saturday, May 03