Thursday, March 6
Lynchburg, Va.
12:00 PM ET
Liberty University
5-2
22
vs
4
Stetson
2-4
1
2
3
4
F
STETSON
0
2
2
0
4
LIBERTY
9
5
2
6
22
Lehman Breaks Liberty Scoring Record as Lady Flames Top Hatters 22-4
3/6/2025 4:41:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Senior attacker Mackenzie Lehman netted career goal No. 129 to become the Liberty women's lacrosse all-time leading scorer as part of a 22-4 victory over Stetson on Thursday afternoon. The Lady Flames (5-2) open Atlantic Sun Conference play with the triumph over the Hatters (2-4), extending their winning streak to five games.
Lehman tallied two goals in the first quarter to tie the program record of 128 goals that was previously shared by Brianna McCaffrey (2016-19) and current assistant coach Nina Dunay (2011-15). The fifth-year senior took sole possession of first place all-time with a free-position goal at the 1:42 mark of the second quarter.
Liberty tallied the first 11 goals of the game including four from Cami Merkel and a pair from Lehman and Reinertson. Merkel currently ranks No. 4 in Liberty program history with 120 career goals. The attacker finished the contest with a game-high seven points (4g, 3a).
Stetson notched back-to-back goals in the second quarter before the Lady Flames responded with three consecutive scores to end the first half. The Hatters notched two goals to begin the second half to narrow the lead to 14-4. Liberty left little doubt the rest of the contest, scoring the final eight goals of the game.
The Lady Flames seek their first six-game winning streak since the 2019 season when they take on American (3-3) on Saturday at 4 p.m. Liberty achieved a seven-game winning streak from March 6-April 12, 2019. Liberty recorded a pair of five-game winning streaks in 2023.
Liberty Goals: Cami Merkel 4; Mackenzie Lehman 3; Taiva Reinertson 3; Katie Colavito 3; Ava Rajala 2; Olivia Young 2; Delaney Donohue 2; Amelia Loughery 2; Kendall Coss 1
Liberty Assists: Mackenzie Lehman 3; Cami Merkel 3; Ava Rajala 2; Jenna Burrow 1; Katie
Colavito 1; Blakely Doyle 1; Taiva Reinertson 1
Stetson Goals: Miya Scalan 2; Katie Kornacki 1; Anya Phillips 1
Stetson Assists: Kaitlin Pani 2; Sam King 1
Liberty Goalkeepers: W – Rachel Hines (5-2, three saves, two goals, 30:00)
Taylor Gallarello (no saves, 2 goals, 15:00)
Mara Tellers (no saves, no goals, 15:00)
Stetson Goalkeepers: L – Maddie Eckert (2-4, 14 saves, 20 goals, 58:10)
Catherine Downe (no saves, two goals, 1:50)
Turning Point
Delaney Donohue kicked off the scoring for the Lady Flames at the 13:53 mark of the first quarter. Merkel then netted back-to-back goals to kick off an avalanche of scoring in the opening period. Merkel, Lehman, Reinertson and Olivia contributed to a six-goal portion of a nine-goal first quarter.
Merkel and Reinertson added to the lead with tallies to begin the second quarter to reach an 11-0 lead at the 12:17 mark of the second quarter. In the past three games, Liberty has recorded at least one quarter with at least nine goals.
First Half Summary
Second Half Summary
Lady Flames News & Notes
Up Next
Liberty concludes a four-game home stretch, hosting American (3-3) on Saturday 4 p.m. from the Liberty Lacrosse Field.
Lehman tallied two goals in the first quarter to tie the program record of 128 goals that was previously shared by Brianna McCaffrey (2016-19) and current assistant coach Nina Dunay (2011-15). The fifth-year senior took sole possession of first place all-time with a free-position goal at the 1:42 mark of the second quarter.
Liberty tallied the first 11 goals of the game including four from Cami Merkel and a pair from Lehman and Reinertson. Merkel currently ranks No. 4 in Liberty program history with 120 career goals. The attacker finished the contest with a game-high seven points (4g, 3a).
Stetson notched back-to-back goals in the second quarter before the Lady Flames responded with three consecutive scores to end the first half. The Hatters notched two goals to begin the second half to narrow the lead to 14-4. Liberty left little doubt the rest of the contest, scoring the final eight goals of the game.
The Lady Flames seek their first six-game winning streak since the 2019 season when they take on American (3-3) on Saturday at 4 p.m. Liberty achieved a seven-game winning streak from March 6-April 12, 2019. Liberty recorded a pair of five-game winning streaks in 2023.
?? a record-breaking goal for kenz ?? pic.twitter.com/zhRD8O8lSs
— Liberty Lacrosse (@LibertyWLAX) March 6, 2025
Liberty Goals: Cami Merkel 4; Mackenzie Lehman 3; Taiva Reinertson 3; Katie Colavito 3; Ava Rajala 2; Olivia Young 2; Delaney Donohue 2; Amelia Loughery 2; Kendall Coss 1
Liberty Assists: Mackenzie Lehman 3; Cami Merkel 3; Ava Rajala 2; Jenna Burrow 1; Katie
Colavito 1; Blakely Doyle 1; Taiva Reinertson 1
Stetson Goals: Miya Scalan 2; Katie Kornacki 1; Anya Phillips 1
Stetson Assists: Kaitlin Pani 2; Sam King 1
Liberty Goalkeepers: W – Rachel Hines (5-2, three saves, two goals, 30:00)
Taylor Gallarello (no saves, 2 goals, 15:00)
Mara Tellers (no saves, no goals, 15:00)
Stetson Goalkeepers: L – Maddie Eckert (2-4, 14 saves, 20 goals, 58:10)
Catherine Downe (no saves, two goals, 1:50)
Turning Point
Delaney Donohue kicked off the scoring for the Lady Flames at the 13:53 mark of the first quarter. Merkel then netted back-to-back goals to kick off an avalanche of scoring in the opening period. Merkel, Lehman, Reinertson and Olivia contributed to a six-goal portion of a nine-goal first quarter.
Merkel and Reinertson added to the lead with tallies to begin the second quarter to reach an 11-0 lead at the 12:17 mark of the second quarter. In the past three games, Liberty has recorded at least one quarter with at least nine goals.
First Half Summary
- Liberty outscored Stetson 15-4 with shots favoring the Lady Flames 24-8.
- Goalkeeper Rachel Hines recorded three saves, playing in just the first half on Thursday.
- The Lady Flames went 3-of-3 in free-position shots in the first quarter and 1-of-2 in the second frame. Stetson did not have a free-position shot over the entirety of the contest.
- Liberty outdrew Stetson 12-6 in the first half.
Second Half Summary
- Liberty outscored Stetson 8-2 in the second. The Lady Flames outshot the Hatters 18-2, holding them without a shot in the fourth quarter.
- The Lady Flames scored the final eight goals of the game beginning with a score from Colavito at the 8:08 mark of the third quarter.
- Stetson earned a single draw control in the second half compared to nine from Liberty.
Lady Flames News & Notes
- The Lady Flames outshot Stetson 42-10 on Thursday. Eight Lady Flames recorded multiple shots, with Lehman leading all players with eight shots.
- Liberty converted 4-of-7 free-position attempts, raising its 2025 success rate to .435 percent (20-of-46).
- The Lady Flames cleared 8-of-11 chances while Stetson converted half of their opportunities (9-of-18).
- Cami Merkel tied a career-high with seven points. As a sophomore, Merkel notched five goals and two assists against Queens in a 21-8 win on May 4, 2023.
- Liberty outdrew Stetson 21-7 with Ava Menna leading all players with nine.
- Colavito recorded five draw controls on Thursday, now with 97 in her career.
- The Lady Flames caused 21 caused turnovers compared to eight from Stetson. Liberty has recorded at least 20 caused turnovers in three games this season. 13 different Lady Flames recorded a caused turnover on Thursday.
- Jenna Burrow led all players with four ground balls along with sharing a game-high three caused turnovers with Kendall Nye and Stetson's Sara Freeman.
Up Next
Liberty concludes a four-game home stretch, hosting American (3-3) on Saturday 4 p.m. from the Liberty Lacrosse Field.
Team Stats
STET
LIBERTY
Shots
10
42
Turnovers
28
21
Caused Turnovers
8
21
Draw Controls
7
21
Free-Position Shots
0
7
Ground Balls
18
24
Game Leaders
G
4
A
3
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
3
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
1
G
3
A
3
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
2
G
3
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
2
Players Mentioned
D
/ Women's LacrosseM
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
/ Women's Lacrosse
GK
/ Women's Lacrosse
GK
/ Women's LacrosseA
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
/ Women's Lacrosse
D
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
/ Women's LacrosseA
/ Women's Lacrosse
GK
/ 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