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Thursday, August 14
Greenville, N.C.
2:00 PM ET
Liberty University
3
at
1
East Carolina
Myers Scores as Liberty Tops East Carolina 3-1 in Season Opener
8/14/2025 8:05:00 PM | Women's Soccer
GREENVILLE, N.C. – The Lady Flames (1-0) began the season with a strong 3-1 victory at reigning American Conference champions East Carolina (0-1) on Thursday afternoon. Following a 90-minute weather delay, Liberty got off to a lightning-quick start as Ivy Garner scored in the first minute. Freshman Lauren Flax and fifth-year senior Bri Myers scored to lead the Lady Flames to the 3-1 triumph.
In their first rush of the game after settling the ball, Halle Engle threw in a cross towards the net. Ivy Garner stepped by her defender and lunged out, poking the ball past a reaching goalkeeper in the far side of the net. The score is the earliest tally to begin a season in program history.
Later in the first half, an ECU defender attempted to clear the zone but instead found the foot of freshman Lauren Flax. The midfielder, on one touch, sent a blistering ball just under the crossbar that evaded the diving goalkeeper. In her first collegiate game, the freshman secured her first career goal.
With the score 2-0 and the Pirates still in striking distance, midfielder Bri Myers used anticipation on defense to create a plus scoring chance. Anticipating an ECU pass in their defensive zone, Myers stole the ball and immediately was threatening for a shot. The midfielder sent a pass wide to freshman Brooklyn Jenkins, who rang a shot that was saved with a dive. Myers was in prime position for a rebound and buried the goal to extend the lead to 3-0. The fifth-year senior scored her first collegiate goal since she tallied a goal in her freshman season in 2021.
With just under five minutes left, the Pirates earned a penalty shot off a Maddyson Kerley foul. After subbing into the game earlier, goalkeeper Grace Workman anticipated the shot but overshot the attempt, allowing ECU's lone score of the contest.
Scoring Summary
1' – Liberty – Ivy Garner (Halle Engle)
30' – Liberty – Lauren Flax
72' – Liberty – Briana Myers (Brooklyn Jenkins)
88' – East Carolina – Isabella Gutierrez (Penalty)
Thoughts from Head Coach Lang Wedemeyer
"We had an hour and a half rain delay, so I was happy that the girls came out strong and scored a goal right away. That was fantastic," Wedemeyer said. "We relaxed a bit and really had a hard time getting into the flow, credit to ECU for that. I thought as the game wore on, we started to find our shape a little bit better.?
On midfielder Bri Myers
"Well, for the second year in a row, Bri scored great goals in preseason scrimmages. It was really nice to see her score in a game that counts. She's been working to get into places where she can pick up loose balls, so it was really an opportunistic goal for her. It was her maturity and experience that put her in the right place at the right time."
Lady Flames News & Notes
Up Next
Liberty prepares for another battle against another reigning conference champion when they take on the Sun Belt's James Madison on Sunday at 6 p.m. The road matchup from Sentara Park will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
In their first rush of the game after settling the ball, Halle Engle threw in a cross towards the net. Ivy Garner stepped by her defender and lunged out, poking the ball past a reaching goalkeeper in the far side of the net. The score is the earliest tally to begin a season in program history.
Later in the first half, an ECU defender attempted to clear the zone but instead found the foot of freshman Lauren Flax. The midfielder, on one touch, sent a blistering ball just under the crossbar that evaded the diving goalkeeper. In her first collegiate game, the freshman secured her first career goal.
With the score 2-0 and the Pirates still in striking distance, midfielder Bri Myers used anticipation on defense to create a plus scoring chance. Anticipating an ECU pass in their defensive zone, Myers stole the ball and immediately was threatening for a shot. The midfielder sent a pass wide to freshman Brooklyn Jenkins, who rang a shot that was saved with a dive. Myers was in prime position for a rebound and buried the goal to extend the lead to 3-0. The fifth-year senior scored her first collegiate goal since she tallied a goal in her freshman season in 2021.
With just under five minutes left, the Pirates earned a penalty shot off a Maddyson Kerley foul. After subbing into the game earlier, goalkeeper Grace Workman anticipated the shot but overshot the attempt, allowing ECU's lone score of the contest.
1? shot 1? goal 1? minute
— Liberty Women's Soccer (@LibertyWSoccer) August 14, 2025
?? ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/kDrAdNvNbr
Scoring Summary
1' – Liberty – Ivy Garner (Halle Engle)
30' – Liberty – Lauren Flax
72' – Liberty – Briana Myers (Brooklyn Jenkins)
88' – East Carolina – Isabella Gutierrez (Penalty)
She is just a freshman????
— Liberty Women's Soccer (@LibertyWSoccer) August 14, 2025
Lauren Flax buries her first collegiate goal to give Liberty a 2-0 advantage
?? ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/6j8juTDrZf
Thoughts from Head Coach Lang Wedemeyer
"We had an hour and a half rain delay, so I was happy that the girls came out strong and scored a goal right away. That was fantastic," Wedemeyer said. "We relaxed a bit and really had a hard time getting into the flow, credit to ECU for that. I thought as the game wore on, we started to find our shape a little bit better.?
On midfielder Bri Myers
"Well, for the second year in a row, Bri scored great goals in preseason scrimmages. It was really nice to see her score in a game that counts. She's been working to get into places where she can pick up loose balls, so it was really an opportunistic goal for her. It was her maturity and experience that put her in the right place at the right time."
The captain, Bri Myers ?? sinks her first career goal ????
— Liberty Women's Soccer (@LibertyWSoccer) August 14, 2025
Turning defense into capitalizing on offense to stretch the lead to 3?
?? ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/tBvqWMzSuO
Lady Flames News & Notes
- Liberty opens the season with a 3-1 road victory (High Point) for the second consecutive season.
- The Lady Flames improve to 3-0-2 in their last five season openers.
- Liberty's top two scorers from 2024 combined on the game's opening goal.
- The Lady Flames outshot the Pirates 18-9 with a 10-2 advantage in shots on goal. ECU's goalkeeper, Olivia Dietrich, made seven saves.
- Liberty earned six corners to just a single attempt from ECU.
- In her first game back after missing the 2024 season, goalkeeper Ainsley Leja recorded a shutout in her 72 minutes of play.
- Isabella Wedemeyer recorded a game-high five shots. Margaret Garner's three shots were all on goal.
- Defender Kayla Magee played a team-high 82 minutes.
- Liberty's reserves created a high number of chances, registering 12 of Liberty's 18 shots.
Up Next
Liberty prepares for another battle against another reigning conference champion when they take on the Sun Belt's James Madison on Sunday at 6 p.m. The road matchup from Sentara Park will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
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