No. 17 Liberty meets No. 5 Duke in its 2025 season opener.
No. 17 Liberty to Face No. 5 Duke on Road in Season Opener
8/28/2025 11:50:00 AM | Field Hockey
LYNCHBURG, Va. – No. 17 Liberty will open its 2025 field hockey campaign with a matchup at No. 5 Duke, Friday afternoon. Game time is 4 p.m. from Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium in Durham, N.C.
Duke is Liberty's highest-ever ranked opponent to open a season and first ranked foe in the first game of the year since the Lady Flames hosted No. 17 James Madison in the maiden game of 2018 (6-1 win).
Liberty and Duke will be meeting for the 11th time, and the two squads will now have squared off in 10 of the last 11 seasons. Last year, the Lady Flames topped the Blue Devils 1-0 in Lynchburg behind a Lou Combrinck fourth quarter goal. Duke holds a 7-3 edge in the all-time series, but Liberty has claimed three of the last five meetings overall. Of the 10 meetings between the two teams, six have gone to overtime.
Lady Flames News and Notes
Duke is Liberty's highest-ever ranked opponent to open a season and first ranked foe in the first game of the year since the Lady Flames hosted No. 17 James Madison in the maiden game of 2018 (6-1 win).
Liberty and Duke will be meeting for the 11th time, and the two squads will now have squared off in 10 of the last 11 seasons. Last year, the Lady Flames topped the Blue Devils 1-0 in Lynchburg behind a Lou Combrinck fourth quarter goal. Duke holds a 7-3 edge in the all-time series, but Liberty has claimed three of the last five meetings overall. Of the 10 meetings between the two teams, six have gone to overtime.
Lady Flames News and Notes
- Liberty senior midfielder Lou Combrinck was named the Preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and a unanimous Preseason All-BIG EAST team selection. Joining Combrinck on the Preseason All-BIG EAST team is sophomore defender Dara Semmartin.
- Combrinck, Semmartin, freshman Paris Gail-Isaacs, junior Maite Altamirano, freshman Julieta Tornati and freshman Diane Saint Martin were each named to the 2025 NFHCA Watchlist on Thursday morning. The NFHCA Watchlist represents top collegiate student-athletes who are early contenders for this year's NFHCA All-Region and All-American teams, as nominated by their member coach.
- Liberty has been voted to finish second in the conference in the 2025 BIG EAST Field Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll. This is the first time since the fall 2021 season that the Lady Flames were not picked to finish first in the league. During that year, Liberty went on to win its first BIG EAST title. The Lady Flames have been picked to finish second in the conference in the preseason poll seven times in 10 years.
- The Lady Flames received two of the eight available first-place votes and 40 points in the poll. Defending BIG EAST champion Connecticut was selected to win the league, receiving six first-place votes and 48 points. Old Dominion (third, 37 points), Temple (fourth, 34 points), Villanova (fifth, 26 points), Providence (sixth, 19 points), Quinnipiac (seventh, 13 points) and Georgetown (eighth, seven points) rounded out the poll.
- The Lady Flames (10-8, 4-3 BIG EAST in 2024) enter the 2025 season having won two of the last four BIG EAST Championship titles and three of the last four BIG EAST regular season crowns. The Blue Devils (13-7, 6-2 ACC in 2024) reached the 2024 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship quarterfinals.
- Liberty is ranked 17th in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Preseason National Coaches Poll. Liberty's strong 2025 schedule features six teams who appear in the 2025 preseason rankings, including: No. 2 North Carolina (Sept. 14, away), No. 3 Virginia (Oct. 14, home), No. 5 Duke (Friday, season opener, away), No. 9 Saint Joseph's (Oct. 19, home), No. 11 UConn (Sept. 26, home) and No. 18 UAlbany (Sept. 12, home). Liberty will also host the 2025 BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship, Nov. 7-9.
- Liberty is 10-4 all-time in season openers and has won seven straight season openers. The Lady Flames edged Indiana 2-1 in double overtime in last year's first game, played at Kent State's Murphy-Mellis Field.
- Of Liberty's 24-player roster, 12 are newcomers. The newcomers include: Paris-Gail Isaacs (D), Maite Altamirano (M), Mia Santana (M) Julieta Tornati (D), Diane Saint Martin (GK), Morena Giacosa (D), Zoé Gaillard (F), Luna Prieri (F – Longwood transfer), Caroline Richard (M), Autumn Albright (D), Isa Pardo (GK) and Liz Bustillo (M/F).
- In nine years in the BIG EAST, Liberty sports a 55-13 BIG EAST regular season mark and has made six appearances in the BIG EAST Championship title game, with two crowns. Liberty has advanced to the NCAA Field Hockey Championship five times (2013, 2014, fall 2021, 2022 and 2023) and in three of the last four seasons.
- Liberty finished among the top 20 teams in the nation in six statistical categories in 2024: scoring average (No. 14, 2.57), points per game (No. 14, 7.28), goals per game (No. 15, 2.61), shutouts per game (No. 18, 0.33), assists per game (No. 20, 2.06) and defensive saves (No. 20, 5).
- Individually, Semmartin finished 10th in the country and No. 3 in the BIG EAST in assists per game (0.61) in 2024. She tallied 11 assists, the most in program history for a freshman. Josefina Tomasi ranked 20th nationally in defensive saves (3) last year during her rookie campaign last fall.
First road trip!?????#EyesFixed #RiseWithUs pic.twitter.com/sl0XSSk8Sz
— Liberty Field Hockey (@LibertyFH) August 29, 2025
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