No. 6 Liberty Set For Road Match at Quinnipiac to Open BIG EAST Play

LYNCHBURG, Va. – No. 6 Liberty will face Quinnipiac in a road match to open BIG EAST Conference play, Friday afternoon. The contest will start at 1 p.m. from the Quinnipiac Field Hockey Stadium and will be streamed on ESPN+.

The Lady Flames, up three spots in this week's national poll, bring a 4-1 overall record into their first league game of 2025. Liberty topped UAlbany (home) 1-0 and fell 3-1to No. 2 North Carolina (away) in last week's two games. Quinnipiac (4-2) edged Columbia 3-2 at home, last Sunday in their most recent action.

The Lady Flames were slotted to finish second in the BIG EAST Field Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll. Quinnipiac was picked to finish seventh. Liberty is 8-1 all-time in BIG EAST openers, including a 3-1 road mark.

Lady Flames News and Notes

The Lady Flames are 7-1 all-time versus Quinnipiac. In 2024, Liberty bested Quinnipiac 9-0 in Lynchburg. In 2023, the Lady Flames edged the Bobcats 2-1 at the Quinnipiac Field Hockey Stadium.
Goalkeeper Diane Saint Martin earned her first career BIG EAST Freshman of the Week award on Tuesday. The rookie netminder from Paris, France had a standout week in goal in games against UAlbany and No. 2 North Carolina, posting a 1-1 record, 1.01 goals-against-average (GAA), nine saves, a .818 save percentage and her first collegiate shutout.
Defender Dara Semmartin garnered inclusion on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. Semmartin, a sophomore, had one goal in last week's pair of games and was also strong on the defensive end while adding a defensive save.
Liberty's No. 6 national ranking is its best mark since being ranked sixth nationally in three consecutive polls (Oct. 17, 24 and 31, 2023) during the 2023 season. The Lady Flames' highest national ranking in program history is No. 4, set during the spring 2021 season. That No. 4 mark is also the best national ranking of any Liberty sport at the Division I level.
Senior midfielder Combrinck was voted the 2025 BIG EAST Field Hockey Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-BIG EAST team. Sophomore defender Semmartin garnered inclusion on the Preseason All-BIG EAST team alongside Combrinck.
Liberty has collected six weekly awards through three weeks of the season – two offensive player of the week honors, two defensive player of the week awards, one freshman of the week accolade and one weekly honor roll recognition.
As a team, Liberty ranks 11th in the country in assists per game (3.20). Combrinck, the team leader with six assists, ranks No. 5 in the nation and first in the BIG EAST in assists per game (1.20). Semmartin, who has five assists, is ninth in the country and third in the conference in assists per game (1.00).
Liberty is 3-0 at home and 1-1 on the road in 2025. Last year, the Lady Flames were 3-4 in road games, including a 2-2 BIG EAST mark.
The Lady Flames are 8-1 all-time in BIG EAST openers. Liberty's lone loss in a BIG EAST opener came in 2024, a 3-2 setback at Old Dominion.
This is the first time Liberty and Quinnipiac will square off in each team's first BIG EAST match of the season.
Liberty has won two of the last four BIG EAST Championship titles and three of the last four BIG EAST regular season crowns. In nine seasons in the league, the Lady Flames are 55-13 in BIG EAST regular season contests.
Friday's game is the only game of the weekend for Liberty. The Lady Flames' next game will be another matchup against BIG EAST preseason favorite Connecticut (2-3, 0-0 BIG EAST), Sept. 26 at 6 p.m. at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.

Schedule

No. 6 Liberty Set For Road Match at Quinnipiac to Open BIG EAST Play

Players Mentioned

Diane Saint Martin

Dara Semmartin