10/22/2026 1:06:00 PM | Field Hockey
LYNCHBURG, Va. – No. 12 Liberty is set to host Temple and No. 7 Duke in its last two regular season home matches, Friday and Sunday.
The Lady Flames (10-4, 3-1 BIG EAST) and Temple Owls (6-9, 1-3 BIG EAST) will meet on Friday afternoon in what is Liberty's final BIG EAST home regular season contest. Game time is 2 p.m. Liberty and Duke (11-3) will square off in non-conference action, Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Flames' final home regular season match of the fall. Both games will take place at the Liberty Field Hockey Field and air live on ESPN+.
Liberty brings a five-game winning streak into the weekend and has won three consecutive BIG EAST matches. Last Friday, the Lady Flames prevailed 3-1 at Providence in their most recent action. Liberty sits in second place in the BIG EAST standings with its 3-1 league mark.
At 1-3 in league play, Temple is in sixth place in the conference standings and looking to work its way back into the BIG EAST Tournament picture. The Owls fell 2-1 to Old Dominion in their most recent BIG EAST matchup before rebounding to top New Hampshire 3-2 in a shootout. Duke shut out No. 16 Louisville 1-0 on the road, last Saturday, and is 4-1 away from home this season.
Lady Flames News and Notes
The Lady Flames (10-4, 3-1 BIG EAST) and Temple Owls (6-9, 1-3 BIG EAST) will meet on Friday afternoon in what is Liberty's final BIG EAST home regular season contest. Game time is 2 p.m. Liberty and Duke (11-3) will square off in non-conference action, Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Flames' final home regular season match of the fall. Both games will take place at the Liberty Field Hockey Field and air live on ESPN+.
Liberty brings a five-game winning streak into the weekend and has won three consecutive BIG EAST matches. Last Friday, the Lady Flames prevailed 3-1 at Providence in their most recent action. Liberty sits in second place in the BIG EAST standings with its 3-1 league mark.
At 1-3 in league play, Temple is in sixth place in the conference standings and looking to work its way back into the BIG EAST Tournament picture. The Owls fell 2-1 to Old Dominion in their most recent BIG EAST matchup before rebounding to top New Hampshire 3-2 in a shootout. Duke shut out No. 16 Louisville 1-0 on the road, last Saturday, and is 4-1 away from home this season.
Lady Flames News and Notes
- Liberty would clinch a spot in the 2026 BIG EAST Championship with a win over Temple on Friday. The Lady Flames are looking to earn a berth into the BIG EAST Tournament for an 11th straight season. Liberty has qualified for the BIG EAST Championship in every season up to this point (10 years in a row, 2016-25).
- Liberty's Clarisa Iudicello earned her third BIG EAST Freshman of the Week award of the season, Tuesday. The standout rookie scored the game-winning goal, her team-best 10th tally of the year, in the road win at Providence. Julieta Tornati garnered her third BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll distinction. Tornati tallied her seventh goal of the year in that game.
- Iudicello leads the team in goals (10) and points (22). She is one of five freshmen in program history to score 10 or more goals in a single season. The midfielder ranks 28th nationally and fourth in the BIG EAST in goals per game (0.71).
- Josefina Tomasi leads the conference and ranks eighth in the nation in defensive saves (4). Kyleigh Faust is second in the league and 10th nationally in defensive saves (3).
- Liberty is among the top 10 in the nation in five statistical categories: assists per game (No. 6, 3.00), goals per game (No. 7, 3.50), scoring average (No. 7, 3.44), ponts per game (No. 8, 10.00) and defensive saves (No. 8, 7).
- The Lady Flames are Owls will be meeting for the 17th time overall. Liberty is 14-2 all-time versus Temple, including a 13-1 mark versus the Owls since joining the BIG EAST in 2016.
- Liberty topped Temple 3-2 (3-1 in penalty shootouts) in last year's meeting in Philadelphia, Pa. (Oct. 24, 2025). Goalkeeper Diane Saint Martin made a career-high 12 saves in that contest. The Lady Flames' only-ever loss to the Owls since joining the league came in the last game between the two teams in Lynchburg in 2024, a 5-1 Temple triumph.
- Liberty and Duke will be squaring off for the 12th time. Nine of the 11 meetings between the two squads have been decided by one goal. The Lady Flames overcame a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3 at No. 5 Duke in the 2025 season opener (Aug. 29, 2025). The victory was Liberty's sixth top-five win in program history and marked the second year in a row the Lady Flames topped the Blue Devils when they were a top-five team.
- Liberty is 4-7 all-time against Duke but has won four of the last five meetings.
- The Lady Flames check in at No. 13 in the current NCAA Field Hockey RPI listing. Duke is No. 6, and Temple is No. 33.
- Liberty is 1-3 against top-20 foes this year. All four contests have been decided by one goal. The Lady Flames' one top-20 win came at home over No. 9 North Carolina, 2-1, Oct. 11.
- Liberty is in the No. 12 spot in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll, up two spots from last week.
- Liberty has earned 14 BIG EAST weekly awards through eight weeks of the 2026 campaign.
Players Mentioned
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