11/5/2026 12:45:00 PM | Field Hockey
LYNCHBURG, Va. – No. 2 seed Liberty will begin its quest for a second consecutive BIG EAST Championship title when it faces No. 3 seed Old Dominion on Friday afternoon in the 2026 BIG EAST Championship semifinals.
Match time between the No. 13-ranked Lady Flames (12-5, 5-1 BIG EAST) and Monarchs (13-4, 3-3 BIG EAST) is 4 p.m. at Temple's Howarth Field in Philadelphia, Pa. Friday's first semifinal features No. 1 seed and No. 3-ranked Connecticut (14-1, 6-0 BIG EAST) and No. 4 seed Villanova (10-7, 3-3 BIG EAST) at 1 p.m. The winners of Friday's semifinal round will meet in the title game, Sunday at noon.
Temple is serving as the host site for the BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship for the second time in the last four seasons (last time 2023). All three games will air live on ESPN+.
The tournament champion will earn the conference's automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship. This year's NCAA Tournament features 18 teams, with 10 conference championship and eight at-large selections included in the field. The 2026 NCAA Field Hockey Selection Show will be held Sunday evening at 10 p.m. on ncaa.com. Liberty has qualified for the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship in four of the last five seasons.
This is the sixth time in 11 years that the Lady Flames have been the No. 2 seed at the BIG EAST Championship but first time since 2022. That year, the Lady Flames won their second straight BIG EAST Tournament crowd, defeating top-seeded Old Dominion 3-1 in the final.
Liberty is in search of its fourth BIG EAST crown in the last six seasons and sixth conference title overall. The Lady Flames' five total conference tournament titles include three BIG EAST crowns (fall 2021, 2022 and 2025) and two NorPac titles (2013, 2014).
Liberty finished 5-1 in BIG EAST regular season play to qualify for the four-team championship for an 11th straight season. Liberty is 67-14 all-time in BIG EAST regular season matches (11 years), including a 62-12 mark under current head coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker. Liberty holds a 10-7 all-time record at the BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship.
BIG EAST Championship Schedule
Friday (Semifinals)
1 p.m. – No. 1 seed Connecticut (14-1) vs. No. 4 seed Villanova (10-7)
4 p.m. – No. 2 seed Liberty (12-5) vs. No. 3 seed Old Dominion (13-4)
Sunday (Championship Game)
12 p.m. – Winners of semifinals
*All three BIG EAST Championship games will air live on ESPN+.
Liberty and Old Dominion by the Numbers
Regular Season Matchup: Liberty shut out Old Dominion 2-0 at the Liberty Field Hockey Field on Oct. 2 at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.
2025 BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship Rewind
Liberty went a perfect 7-0 in BIG EAST regular season play to claim the outright BIG EAST regular season title in 2025. The Lady Flames were the No. 1 seed for the tournament on their home field in Lynchburg, marking the second time hosting the event and first since 2018.
In the semifinals, top-seeded Liberty bested No. 4 seed Villanova 3-1 to reach the BIG EAST title game for the seventh time in 10 years. The Lady Flames scored two goals over the final 13:13 to secure the victory, with Josefina Tomasi's game winner coming at the 51:09 mark.
Liberty faced No. 2 seed Connecticut in the final, prevailing 2-1 in overtime. Senior forward Lou Combrinck, the BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player, scored the championship-winning goal in overtime to secure the Lady Flames' third BIG EAST title in program history and first on their home turf. Liberty's BIG EAST All-Tournament team selections included Combrinck, goalkeeper Diane Saint Martin, defender Morena Giacosa and defender Dara Semmartin.
Lady Flames News and Notes
Match time between the No. 13-ranked Lady Flames (12-5, 5-1 BIG EAST) and Monarchs (13-4, 3-3 BIG EAST) is 4 p.m. at Temple's Howarth Field in Philadelphia, Pa. Friday's first semifinal features No. 1 seed and No. 3-ranked Connecticut (14-1, 6-0 BIG EAST) and No. 4 seed Villanova (10-7, 3-3 BIG EAST) at 1 p.m. The winners of Friday's semifinal round will meet in the title game, Sunday at noon.
Temple is serving as the host site for the BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship for the second time in the last four seasons (last time 2023). All three games will air live on ESPN+.
The tournament champion will earn the conference's automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship. This year's NCAA Tournament features 18 teams, with 10 conference championship and eight at-large selections included in the field. The 2026 NCAA Field Hockey Selection Show will be held Sunday evening at 10 p.m. on ncaa.com. Liberty has qualified for the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship in four of the last five seasons.
This is the sixth time in 11 years that the Lady Flames have been the No. 2 seed at the BIG EAST Championship but first time since 2022. That year, the Lady Flames won their second straight BIG EAST Tournament crowd, defeating top-seeded Old Dominion 3-1 in the final.
Liberty is in search of its fourth BIG EAST crown in the last six seasons and sixth conference title overall. The Lady Flames' five total conference tournament titles include three BIG EAST crowns (fall 2021, 2022 and 2025) and two NorPac titles (2013, 2014).
Liberty finished 5-1 in BIG EAST regular season play to qualify for the four-team championship for an 11th straight season. Liberty is 67-14 all-time in BIG EAST regular season matches (11 years), including a 62-12 mark under current head coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker. Liberty holds a 10-7 all-time record at the BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship.
BIG EAST Championship Schedule
Friday (Semifinals)
1 p.m. – No. 1 seed Connecticut (14-1) vs. No. 4 seed Villanova (10-7)
4 p.m. – No. 2 seed Liberty (12-5) vs. No. 3 seed Old Dominion (13-4)
Sunday (Championship Game)
12 p.m. – Winners of semifinals
*All three BIG EAST Championship games will air live on ESPN+.
Liberty and Old Dominion by the Numbers
Regular Season Matchup: Liberty shut out Old Dominion 2-0 at the Liberty Field Hockey Field on Oct. 2 at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.
- Top performers: Luna Prieri 1 g, 2 pts | Avery Pollock 1 g, 2 pts | Clarisa Iudicello 1 a, 1 pt | Josefina Tomasi 1 a, 1 pt
- All-time series: Liberty leads Old Dominion 12-9.
- All-time series in the BIG EAST Championship: This will be the third meeting between the two teams in the BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship. Each of the other two meetings were in BIG EAST title games. In 2022, Liberty knocked off ODU 3-1 in the championship match in a game played at ODU's L.R. Hill Sports Complex in Norfolk, Va. In 2023, the Monarchs bested the Lady Flames 3-1 in the title game at Temple's Howarth Field.
2025 BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship Rewind
Liberty went a perfect 7-0 in BIG EAST regular season play to claim the outright BIG EAST regular season title in 2025. The Lady Flames were the No. 1 seed for the tournament on their home field in Lynchburg, marking the second time hosting the event and first since 2018.
In the semifinals, top-seeded Liberty bested No. 4 seed Villanova 3-1 to reach the BIG EAST title game for the seventh time in 10 years. The Lady Flames scored two goals over the final 13:13 to secure the victory, with Josefina Tomasi's game winner coming at the 51:09 mark.
Liberty faced No. 2 seed Connecticut in the final, prevailing 2-1 in overtime. Senior forward Lou Combrinck, the BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player, scored the championship-winning goal in overtime to secure the Lady Flames' third BIG EAST title in program history and first on their home turf. Liberty's BIG EAST All-Tournament team selections included Combrinck, goalkeeper Diane Saint Martin, defender Morena Giacosa and defender Dara Semmartin.
Lady Flames News and Notes
- Liberty's Josefina Tomasi garnered BIG EAST Co-Offensive Player of the Year honors, while Clarisa Iudicello was tabbed the BIG EAST Co-Midfielder of the Year. Tomasi and Iudicello were joined on the All-BIG EAST first team by sophomore Julieta Tornati. Meanwhile, Paris-Gail Isaacs and Mia Santana were selected to the All-BIG EAST second team.
- Tomasi is the third BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year in program history, joining Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame member Agueda Moroni (2018) and Daniella Rhodes. Iudicello is the first player in school history to be named the BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year. Tomasi is now a two-time All-BIG EAST selection after earning second team honors in 2026.
- Tornati earns her second straight All-BIG EAST nod after being voted to the second team a season ago during her maiden campaign. Iudicello, Santana and Isaacs are each first-time all-league honorees.
- In the final weekly awards of the season, Tomasi was tabbed to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for a fifth time this year. Diane Saint Martin received her second BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll accolade as well. Tomasi scored the game-tying goal in the Lady Flames' 2-1 road victory over Villanova in the regular season finale, last Friday. Saint Martin made four saves in that contest, including stopping a Wildcats penalty stroke, and picked up her 12th victory of the season.
- Liberty ranks inside the top 10 as a unit in six different statistical categories: goals per game (No. 5, 3.47), scoring average (No. 5, 3.38), assists per game (No. 6, 3.00), points per game (No. 7, 9.94), defensive saves (No. 8, 8) and scoring margin (No. 10, 1.89).
- Individually, Tomasi ranks seventh in the country in total defensive saves with five, while fifth-year defender Kyleigh Faust is 14th nationally with three. Iudicello is fourth in the conference in total goals (10) and goals per game (0.59). Tomasi and Tornati (nine goals each) are both tied for fifth in the league in total goals and goals per game (0.53). The last time Liberty featured three players with double-digit goals in a season was during the spring 2021 campaign (Daniella Rhodes 16, Jill Bolton 14, Charlotte Vaanhold 10).
- Liberty is ranked No. 13 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll entering the BIG EAST Tournament. The Lady Flames have been ranked 17th in the country or better in all 11 polls to date. Liberty's highest ledgering was No. 8 (preseason poll, Aug. 25). The Lady Flames are No. 12 in the NCAA Field Hockey RPI listing, while the Monarchs are 21st in the RPI.
- Liberty earned 18 BIG EAST weekly honors in 10 weeks of regular season competition.
- The Lady Flames enter the BIG EAST Championship having won seven of their last eight games. Their only setback was a 5-4 loss in a shootout to No. 7 Duke, Oct. 25 in Lynchburg. Liberty has outscored its opponents 23-9 in the last eight games, including a 15-4 margin in five BIG EAST games. In those eight matches, Tomasi (4 g, 2 a) and Iudicello (3 g, 4 a) lead the Lady Flames with 10 points apiece. Tornati and Avery Pollock each have four goals, an assist and nine points during that span. Saint Martin is 7-1 with a 1.09 goals-against average, 23 saves, a .719 save percentage and two shutouts in the eight contests.
- If Liberty were to reach Sunday afternoon's championship match, it would face either No. 1 seed UConn or No. 4 seed Villanova. UConn handed the Lady Flames their only league loss, a 3-2 setback back on Sept. 25. Liberty edged Villanova 2-1 in the regular season finale.
- Liberty is aiming for its eighth appearance in the BIG EAST final in 11 seasons in the conference. The Lady Flames have reached the championship game seven times, going 3-4 in those contests (wins in fall 2021, 2022 and 2025 seasons). Liberty is 0-2 all-time in BIG EAST title games held at Howarth Field, falling in 2016 and 2023.
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