Saturday, February 7
Lynchburg, Va.
12:00 PM ET
Liberty University
vs
No. 8 Johns Hopkins
Lacrosse Opens Title Defense on Saturday, Hosts No. 8 Johns Hopkins
2/6/2026 11:17:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Lady Flames open the 2026 season looking to defend their Atlantic Sun title, taking on No. 8 Johns Hopkins on Saturday from the Liberty Lacrosse Field.
Liberty takes on the same opponent it met and ended its season against when it faced No. 8 seed Johns Hopkins in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. They will be meeting the Blue Jays for the second time in program history.
The Lady Flames look to repeat as ASUN champions and improve on a 12-8 (5-1 ASUN) record. The team returns its full starting midfield, defense and its starting goalkeeper, Rachel Hines.
Three of Liberty's five athletes on the ASUN All-Tournament team return, including the 2025 ASUN Midfielder of the Year and Championship MVP, Katie Colavito. The 2025 Defensive Player of the Year, Jenna Burrow, also returns to lead a No. 1 defense.
Liberty opens the season against a top-20 program for the fifth consecutive. The Lady Flames took on No. 9 Virginia to open the year on the road last season and welcomed eventual national champions, No. 4 North Carolina, in their home opener.
Lady Flames News & Notes
Liberty takes on the same opponent it met and ended its season against when it faced No. 8 seed Johns Hopkins in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. They will be meeting the Blue Jays for the second time in program history.
The Lady Flames look to repeat as ASUN champions and improve on a 12-8 (5-1 ASUN) record. The team returns its full starting midfield, defense and its starting goalkeeper, Rachel Hines.
Three of Liberty's five athletes on the ASUN All-Tournament team return, including the 2025 ASUN Midfielder of the Year and Championship MVP, Katie Colavito. The 2025 Defensive Player of the Year, Jenna Burrow, also returns to lead a No. 1 defense.
Liberty opens the season against a top-20 program for the fifth consecutive. The Lady Flames took on No. 9 Virginia to open the year on the road last season and welcomed eventual national champions, No. 4 North Carolina, in their home opener.
Lady Flames News & Notes
- Liberty returns nine starters from its 2025 ASUN championship run, along with its draw control specialist, Ava Menna.
- The defending champions were picked to repeat in the 2026 ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll with seven first-place votes.
- Colavito was selected as the Preseason Midfielder of the Year as Burrow, attacker Ava Rajala and defender Madeleine Klunder were voted to the Preseason All-ASUN team.
- The Lady Flames ranked No. 1 in the country in 2025 for caused turnovers per game (17.30) and ground balls per game (22.15). Burrow paced the squad with 44 caused turnovers, while defender Madeline Klunder led the team with 50 ground balls.
- As a team, Liberty ranked No. 7 nationally last season with 17.35 draw controls per game. Menna ranked No. 13 in the country with 8.65 caused turnovers per game.
- Liberty lost three highest scorers after graduating Mackenzie Lehman, Cami Merkel and Taiva Reinertson. The team looks towards Colavito (No. 3 with 38 goals), Rajala (No. 4 with 35 goals) and Olivia Young (No. 6 with 28 goals) to lead the Lady Flames attack this season.
- With rule changes across lacrosse entering the 2026 season, 8-meter shots or free-position chances will become more prolific. Sophomore Olivia Young excelled as a freshman in these chances, converting 9-of-13 attempts.
- Goalkeeper Rachel Hines for her third season as the headline netminder for the Lady Flames. She owns a career 11-12 record with a 15.04 goals-against average and a .373 save percentage. She was named to the ASUN All-Tournament team last season following a 12-save performance in the ASUN title game.
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/ Women's LacrosseAva Rajala & Coach Nangle Talk About The Upcoming Lacrosse Season
Wednesday, February 04
Liberty Lacrosse: Giving Hope to a New Teammate
Tuesday, June 03
Coach Nangle Talks About Preparing For The NCAA WLAX Tournament
Tuesday, May 06
Mackenzie Lehman & Katie Colavito Talk About Preparing For The NCAA WLAX Tournament
Tuesday, May 06