Saturday, February 7
Lynchburg, Va.
12:00 PM ET
Liberty University
0-1
7
vs
17
No. 8 Johns Hopkins
1-0
1
2
3
4
F
Johns Hopkins
4
6
5
2
17
Liberty
1
2
1
3
7
Liberty Topped by No. 8 Johns Hopkins 17-7 in Season Opener
2/7/2026 4:05:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Lady Flames lacrosse team was unable to overcome challenging competition on a frigid Saturday afternoon, falling to No. 8 Johns Hopkins 17-7 at the Liberty Lacrosse Field.
Johns Hopkins' Ava Angello led all players with a dominant eight-goal performance on Saturday.
The game commenced with Johns Hopkins taking control early, as Sienna Chirieleison scored the first goal of the match on a woman-up opportunity at 13:34. Liberty notched its first goal of the 2026 season from Nicole Arriola, finding the net at 10:11 for her first career goal. Despite Rachel Hines' efforts in goal, making three key saves, the Flames trailed 4-1 at the end of the first quarter.
The Blue Jays extended their lead in the second quarter with a series of goals to stretch the lead to 9-1 with 4:40 remaining in the half. Liberty responded with an Ava Rajala goal at 3:45, but Angello quickly answered for the Blue Jays with a goal at 3:03. Liberty managed to narrow the gap slightly with a late goal by Sophia Nesci with :22 seconds remaining for her first career goal. The half-time deficit was 10-3.
The Lady Flames opened the scoring in the third quarter with a goal from Katie Colavito, at 9:33. Johns Hopkins responded with eight consecutive goals to boost the lead to 17-4.
Liberty wrapped the game with the final three tallies of the contest, initiated by Colavito's man-up goal at 6:24, followed by scores from Katie Colavito (6:24), Kate Troutman (5:18) and Rajala (4:59). Despite Liberty's late push, the Blue Jays maintained control and secured a 17-7 victory.
Liberty Goals: Katie Colavito 2 ; Ava Rajala 2; Nicole Arriola 1 ; Kate Troutman 1 ; Sophia Nesci 1
Liberty Assists: Sophia Nesci 2 ; Olivia Young 1 ; Amelia Loughery 1 ; Ava Rajala 1 ;
Johns Hopkins Goals: Ava Angello 8 ; Laurel Gonzalez 2 ; Taylor Hoss 2 ; Lacey Downey 2 ; Zoey Smith 1 ; Sienna Chirieleison 1 ; Paige Willard 1 .
Johns Hopkins Assists: Lacey Downey 3 .Taylor Hoss 2 ; Laurel Gonzalez 2 ; Mk Lescault 1 ; Kenzey Craig 1 ; Zoey Smith 1 ; Jaelyn Bennett 1 ; Hannah Johnson 1 ;
First Half Summary
Second Half Summary
Lady Flames News & Notes
Up Next
Liberty (1-0) will host Davidson at the Liberty Lacrosse Field on Sunday, Feb. 15. The game is set to begin at noon.
Johns Hopkins' Ava Angello led all players with a dominant eight-goal performance on Saturday.
The game commenced with Johns Hopkins taking control early, as Sienna Chirieleison scored the first goal of the match on a woman-up opportunity at 13:34. Liberty notched its first goal of the 2026 season from Nicole Arriola, finding the net at 10:11 for her first career goal. Despite Rachel Hines' efforts in goal, making three key saves, the Flames trailed 4-1 at the end of the first quarter.
The Blue Jays extended their lead in the second quarter with a series of goals to stretch the lead to 9-1 with 4:40 remaining in the half. Liberty responded with an Ava Rajala goal at 3:45, but Angello quickly answered for the Blue Jays with a goal at 3:03. Liberty managed to narrow the gap slightly with a late goal by Sophia Nesci with :22 seconds remaining for her first career goal. The half-time deficit was 10-3.
The Lady Flames opened the scoring in the third quarter with a goal from Katie Colavito, at 9:33. Johns Hopkins responded with eight consecutive goals to boost the lead to 17-4.
Liberty wrapped the game with the final three tallies of the contest, initiated by Colavito's man-up goal at 6:24, followed by scores from Katie Colavito (6:24), Kate Troutman (5:18) and Rajala (4:59). Despite Liberty's late push, the Blue Jays maintained control and secured a 17-7 victory.
Liberty Goals: Katie Colavito 2 ; Ava Rajala 2; Nicole Arriola 1 ; Kate Troutman 1 ; Sophia Nesci 1
Liberty Assists: Sophia Nesci 2 ; Olivia Young 1 ; Amelia Loughery 1 ; Ava Rajala 1 ;
Johns Hopkins Goals: Ava Angello 8 ; Laurel Gonzalez 2 ; Taylor Hoss 2 ; Lacey Downey 2 ; Zoey Smith 1 ; Sienna Chirieleison 1 ; Paige Willard 1 .
Johns Hopkins Assists: Lacey Downey 3 .Taylor Hoss 2 ; Laurel Gonzalez 2 ; Mk Lescault 1 ; Kenzey Craig 1 ; Zoey Smith 1 ; Jaelyn Bennett 1 ; Hannah Johnson 1 ;
First Half Summary
- The Blue Jays unleashed 24 first-half shots to eight from Liberty. Goalkeeper Rachel Hines made five saves.
- Four of the Blue Jays' first five goals were in woman-up situations.
- Johns Hopkins held an 11-3 advantage in draw controls
Second Half Summary
- The game slowed down in the second half as the Blue Jays held a 19-11 advantage in shots.
- Johns Hopkins held a 7-4 scoring advantage in the second half.
- Liberty improved in the draw circle as Johns Hopkins out-drew Liberty 7-5.
Lady Flames News & Notes
- Liberty held a 19-18 advantage in caused turnovers.
- The Lady Flames turned the ball over 10 times in the first quarter, but 16 times the rest of the contest.
- Freshman Sophia Nesci recorded three points in her first career game with a goal and two assists.
- Two Lady Flames, Colavito and Rajala, recorded two goals in the contest.
- Madeleine Klunder and Kendall Coss each recorded four ground balls and two caused turnovers
- Three Lady Flames, Rajala, Kendall Nye, and Delaney Donohue, tallied three caused turnovers.
- Liberty is now 2-8 in its last 10 season-opening contests.
Up Next
Liberty (1-0) will host Davidson at the Liberty Lacrosse Field on Sunday, Feb. 15. The game is set to begin at noon.
Team Stats
HOPKINS
LIBERTY
Shots
43
19
Turnovers
27
26
Caused Turnovers
18
19
Draw Controls
18
8
Free-Position Shots
5
5
Ground Balls
25
28
Game Leaders
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-60
GB
3
CT
1
G
2
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
3
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-120
GB
0
CT
1
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-120
GB
0
CT
0
Players Mentioned
M
/ Women's LacrosseM
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's Lacrosse
GK
/ Women's Lacrosse
D
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
/ Women's Lacrosse
D
/ Women's LacrosseA
/ Women's LacrosseM
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
/ 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