No. 14 Liberty Travels to No. 7 UConn For BIG EAST Opener, Friday Night
9/23/2026 1:07:00 PM | Field Hockey
LYNCHBURG, Va. – No. 14 Liberty will play its BIG EAST Conference opener at No. 7 Connecticut, Friday evening. Game time is 6 p.m. at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex.
Friday night's showdown between the Lady Flames and Huskies is a rematch of the 2025 BIG EAST Championship final, won by Liberty (2-1 in overtime). Liberty, the 2026 BIG EAST preseason favorite, enters the contest with a 5-3 overall mark. The Lady Flames went 1-1 in two home games last weekend, falling 5-4 in overtime to Miami (OH) before defeating Appalachian State 7-2.
The Huskies, who were picked to finish runner-up in the league in the preseason coaches' poll, are 6-1 on the season and sit at 1-0 in BIG EAST play. UConn bested Villanova 3-1 in its league opener, last Friday. On Sunday, the Huskies topped No. 3 Princeton 2-1 (3-1 in shootouts) to push their winning streak to three games.
Lady Flames News and Notes
Friday night's showdown between the Lady Flames and Huskies is a rematch of the 2025 BIG EAST Championship final, won by Liberty (2-1 in overtime). Liberty, the 2026 BIG EAST preseason favorite, enters the contest with a 5-3 overall mark. The Lady Flames went 1-1 in two home games last weekend, falling 5-4 in overtime to Miami (OH) before defeating Appalachian State 7-2.
The Huskies, who were picked to finish runner-up in the league in the preseason coaches' poll, are 6-1 on the season and sit at 1-0 in BIG EAST play. UConn bested Villanova 3-1 in its league opener, last Friday. On Sunday, the Huskies topped No. 3 Princeton 2-1 (3-1 in shootouts) to push their winning streak to three games.
Lady Flames News and Notes
- Liberty, the defending BIG EAST champion, was picked to finish first in the league in the BIG EAST Field Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll. This is the fourth time in the last five years that the Lady Flames were picked to win the conference in the preseason poll.
- Liberty received six of the seven available first-place votes and 36 points to top the listing. Connecticut, last year's BIG EAST runner-up, received the other first-place vote and 31 points for second place. Rounding out the coaches' poll were Old Dominion (third, 23 points), Temple (fourth, 20 points), Villanova (fifth, 18 points), Providence (sixth, 13 points) and Georgetown (seventh, six points). Quinnipiac is no longer in the BIG EAST Conference after joining the NEC as an associate member.
- Junior defender Dara Semmartin was named the unanimous Preseason BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and a unanimous Preseason All-BIG EAST team selection. Sophomore goalkeeper Diane Saint Martin received unanimous Preseason BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year recognition as well as unanimous Preseason All-BIG EAST team distinction. Joining Semmartin and Saint Martin on the Preseason All-BIG EAST team are junior forward Josefina Tomasi and sophomore midfielder/defender Julieta Tornati.
- Tomasi garnered BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll recognition for the second time this season. The junior led Liberty in goals (3) and points (7) in the two games against Miami and App State.
- Liberty and UConn's last regular season meeting came in Lynchburg in 2025, with the Lady Flames securing a 1-0 shutout victory. The last matchup between the two teams in Storrs resulted in a 2-1 overtime triumph for the Huskies on Oct. 25, 2024.
- The Lady Flames' 2-1 overtime win over the Huskies in the 2025 BIG EAST Championship final (Nov. 9, 2025) came at the Liberty Field Hockey Field. Senior Lou Combrinck scored the game-winning goal in the extra session on a penalty corner. It was Liberty's second-ever conference title won at home. The other time the Lady Flames won a conference title at home was on Nov. 9, 2013. Liberty edged Stanford 2-1 in the NorPac title game in Lynchburg.
- Liberty is 8-10 all-time against UConn. The Lady Flames are 8-2 versus the Huskies in the last 10 matches after losing eight times in a row to begin the series (started in 2016).
- Liberty and UConn have claimed 13 of the last 14 BIG EAST Championship titles. The Lady Flames have claimed three of the last five BIG EAST Championship titles (fall 2021, 2022, 2025) and four of the past five BIG EAST regular season crowns (fall 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025).
- Liberty is 9-1 all-time in BIG EAST openers, including a 4-1 road mark. This will be the third straight year the Lady Flames open conference play away from home.
- Liberty is 3-0 in true road games in 2026. The Lady Flames' last road game came back on Sept. 6, a 2-1 overtime victory at James Madison.
- Freshman Clarisa Iudicello has scored six goals in her last four games and leads Liberty with seven on the year. The Córdoba, Argentina native ranks tied second in the BIG EAST and tied for 15th nationally in goals per game (0.88).
- Liberty's ranks No. 5 in the country in goals per game (4.25), No. 5 in scoring average (4.13), No. 5 in points per game (11.88), No. 7 in assists per game (3.38), No. 9 in scoring margin (2.43) and No. 11 in penalty corners per game (7.63).
- The Lady Flames dropped one place to No. 14 in this week's Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll.
Players Mentioned
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