The No. 8 Liberty field hockey team opened the 2026 season with a convincing victory over Maine before suffering a narrow loss to No. 15 UMass the following day. The Lady Flames leave Maine with a 1-1 record after a weekend that showcased both the potential of a team picked to repeat as BIG EAST champions and some areas that will need to be cleaned up as the season progresses.
Liberty wasted little time making a statement in its season opener Friday, rolling past Maine 5-0 at the UMaine Field Hockey Complex. The Lady Flames controlled the match from the opening whistle, outshooting the Black Bears 29-2 and putting 23 shots on goal. Liberty also held a 5-1 advantage in penalty corners while keeping Maine off the scoreboard throughout the afternoon.
Avery Pollock got Liberty on the board in the seventh minute, capitalizing on a rebound after Teshawn De La Rey’s shot was saved. Dara Semmartin then doubled the advantage in the second quarter, scoring off a penalty corner assisted by Mia Santana and Pollock. The Flames continued to pull away after halftime. Julieta Tornati converted a penalty stroke in the third quarter before Semmartin added another penalty-stroke goal to complete the first two-goal game of her career. Luna Prieri capped the scoring early in the fourth quarter, finishing a pass from freshman Pia Iapichino for the first collegiate assist of Iapichino’s career. The defensive performance was equally impressive. Sophomore goalkeeper Diane Saint Martin recorded her ninth career shutout, needing to make just one save. Liberty’s defense also limited Maine to only two total shots.
For a team entering the season ranked No. 8 nationally, it was about as strong of an opening performance as head coach Parsley-Blocker could have hoped for.
The challenge increased significantly Saturday when Liberty faced No. 15 UMass in a neutral-site matchup. The Lady Flames appeared poised to make it a perfect opening weekend, taking a 2-1 lead into the fourth quarter. But UMass rallied late, scoring twice in the final 19:13 to escape with a 3-2 victory.
UMass struck first in the second quarter when Emily Barrett scored to give the Minutewomen a 1-0 advantage. Liberty responded in a big way. Teshawn De La Rey tied the game late in the second quarter, with Dara Semmartin providing the assist. Just a few minutes into the second half, Luna Prieri put the Lady Flames in front with an unassisted goal. Prieri’s goal gave her two goals through the first two games of the season, matching Semmartin for the team lead. It also marked the first time in Prieri’s Liberty career that she had scored in consecutive games. But UMass wouldn’t go away. Niamh McKenzie tied the game in the third quarter before scoring the eventual game-winner with just over two minutes remaining.
The Minutewomen finished with a 10-6 advantage in shots and a 6-4 edge in shots on goal. Liberty did win the penalty-corner battle 3-2, but couldn’t convert that advantage into another goal.
The loss snapped Liberty’s six-game regular-season winning streak dating back to last season and was the program’s first regular-season loss since falling 1-0 at Virginia on Oct. 14, 2025.
Still, there were plenty of positives to take away from the weekend. Liberty scored seven goals in two games, received goals from five different players and showed it can compete with a nationally ranked opponent despite falling just short.
Liberty won’t have to wait long to get back on the field. The Lady Flames head to Philadelphia Friday to take on Saint Joseph’s at 3 p.m. before making the short trip south to Harrisonburg on Sunday for a noon matchup with James Madison. The two-game road swing will give Liberty an opportunity to bounce back from the UMass loss and continue building momentum before returning home for a major early-season test against Virginia on Sept. 11. With Liberty entering the season as the BIG EAST preseason favorite and ranked No. 8 nationally, the upcoming games should provide another early measuring stick for a team with championship expectations.
An update on the rest of Liberty’s fall sports from around campus:
VOLLEYBALL (2-1, 0-0 CUSA)
The Lady Flames opened the season with three games in Johnson City, Tennessee to open up play under second year head coach Jeremy White, posting a 2-1 record over the weekend to open the season.
Liberty took on Auburn in its season opener, with the Tigers prevailing in three sets (25-20, 25-23, 25-17) on Friday morning. Auburn is now 2-0 all-time against Liberty with the only prior meeting happening in 1989 in a season opening match played in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Flames had won four of its last five season openers entering Friday.
Auburn outhit Liberty .232-.109 for the match, with both teams scoring 35 kills. Laney Daniell led Liberty with a career high nine kills with two aces and three blocks. Carly O’Brien totaled seven kills and a team high 10 digs, while Charli Crowson contributed 14 assists and nine digs. Melissa Ural started as Liberty’s libero. She is the first Liberty freshman to start a season opener at liberty since Lindsey Hardesty against Robert Morris in 2021.
Liberty then earned a pair of wins on day two of the Buccaneer Classic, defeating Akron 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 14-25, 25-22) and downing ETSU in five sets (25-23, 21-25, 32-30, 13-25, 18-16) on Saturday.
Against Akron, Paige Overcash led three Lady Flames in double-figues in kills with 13. Laney Daniell scored 12 kills while Carly O’Brien added 12 kills and eight digs.
The Lady Flames led the match 2-0 before Akron extended the match with a 25-14 set three victory. The Zips appeared to be on their way to forcing a fifth set, using a four-point run to go ahead 20-18 in the fourth. However, Addison Hart’s kill sparked a 7-2 match-ending run for the Lady Flames.
Against ETSU, Liberty cashed in on its ninth set-point chance during a marathon third set. Daniell fought off a set points before scoring a kill to make it 31-30. ETSU then committed an error, giving Liberty the 32-30 win. ETSU won sets four, 25-13, setting up a decisive fifth set. The Lady Flames fought off match point at 14-13 and 15-14, before Layla Collins gave Liberty set point tries with kills that made it 16-15 and 17-16. Liberty closed out the match with a Daniell-Overcash block.
The Tigers went 3-0 at the Buccaneer Classic, followed by Liberty (2-1), Akron (1-2), and ETSU (0-3). Liberty’s Carly O’Brien was named to the All-Tournament Team. The Flames are now 10-1 in neutral site matches under Coach White.
WOMEN’S SOCCER (3-2-1, 0-0 CUSA)
Liberty’s attack was stymied as they fell 1-0 at Pitt on Thursday night. The loss concluded a stretch of four consecutive road games, in which Liberty went 1-2-1. Pitt held a commanding 18-6 advantage in shots, with Liberty managing four shots on goal to Pitt’s six.
Liberty started the game with an early shot attempt but was cooled off the rest of the half. Pitt managed the next 11 shots in the contest before there was a brief weather delay minutes before the end of the first half.
Pitt gained the scoring advantage in the 40th minute with a crisp header from Ellie Rowlandson on a cross. The Lady Flames managed their next shot in the 48th minute. Liberty pressed in the closing minutes of the second half, with its best chance coming in the 81st minute. Midfielder Avenley Monteith unleashed a running strike that the Pitt goalkeeper’s save was deflected, caroming off the post.
Returning home to face Charlotte on Sunday, the Lady Flames took advantage of their limited opportunities in the first half to take home a 2-0 win. Liberty was limited to three shots in the opening 45 minutes while recording nine of their own.
After checking in at the 28th minute, defender Dani Gubbels immediately lofted in a shot near the boundary that found its way to the far upper-90. The score was the first of the junior’s career in her 19th game. Liberty added its second tally of the game from freshman Izzie Smulik in the 34th minute. Fellow freshman Bella Myrmel saved a ball from reaching the opposing endline, sending a low cross to Smulik in the center of the penalty box. Smulik scored a shot to the near side for her first career goal.
In the second half, Liberty controlled the game with a 12-4 advantage in shots with seven shots on goal. The Lady Flames earned its third straight win against Charlotte and eighth straight at home.
The Lady Flames are back in action this week playing in Williamsburg at William & Mary on Thursday at 7 p.m. before hosting George Mason on Sunday at 1 p.m. from Osborne Stadium.
MEN’S SOCCER (1-2, 0-0 SOCON)
Down 3-0 with 10 minutes to play, Liberty scored twice in less than 90 seconds to cut its deficit to one, but could not find the equalizer as FGCU edged the Flames 3-2 on Friday evening in the home opener for the Flames under first year head coach Scott Wells in front of over 1,000 fans at Osborne Stadium.
The visiting Eagles took a 1-0 lead into halftime, scoring in the 29th minute. FGCU added two goals in the second half to take a 3-0 advantage.
Liberty, taking advantage of the Eagles playing a man down after a red card in the 64th minute, struck twice around the 80th minute to make things interesting. Samson Kpardeh scored both goals, netting a penalty kick after being pulled down in the 18-yard box during the 80th minute. Less than two minutes later, the forward struck once again, taking a pass into space in the midfield and burying a shot from the top left corner of the box for his second goal of the night. The Flames pushed the attack over the final 10 minutes, firing five shots. However, Liberty could not find the tying goal.
Kpardeh leads the Flames with four goals on the year. The sophomore has scored at least one goal in each of the Flames’ contests in 2026.
Liberty plays at Georgia Southern in Statesboro on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. before travelling to Washington, D.C. to take on American on Sunday at 4 p.m.
CROSS COUNTRY
The cross country team begins competition on Friday, September 4 in the Eye Opener in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
