MEN’S SOCCER (3-4-2, 1-1 SOCON)

Hugo Kopke scored two goals as the Liberty Flames tied James Madison 2-2 on a rain evening at Sentara Park in Harrisonburg. Kopke, returning from injury, scored his first two goals of the season for the Flames. The defender gave Liberty a 1-0 lead during the eighth minute of the contest and later tied the game with his second goal of the season during the 67th minute. The match was a back and forth affair with neither team gaining the upper hand on a wet pitch during the 90 minutes of play in the non-conference match.

On Saturday, Jayden Ramos broke a scoreless tie during the 81st minute and the Flames used a strong defensive effort to top the Furman Paladins, 1-0, at Osborne Stadium. The victory is Liberty’s first as a member of the Southern Conference. The Flames utilized a collective defensive effort led by nine saves by goalkeeper Dan Rose to garner the victory. Furman entered the weekend as the highest rated team in the SoCon, according to RPI.

With each team looking for a late goal to break the scoreless tie, Ramos took the ball near midfield and streaked up the left sideline with less than 10 minutes remaining in the match. He moved into the center of the field for a shot from the top of the 18 yard box, finding the lower left corner of the goal.

Liberty will host the Mercer Bears for a SoCon match on Saturday at Osborne Stadium. Match time is scheduled for 1 p.m.

WOMEN’S SOCCER (8-2-1, 1-0 CUSA)

Liberty picked up its first ever win against Western Kentucky, halting their unblemished season with a 1-0 home triumph on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Flames opened Conference USA action in their title defense with a shutout victory.

Liberty’s lone goal in the contest came late. The Lady Flames pushed up the field as midfielder Avenley Monteith sent a ball deep into the Hilltoppers 18 yard box. The ball found Dani Gubbels near the side of the net, but with a harsh angle. Gubbels sent a shot that was crossing the goal frame before it was misplayed by a WKU defender attempting to clear the ball. Instead, the ball went to teh side of the goal frame, going credited as an own goal.

Liberty extends its winning streak at home to 13 games, including three CUSA championship contests. The Lady Flames are also now 10-0-2 in its last 12 games against CUSA opponents.

Liberty travels for its longest trip of the season when it takes on Middle Tennessee (7-2-2) on Thursday and New Mexico State (1-7-2) on Sunday. Both contests will be streamed live on ESPN+.

VOLLEYBALL (9-5, 1-1 CUSA)

Liberty led Middle Tennessee, 2-1, after three sets on Friday at Liberty Arena, before the Blue Raiders rallied to take the final two sets and the match in five sets. With the win, MTSU opened CUSA play at 1-0 while Liberty saw its four match winning streak snapped. Middle Tennessee forced a fifth set by winning set four, 25-22. The Blue Raiders led 11-10 before back to back kills made it 13-10. Liberty brought it back to within one, however the Blue Raiders scored a kill for a 14-12 lead. Liberty would cut it to 14-13 before MTSU clinched the match at 15-13.

In the rematch Saturday, Liberty bounced back to down the visiting Blue Raiders in four sets. The Flames improved to 5-0 this season in matches immediately following a loss while the Blue Raiders saw their six match winning streak come to a close. Liberty jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the first set before Middle Tennessee responded with a seven point run to narrow the gap to 12-9. The lady Flames held the Blue Raiders at arm’s length for the remainder of the set, winning 25-19. Middle Tennessee faced a 2-0 deficit in the match before extending things with a 25-13 set three win. However Liberty cruised to the finish, posting a 10-point victory in set four. Liberty and MTSU have split the season series in each of the last three seasons.

The Lady Flames continue conference play with a road trip to Alabama to take on Jacksonville State in a pair of matches, Friday night at 7 p.m. and Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.

FIELD HOCKEY (5-4, 0-1 Big East)

No. 7 UConn prevailed 3-2 over No. 14 Liberty on Friday night in Storrs, Connecticut. The Lady Flames fall to 5-4 on the year, dropping the team’s big East opener. After Liberty opened an early 1-0 lead, UConn scored the next three goals. The Lady Flames cut the deficit in half with less than a minute to play but ran out of time to complete the comeback. Each of the last five meetings between Liberty and UConn have been decided by exactly one goal.

The Lady Flames host Old Dominion in a Big East game on Friday at 3 p.m. before traveling to Richmond to take on the Spiders Sunday at noon.

CROSS COUNTRY

The Liberty men’s and women’s cross country squads both came away with third place finishes at the adidas XC Challenge in Cary, North Carolina.

Liberty totaled 110 points for third place in the 15-team men’s 7K field. It marked the Flames’ third top three showing in as many years at this meet. No. 8 Wake Forest dominated the field, winning by 41 points over host team NC State.

Running in her hometown, senior Ryann Aycock paced the Lady Flames with a 29th place finish in the women’s 5K. Liberty ended up third of 16 women’s squads, trailing only a pair of nationally ranked opponents (No. 1 NC State and No. 16 South Carolina).

Liberty will take its full men’s and women’s squads to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for the 52nd Paul Short Run. The meet is slated for Oct. 2 at the Goodman Campus Cross Country Course.