FIELD HOCKEY (10-4, 3-1 BIG EAST)
No. 14 Liberty continued its strong stretch of play Friday afternoon, defeating Providence, 3-1, in a Big East road contest at Lennon Family Field. The Lady Flames scored twice in the third quarter to pull away from the Friars, extending their winning streak to five games overall and three straight in conference play.
Liberty broke a scoreless tie late in the first half when Julieta Tornati scored off a penalty corner in the 28th minute. Morena Giacosa and Kyleigh Faust assisted on Tornati’s seventh goal of the season. Providence answered early in the third quarter to even the score, setting up a decisive stretch for the Lady Flames. Clarisa Iudicello put Liberty back in front in the 38th minute, finishing a feed from Paris-Gail Isaacs. Just over three minutes later, Pia Iapichino redirected a pass from Josefina Tomasi into the cage to give the Lady Flames a 3-1 advantage. Liberty’s defense held firm the rest of the way, including a fourth quarter in which Providence earned six of its seven penalty corners. The Lady Flames finished with a 14-10 advantage in shots and an 8-5 edge in shots on goal. Iudicello’s goal was her 10th of the season, making her the first Liberty freshman to reach double-digit goals since Daniella Rhodes scored 13 in 2019.
Liberty’s victory improved its record to 10-4 overall and 3-1 in Big East play, moving the Lady Flames into sole possession of second place in the conference standings. The program has now won at least 10 games in nine consecutive seasons. The Lady Flames return home to host Temple on Friday, Oct. 23, at 2 p.m. at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.
WOMEN’S SOCCER (12-2-1, 5-0 CUSA)
No. 23 Liberty continued its remarkable run Saturday evening, shutting out Kennesaw State, 2-0, on the road to earn its 10th consecutive victory. The Lady Flames improved to 5-0 in Conference USA play and maintained their place among the nation’s hottest teams.
Liberty broke through in the 23rd minute after Halle Engle played a pass across the goal face to Carly Keene, who redirected the ball into the back of the net. The goal was Keene’s first in a Liberty uniform since transferring from Lehigh ahead of the 2025 season. The Lady Flames controlled the defensive side of the match throughout the first half, limiting Kennesaw State to just one shot. Liberty continued to keep the Owls from generating meaningful chances after halftime, eventually holding the home team to only two shots for the entire contest. Liberty added an insurance goal in the 77th minute. Following a cross that was deflected by the Kennesaw State goalkeeper, Gabby Garnett sent a shot toward goal that ricocheted off the post. Audrey Heustis was in position to finish the rebound, recording her first collegiate goal after a video review overturned an initial offside ruling.
The shutout was Liberty’s third consecutive clean sheet. Goalkeeper Ainsley Leja recorded her sixth shutout of the season, improving to 10-1-1 individually while bringing her career total to 27.
The Lady Flames’ 10-game winning streak is tied for the longest active streak in Division I women’s soccer. Liberty has also extended its unbeaten streak against CUSA opponents to 20 games, with a record of 16-0-4 during that stretch. The program’s 12-2-1 record includes a perfect 5-0 mark in conference play. Liberty will continue its conference schedule following the road victory, looking to maintain its position atop the CUSA standings as the regular season moves toward its final weeks. The Lady Flames play host to Delaware on Thursday before traveling to face Sam Houston on Sunday.
MEN’S SOCCER (4-6-2, 2-3 SOCON)
Liberty’s men’s soccer team suffered its second consecutive shutout loss Saturday evening, falling 4-0 to SoCon-leading Wofford in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The final score was not indicative of Liberty’s early control of the match. The Flames outshot the Terriers 9-1 in the first half and held a 19-8 advantage in total shots for the contest. However, Wofford capitalized on its opportunities while Liberty struggled to turn its possession and chances into goals.
Wofford broke the scoreless tie in the 37th minute when Clemens Astrup found the net to give the Terriers a 1-0 lead at halftime. Liberty continued to generate chances after the break but could not find an equalizer. The match turned decisively in the 74th minute when Wofford converted a penalty kick to double its lead. The Terriers added another goal in the 82nd minute before scoring once more in the final minute to complete the 4-0 victory.
Liberty finished with four shots on goal and seven corner kicks, but Wofford goalkeeper Pepe Hinterschuster made four saves to preserve the shutout. Goncalo Sousa led the Flames with seven shot attempts, while Pablo Matavele added four.
The loss drops Liberty to 2-3 in SoCon play and 4-6-2 overall. The Flames have now been shut out in consecutive matches after going without a shutout defeat until their Oct. 10 loss at East Tennessee State.
Liberty will travel to South Orange, New Jersey, on Tuesday to face Seton Hall in a nonconference matchup scheduled for 7 p.m. The Flames will then return to conference action later in the month.
VOLLEYBALL (12-8, 4-4 CUSA)
Liberty’s volleyball team endured a difficult road weekend in Miami, suffering back-to-back 3-0 losses to FIU on Friday and Saturday. The Lady Flames dropped to 4-4 in Conference USA play and have now lost three consecutive matches after previously putting together a four-match winning streak.
Friday’s opener was a tightly contested match, with FIU taking the three sets by scores of 25-23, 29-27 and 27-25. Liberty had opportunities to turn the match in its favor, particularly in the second set, when the Lady Flames fought off three set points and later earned a set-point opportunity of their own. FIU ultimately closed out the set and held on in another close third set. Jenna Otts led Liberty with 13 kills, while Alison Bierwagen recorded 37 assists and 10 digs. Laney Daniell added a career-high seven blocks as the Lady Flames outhit FIU .274 to .245 but could not overcome the Panthers’ advantages in kills, assists and service aces.
Saturday’s rematch was less competitive. FIU earned a 25-23, 25-21, 25-17 sweep, pulling away late in the first set before controlling the final two frames. Paige Overcash delivered one of her best performances of the season, recording a match-high 17 kills while hitting .484. Daniell contributed nine kills at a .615 clip, while Bierwagen added 28 assists and 13 digs for her ninth double-double of the season. Liberty actually finished with more kills, assists and digs than FIU in Saturday’s match, but the Panthers held an advantage in hitting percentage, service aces and blocks. FIU’s eight service aces compared to Liberty’s two proved to be one of the key statistical differences.
The consecutive losses mark the first time this season that Liberty has dropped three straight matches. The Lady Flames will look to get back on track when they return to Liberty Arena to host Sam Houston on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 23-24.
CROSS COUNTRY
Liberty’s cross country teams wrapped up the regular-season portion of their 2026 schedules with a pair of meets in Indiana and Virginia, highlighted by Allie Zealand’s continued strong performances and several impressive individual finishes at the Roanoke XC Invitational.
At Friday’s Under Armour Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Indiana, Zealand led the Lady Flames with a 15th-place finish in the women’s blue 6K, clocking 19:44.5. Liberty finished 25th out of 43 women’s teams, while the men’s squad placed 39th out of 44 teams in the blue 8K. Zealand was one of just 25 runners to break the 20-minute mark in the women’s race, recording her fifth career 6K time under 20 minutes. Ava Gordon also delivered a strong performance, finishing 89th out of 322 competitors in 20:50.7, her best race of the season.
On the men’s side, Andrew Schultz led Liberty with a 138th-place finish in 24:29.0. Ethan Pedersen and Malachi Burnett also broke the 25-minute mark, with Burnett recording a personal-best time of 24:53.2.
Liberty also sent four women’s runners to Saturday’s Roanoke XC Invitational in Salem, Virginia. Sophia Park led the group with a third-place finish in the women’s 6K, clocking 22:03.5. Sonja Semling followed in fourth at 22:12.4, recording a personal best. Kaila Atteberry placed eighth in 22:51.1, also establishing a personal best, while Raley Keith finished 17th in 23:19.5. Atteberry was the top freshman finisher in the women’s race, highlighting a promising performance from Liberty’s younger runners.
With the regular season complete, Liberty will now turn its attention to the Conference USA Cross Country Championships on Oct. 31 in Huntsville, Alabama. The Lady Flames will look to capture their third consecutive conference championship, while the men’s squad will aim to finish its season with a strong showing against the conference field.
