Liberty’s fall sports are officially underway all over campus, and we will provide weekly updates on all of the teams throughout the semester.
CROSS COUNTRY
Liberty swept the men’s and women’s team titles with perfect scores while Edwin Kiprop notched his first career cross country victory in the men’s 6K at the 2025 Liberty Challenge. Allie Zealand and Jessica Palisca finished in third and fourth place in the women’s 4K, pacing nine Lady Flames in the top 11.
Liberty will not return to the course until the Flames and Lady Flames compete in the adidas XC Challenge, Sept. 19 in Cary, North Carolina.
#17 FIELD HOCKEY (3-0, 0-0 Big East)
Liberty scored all four of their goals after intermission to surge past James Madison, 4-1, in its 2025 home opener last Wednesday. Four different Liberty players scored in the win, led by Josefina Tomasi, who finished with one goal, two assists, and four points. Morena Giacosa and Luna Prieri each scored their first goals in Liberty uniforms, while Tori Griffiths found the back of the cage for the team’s final goal of the afternoon.
The Lady Flames downed the visiting Richmond Spiders, 4-2, on Sunday afternoon at home. Liberty scored three of their four goals on the day via penalty corners, with those goals coming from Lou Combrinck, Josefina Tomasi, and Morena Giacosa. Meanwhile, sophomore Avery Pollock scored her first career collegiate goal in the win.
Liberty returns to the field Friday, hosting Albany at 7 p.m. before traveling to take on North Carolina Sunday at noon.
WOMEN’S SOCCER (4-2-2, 0-0 CUSA)
Liberty netted a season-high four goals in a 4-1 victory over Queens last Thursday in the team’s home opener. In the ninth minute of the game, Halle Engle sent a low cross halfway across the field. The ball found midfielder Avenley Monteith, who patiently waited for an opening to gain the first tally of the night. Midfielder Bri Myers netted her second goal of the season eight minutes to get things rolling.
On Sunday afternoon, three second half scores resulted in a 3-0 defeat for Liberty against No. 9 Penn State. The two programs played an even first half, despite five shots between the teams, no team registered a shot on goal in the first half. The Nittany Lions broke the game open in the 55′ minute, scoring directly after a broken corner attempt. They would control the game from there.
The Lady Flames are back in action Thursday at 6 p.m., playing host to UNC Greensboro. On Sunday, Liberty welcomes Kansas to Osborne Stadium at noon.
MEN’S SOCCER (4-0-1, 0-0 OVC)
Liberty picked up a victory and road shutout last Thursday over VMI, 3-0. The match was delayed for an hour due to lightning, but then the Flames quickly took control of the contest on Sam Farner’s third goal of the season during the 10th minute of play. Later in the first half, Zach Lifferth scored his first goal of the year as visiting Liberty took a 2-0 lead into halftime. Leo Conneh added a goal in the second half.
On Tuesday night in Lynchburg, the Flames built a 2-0 lead and then held off a late burst by Longwood to secure a 2-1 win. The Flames took a 1-0 lead less than three minutes into the match off a goal from Lucas Kelly, his team-leading fourth goal of the season. Liberty broke through for their second goal of the evening in the 77th minute when Elijah John ripped a deflection into the open net for his first goal of the season. Longwood pressed the Flames’ defense in the late stages of the contest, cutting Liberty’s lead to 2-1, however Liberty was able to hold for the win.
This week, Liberty hosts James Madison Saturday at 7 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL 5-1, 0-0 CUSA)
Under the direction of first-year head coach Jeremy White, the Liberty volleyball team continued their strong play in West Virginia. Thursday, the Lady Flames outlasted Coppin State in five sets to open play in the Mountaineer Invitational. Friday night, Liberty suffered its first defeat of the season, falling to West Virginia in four sets. On Saturday, the Lady Flames got back in the win column by defeating North Dakota in three sets.
This week, Liberty heads to Williamsburg to compete in the Tribe Invitational. The Lady Flames play Norfolk State on Friday at 4 p.m., East Carolina on Saturday at 2 p.m., and William & Mary Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
