LOOKING TO SHINE THIS FALL

FIELD HOCKEY

Liberty is coming off a historic 2021 campaign in which it won its first BIG EAST title and went on to make school history by advancing to the title game of the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship. Head Coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker’s team returns five 2021 NFHCA All-South Region honorees, including two of its All-Americans from last season, junior goalkeeper Azul Iritxity Irigoyen and senior forward Daniella Rhodes. Liberty also returns allregion selections Bethany Dykema, Jodie Conolly, and Lizzie Hamlet. The Lady Flames met Northwestern in a rematch of the 2021 national championship game yesterday. Liberty’s 2022 schedule includes games against six top-25 teams from a season ago, including home contests against North Carolina (Oct. 2), Louisville (Oct. 9), and Virginia (Oct. 18). The Lady Flames host Queen’s tomorrow and Georgetown later this week at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.

MEN’S SOCCER

After qualifying for the ASUN’s six-team postseason tournament each of their first three seasons in the conference, the Flames will look to take the next step by winning the ASUN title and claiming its automatic bid to the NCAA tournament this fall. Head Coach Kelly Findley’s team will be led by midfielders Marko Mitrevski and Seth Clark. Mitrevski, a senior, has been named to the ASUN All-Conference first team, while Clark, a junior, has earned all-conference second team honors each of the past two seasons. Mitrevski, a senior scored three goals and two assists during the Fall 2021 season, while Clark led the Flames and finished third in the conference with six assists. Meanwhile, in goal, the Flames return the duo of senior Danny Cordero and sophomore Blake Frazen from last fall. The two each saw time in the Liberty net in 2021 with Cordero starting nine games and Frazen six games. Besides its ASUN schedule, the Flames have already faced NCAA soccer powers Maryland and UCLA on the pitch this fall. Liberty will host Davidson on Tuesday and ASUN Conference member Lipscomb next Saturday.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

The Lady Flames, who come off an 11-win season last year, enter their sixth season under Head Coach Lang Wedemeyer. During the spring, Wedemeyer was named a recipient of the 2021 United Soccer Coaches Advocacy Awards of Excellence, winning the Faith-Based Coaches Award. The Lady Flames return senior McKinley Burkett, a 2021 All-ASUN second-team selection, and Meredith King, the 2021 Spring ASUN Freshman of the Year. Liberty also welcomes 11 newcomers, including Saydie Holland, a transfer from Ole Miss, and Ivy Garner, who is coming off an appearance with the U20 National Team for Puerto Rico and scored a goal in a CONCACAF match this summer. The Lady Flames faced Big 10 member Penn State this past Thursday and will play ACC member Pittsburgh tomorrow. Liberty will host Stetson (Sept. 15) and FGCU (Sept. 18) in ASUN play this week.

VOLLEYBALL

The Liberty women’s volleyball team will look to make a statement in its final season in the ASUN Conference. The Lady Flames have an impressive cast of newcomers for 2022 with a seven-member freshman class joining three transfers. Head Coach Trevor Johnson’s team added a pair of transfers from Lipscomb in setter Delany Dilfer and outside hitter Kamryn Bacus, along with libero Erica Lowery from Texas A&M. Liberty will also welcome back two players who missed significant time over the past two seasons. Amelia Preston returns for her first full season since 2019 when she was an ASUN All-Conference first team selection. Sophomore Julia Mangum led the team in kills before suffering an injury in the spring of 2021. Juniors Trinity Watts and Lydia Burts also return. The pair brings two years of starting experience to the Lady Flames. The Lady Flames will host a tournament in Liberty Arena next weekend and begin ASUN Conference play at home against Kennesaw State on Sept 28.

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

Liberty looks to wrap up its time in the ASUN Conference with a league title this fall, following four consecutive ASUN runner-up finishes. This year’s ASUN Championships are scheduled for Oct. 29 in Huntsville, Ala. The Flames have placed either first or second at each of its last 19 men’s cross country conference meets overall. Caleb Olson and Kyle Harkabus are expected to lead the way for Head Coach Isaac Wendland’s squad. Olson and Harkabus have each claimed AllASUN cross country laurels previously, with Olson doing so twice. Will Jefferson appears poised to make his collegiate cross country debut following a stellar freshman campaign on the track. He placed third in the ASUN 1,500 final and set program freshman records in the outdoor 1,500 (3:45.28) and indoor mile (4:06.63). Nicholas Kiprotich, a transfer from Iowa Western, also joins the Flames for 2022. He came in fourth at the 2021 NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

Liberty is coming off its most successful two-season stretch in program history. The Lady Flames have qualified for the NCAA Division I Championships for the first time (Spring 2021), posted their bestever NCAA Southeast Regional finish (fifth in Fall 2021), and won back-to-back ASUN Conference team titles during the last two years. The duo of Calli Doan and Adelyn (Ackley) Fairley return to pace the Lady Flames’ formidable lineup. Fairley claimed back-to-back ASUN individual cross country titles in 2019 and Spring 2021 before Doan took top honors in Fall 2021. Doan then went on to place 28th nationally last season to earn AllAmerica distinction. Multiple-time All-ASUN cross country runners Noel Palmer (three times), Anna Hostetler (twice), and Priscillah Kiplagat (twice) also dot Head Coach Heather Zealand’s roster. They will be joined by highly touted incoming freshmen Ava Gordon (10:19 2 mile), Katrina Schlenker (10:26 3,200), Katie Sigerud (10:35 3,200), and Kayla Werner (10:05 2 mile, 16:44 5K). The NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships return to Stillwater, Okla., on Nov. 19. The Lady Flames raced there as a team at the Spring 2021 NCAA meet and will look to make a return trip to the Sooner State.

SOUTHERN MISS

0-1, 0-0 SUN BELT)

9/3........LIBERTY...........................L/27-29 4OT 9/10 .....at Miami (Fla.) 9/17 .....NORTHWESTERN STATE . 9/24 .....at Tulane 10/8......at Troy 10/15 ...ARKANSAS STATE 10/22 ...at Texas State 10/27 ...LOUISIANA 11/5......GEORGIA STATE 11/12 ...at Coastal Carolina 11/19 ...SOUTH ALABAMA 11/26 ...at ULM

AKRON

(1-0, 0-0 MAC)

9/1........SAINT FRANCIS (PA.).. W/30-23 OT 9/10 .....at Michigan State 9/17 .....at Tennessee 9/24 .....at Liberty 10/1......BOWLING GREEN 10/8......at Ohio 10/15 ...CENTRAL MICHIGAN 10/22 ...at Kent State 10/29 ...MIAMI (OHIO) 11/8......EASTERN MICHIGAN 11/19 ...at Buffalo 11/26 ...at Northern Illinois

GARDNER-WEBB

(1-0, 0-0 BIG SOUTH)

9/1........LIMESTONE ........................W/56-21 9/10 .....at Coastal Carolina 9/17 .....at Elon 9/24 .....MERCER 10/1......at Marshall 10/8......at Robert Morris 10/15 ...at Liberty 10/22 ...at Charleston Southern 10/29 ...BRYANT 11/12 ...at Campbell 11/19 ...NORTH CAROLINA A&T

UCONN

(1-1)

8/27 .....at Utah State........................L/20-31 9/3........CENTRAL CONNECTICUT ST. ..................................................................W/28-3 9/10 .....SYRACUSE 9/17 .....at Michigan 9/24 .....at NC State 10/1......FRESNO STATE 10/8......at FIU 10/15 ...at Ball State 10/29 ...BOSTON COLLEGE 11/4......UMASS 11/12 ...LIBERTY 11/19 ...at Army

UAB

(1-0, 0-0 C-USA)

9/1........ALABAMA A&M ................W/59-0 9/10 .....at Liberty 9/17 .....GEORGIA SOUTHERN 10/1......at Rice 10/8......MIDDLE TENNESSEE 10/15 ...CHARLOTTE 10/21 ...at Western Kentucky 10/29 ...at Florida Atlantic 11/5......UTSA 11/12 ...NORTH TEXAS 11/19 ...at LSU 11/26 ...at Louisiana Tech

OLD DOMINION

(1-0, 0-0 SUN BELT)

9/2........VIRGINIA TECH ...................W/20-17 9/10 .....at East Carolina 9/17 .....at Virginia 9/24 .....ARKANSAS STATE 10/1......LIBERTY 10/15 ...at Coastal Carolina 10/22 ...GEORGIA SOUTHERN 10/29 ...at Georgia State 11/5......MARSHALL 11/12 ...JAMES MADISON 11/19 ...at Appalachian State 11/26 ...at South Alabama

BYU (1-0)

9/3........at South Florida .......... W/50-21 9/10 .....BAYLOR 9/17 .....at Oregon 9/24 .....WYOMING 9/29 .....UTAH STATE 10/8......vs. Notre Dame 10/15 ...ARKANSAS 10/22 ...at Liberty 10/28 ...EAST CAROLINA 11/5......at Boise State 11/19 ...UTAH TECH 11/26 ...at Stanford

VIRGINIA TECH

(0-1, 0-0 ACC)

9/2........at Old Dominion..................L/17-20 9/10 .....BOSTON COLLEGE 9/17 .....WOFFORD 9/22 .....WEST VIRGINIA 10/1......at North Carolina 10/8......at Pitt 10/15 ...MIAMI (FLA.) 10/27 ...at NC State 11/5......GEORGIA TECH 11/12 ...at Duke 11/19 ...at Liberty 11/26 ...VIRGINIA

WAKE FOREST

(1-0, 0-0 ACC)

9/1........VMI..........................................W/44-10 9/10 .....at Vanderbilt 9/17 .....LIBERTY 9/24 .....CLEMSON 10/1......at Florida State 10/8......ARMY 10/22 ...BOSTON COLLEGE 10/29 ...at Louisville 11/5......at NC State 11/12 ...NORTH CAROLINA 11/19 ...SYRACUSE 11/26 ...at Duke

UMASS

(0-1)

9/3........at Tulane........................ L/10-42 9/10 .....at Toledo 9/17 .....STONY BROOK 9/24 .....at Temple 10/1......at Eastern Michigan 10/8......LIBERTY 10/15 ...BUFFALO 10/29 ...NEW MEXICO STATE 11/4......at UConn 11/12 ...at Arkansas State 11/19 ...at Texas A&M 11/26 ...ARMY

ARKANSAS

(1-0, 0-0 SEC)

9/3........CINCINNATI.................. W/31-24 9/10 .....SOUTH CAROLINA 9/17 .....MISSOURI STATE 9/24 .....vs. Texas A&M 10/1......ALABAMA 10/8......at Mississippi State 10/15 ...at BYU 10/29 ...at Auburn 11/5......LIBERTY 11/12 ...LSU 11/19 ...OLE MISS 11/25 ...at Missouri

NEW MEXICO STATE

(0-2)

8/27 .....NEVADA ........................ L/12-23 9/1........at Minnesota................. L/0-38 9/10 .....at UTEP 9/17 .....at Wisconsin 9/24 .....HAWAII 10/1......FIU 10/15 ...NEW MEXICO 10/22 ...SAN JOSE STATE 10/29 ...at UMass 11/12 ...LAMAR 11/19 ...at Missouri 11/26 ...at Liberty

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