Liberty women’s hockey players compete on the world stage

While most Liberty students headed for warm weather and a relaxing vacation over spring break, four Lady Flames women’s hockey players boarded a plane for the blistering Siberian winter, where they represented their country playing the sport they love.

Senior Lauren McDonald, juniors Vanessa DeMerchant and Dana McLeod and sophomore Shelby Bradford became the first Liberty women’s hockey players to ever receive the selection to represent Liberty University and USA Hockey in the Winter World University Games. 

“Our girls have impressed, and it was not an easy decision, but they have done enough, played at a high level in high-stress situations and championships and really represented well,” Head Coach Chris Lowes said. “It was not that hard of a task to convince people they were worthy.”

All four players were excited to learn of their selection to represent their country and the hype continued to grow as the time to leave for the competition drew closer.

“It did not really sink in until it started to become a little more official,” DeMerchant said

The four Lady Flames Division I hockey players traveled to Krasnoyarsk, Russia, to play in the biennial Universiade March 1-11.

Liberty’s quartet joined 18 other collegiate players from the ACHA as a part of the U.S. women’s hockey team. Competing with athletes from rival universities provided an opportunity to build relationships with girls who normally wear opposing uniforms.

“There were people you have rivalries with on the ice that you have these preconceived notions about what they are going to be off the ice, but when we met those girls from all the other teams, we bonded instantly,” DeMerchant said. “We made those lasting relationships.”

McDonald, DeMerchant, McLeod and Bradford departed from Liberty Feb. 24 to meet the team in New York City, before flying to Russia. Traveling across the world granted a new adventure to the young hockey standouts.

Upon arriving in Krasnoyarsk, the team faced some of the best collegiate competition in the world. Five preliminary matchups against Japan, Switzerland, Canada, Russia and China stood between Team USA and the semifinal round.

“The competition was definitely a lot higher than the ACHA,” sophomore forward Bradford said. “It was a lot faster.”

Competition began Friday, March 1, with a tight 2-1 loss to Japan, but the team responded in their second game thanks to strong play from some of the Lady Flames. Liberty forward McDonald netted a second-period goal in a 5-2 victory over Switzerland.

The team next lost another heartbreaker to Canada, 1-0, before falling to Russia, the tournament favorite, in a lopsided loss. Many of Team Russia’s athletes have represented their Olympic team, and their prestige showed in the way they played.

“(Playing Russia) was … humbling, and a little bit of jealousy set in,” DeMerchant said. “One of our teammates was joking around saying she almost got caught staring and watching because it was so impressive to watch.”

Despite the stinging loss to the world-class host country, the Lady Flames and their team stayed together and continued to compete in the remainder of their games. 

In the team’s final preliminary matchup, Team USA faced China in the quarterfinals. Forwards DeMerchant and McDonald each tallied an assist in a 6-1 victory for the USA, helping their team earn a top-four spot in the tournament. 

“When we went into the game (against China) we knew we had to win,” McDonald said. “There was no chance we were going to leave without a shot in the bronze or gold medal game. We were just determined that no matter how good they were, we were going to win.” 

Team USA again fell to Russia in the semifinals and moved to face Japan for the bronze medal in a rematch of their opening contest. The team left everything they had on the ice but closed out the tournament with a 2-1 defeat in overtime.

Though they did not achieve the results they were looking for, the Lady Flames believe their experience of playing against top competition will help them as they prepare for the upcoming ACHA national tournament.

“We lost one game this year, so they are not used to losing,” Lowes said. “(Losing) ignited a fire in them to finish the year strong and bring energy back to our team so we can go on a run.”

The Lady Flames will look to defend their ACHA title during the national tournament that will take place March 27-31 in Frisco, Texas. 

As the top seed, Liberty’s opening-round opponent is eighth-seeded Midland University, who upset Colorado in the WWCHL championship game to earn an automatic bid to nationals.

The Lady Flames enter the tournament with a 24-1-3 record, carrying a target on their back as they hope to win back-to-back championships. Liberty is looking to repeat as ACHA champions for the first time in school history, but the task will not be easy.

“I thought (there) would be a sense of relief winning last year after losing the year before, but it also puts pressure,” Lowes said. “We are the one seed and are defending champs, so there is a little bit of intrinsic pressure, but no matter who you are when you get down to nationals, teams are going to feel pressure.”

Though Liberty women’s hockey does not base their success solely on their on-ice accomplishments, capping the 2019 season with a championship would help cement the growing legacy of the program.

“If we go in there and lay an egg, it really does not matter what we did in the regular season,” Lowes said. “We accomplished a lot and had some success, but when it comes down to hockey and results it will all depend on what happens this week.”