Field Hockey Sweeps Old Dominion In Weekend Doubleheader

The Lady Flames field hockey team came into their game Saturday against the Old Dominion Monarchs with only one thought on their minds: revenge.

Liberty’s previous season ended abruptly against the Monarchs, when the Lady Flames lost 3-1 in the Big East Semifinals. 

But it did not take long for the Lady Flames to ignite in this game. Jill Bolton fed the ball to Daniella Rhodes, who buried her reverse attempt just 54 seconds into the contest – and Liberty would go on to win 4-1.

Things remained fairly quiet as the teams struggled for possession until Marlon DeBruijne tied things up for the Monarchs in the second quarter, sending a rocket past Lady Flames goalkeeper Azul Iritxity Irigoyen. 

The second half was all Liberty as it saw an additional goal from Rhodes and two tallies from Bolton. Bolton credited the team’s tempo and attention to detail in the second half, along with the team’s ability to execute, allowing the Lady Flames to secure the win.

“We went into halftime with a few tactical things to work on and we did them perfectly,” Bolton said. “Our momentum and our energy carried us through the second half. When our goals started to fall, it was just a momentum boost.” 

Beyond that momentum, however, Head Coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker was pleased to see the reward from one of the concepts the Flames had worked on coming into the game. 

“It pretty much boiled down to one thing tactically and that was ‘Go right,’” Parsley-Blocker said. “That is what we have spent the week leading up to this, prepping for and knew that good things were going to happen if we attacked (the right side of the field). It felt like we were able to come out and do that and the team just made the adjustment, and it is so awesome, as a coach, when they take what you give them, and they do it.” 

In a still undefeated season, Parsley-Blocker was happy to get another win, but she says it is important that her team stays focused with games around the corner.

“I’m excited about it,” Parsley-Blocker, said. “Any day is a good day to get a win, but I told the girls to celebrate for a couple of hours and then it is back to business.”

With the win, the Lady Flames snapped the Monarch’s nine-game win streak in regular season conference games. The teams played again on Sunday, with the Flames coming out as 2-0 winners. Liberty improved to 7-0 on the season, its best start in program history, while the Monarchs dropped to 4-3. 

Zac Zehnder is a Sports Reporter. Follow him on Twitter at @zaczehnder.