Women’s Soccer Drops Weekend Series Against Bellarmine

On a cold, rainy Sunday afternoon in Lynchburg, Liberty women’s soccer was hungry to start its ASUN schedule on the front foot. Though the Lady Flames worked hard, however, they fell short in the final minutes, conceding a frustrating late goal to lose 1-0 to Bellarmine and start their conference schedule with a loss.  

The Lady Flames went into their first conference game with a 1-1-2 record, and they played with intensity throughout the game, but none of their 10 shots on goal found the back of the net. 

“We are a pretty scrappy team, and we play with a good level of intensity, but we just are not quite as sharp as we need to be,” Coach Lang Wedemeyer said after the game.

Bellarmine started applying pressure to Liberty’s goal early on, but as the first half progressed, Liberty found its footing, dictating the tempo of the game with 55% possession. Bellarmine’s pressure slowed as Liberty sped up play, zipping passes around the field, but lack of end product left Wedemeyer frustrated. 

“We play really good soccer for periods of time, but we are just not consistent enough and not making enough plays in the attack,” Wedemeyer said. “Every game we have played in this season we have outshot the opponent – we have created chances to score, but we are not getting that productivity right now.” 

Repeatedly breaking out of Bellarmine’s pressure, the Lady Flames had four shots on target throughout the game, but Bellarmine’s defense held firm. Goalkeeper Elyssa Francis had four saves, keeping her first clean sheet since the school moved up to DI from DII this year. 

After time and time again falling short in the final third of the field, the Knights pieced together a play that allowed them to go a goal up in the final minutes of the match. As players scrambled for the ball in Liberty’s box, Bellarmine defender Elise Markley guided a header into the back of the net to help the Knights overcome the Lady Flames for their first win of the year.

With the frustrating late loss, Wedemeyer was left ruing missed chances after hoping the team’s nonconference schedule had prepared the team better. 

“It didn’t prepare us well enough,” Wedemeyer said. “We’re trying to keep things in perspective, with COVID. We’re blessed to be able to come out on the field, but we just expect the results to go a little bit better.”

Liberty will look to turn things around in ASUN conference play in their matchup against Kennesaw State March 4.

Kevin Gora is a Sports Reporter. Follow him on Twitter at @kevgora.