Liberty Women’s Soccer Loses Heartbreaking Home-Opener

Following a poor start to the season, Liberty’s women’s soccer program continued to struggle Sunday against the VCU Rams in a 2-1 loss at Osborne Stadium.  

Both teams held their own in the first half with the Lady Flames edging out a slight possession advantage at 51%. Both defenses shone, with neither team being able to fire many shots on goal. 

The ball finally found the back of the net during the second half. A low cross came into the box, and while VCU’s Bri Kropinack took a poor first touch, she chased down the ball and fired it into the goal to put the Rams up 1-0 in the 58th minute of the match. 

The lead was extended later in the half by Aileen Guthrie, who found herself through on goal. Her shot was saved by Lady Flames’ goalkeeper Randi Palacios, but Guthrie collected the rebound, shooting it past Palacios on the second try to put VCU up 2-0.

After having held VCU to only two shots in the first half, it was a disappointing finish for the Lady Flames’ defense. Head Coach Lang Wedemeyer blamed the team’s difficulty with keeping possession as the cause for the Lady Flames’ struggles. 

“We just gave the ball away too many times coming out of the back,” Wedemeyer said. “We were not very good in possession, and we put our backs under a lot of pressure, and that’s on us to do a better job of keeping better possession of the ball.”

Maddy Oliver scored the only goal of the day for the Lady Flames on a beautiful cross whipped in by Meredith King, who blitzed down the field while being chased by VCU defenders. The comeback fell short, however, as the team was unable to score the equalizer before the final horn sounded.

Oliver’s goal was also the first goal of the season for the Lady Flames. The offense has struggled throughout their first three games. Against VCU, the team was outshot 10-6, firing only three shots on goal.

Oliver’s goal provided the one bright side for the Lady Flames’ offense. The hope now is to improve that offensive success. 

“It’s definitely something we can build off of,” Oliver said. “We want to be finding the back of the net a lot more often than we have been .”

The match against VCU was the first home game of the season for Liberty. The game also marked the first time since 2019 that no restrictions were required for fans to attend the home opener. 

“It’s huge for us to play at home. We want it to be a real advantage for us,” Oliver said. “We are proud to play here. It’s a great stadium. We have great fans and being home is really important for us.”

The Lady Flames will try to improve their 0-3 record Thursday, Sept. 2 when they face off against the Richmond Spiders, who currently sit at 1-2 on the season. 

Jarrett Harper is a Sports Reporter.