Lady Flames Beat Kent State 2-1 on Senior Day

A beautiful, expansive style of offense only resulted in two goals for No. 9 Liberty field hockey, but those two goals were enough to secure a 2-1 win for the high-flying Lady Flames. 

The team was in a celebratory mood going into the game against No. 22 Kent State because it was senior day. Six players were honored before the game: Darby Brennan, Jill Bolton, Ashley Dykema-Periera, Kendra Jones, Maddie Hosler and Alexis Paone. 

It was the freshman, however, who struck first for the Lady Flames. Coming off the bench, forward/midfielder Martu Cian took a well-placed pass from junior forward Daniella Rhodes before lifting it over Kent State’s goalie Azure Fernsler with 7:46 to play in the first quarter. 

Cian was elated to net the goal, which brought her to a total of five this season.

“I was so happy,” Cian said. “We always try to start [the game] winning, so I was so happy.”

The Lady Flames stretched the field with Hosler, Conolly and the Dykema sisters pressing forward from their defensive positions. 

Liberty’s high line and careful offensive orchestration meant that the Golden Flashes had to raise their intensity just to obtain possession of the ball.

And once the Golden Flashes finally got possession, Liberty moved quickly to cut off passing lanes while sending multiple players to force turnovers. Jones dominated the midfield, poking the ball loose on multiple occasions from Kent State’s attackers before dumping it off to start Liberty’s attacks. 

Still, Kent State was able to hang around for a while, keeping the score 1-0 until the fourth quarter when Rhodes put the Flames up 2-0 with a brilliant touch of class. Rhodes disarmed Kent State’s right back and cut in on the left wing before firing a reverse into the top corner, mere inches out of the goalie’s range. 

Rhodes was happy to get the Flames ahead 2-0.

“I think it all comes back down to instinct,” Rhodes said. “I’m not thinking much [when attacking]. All I’m thinking is, ‘I want the ball, and I want to score.’”

Rhodes added that while a two-goal lead is never safe, it did relieve the team to have that advantage. 

Late in the game, Kent State won a penalty corner, its fourth of the day. Captain of the Lady Flames Dykema-Periera shouted to the other Lady Flames in the goal to do their best to “get the shutout,” but Helena Cambra Soler was able to deflect the ball put into play by Clara Rodriguez Seto to get the Golden Flashes on the board with just over a minute left to play.

Rattled, Liberty quickly refocused and held possession in Kent State’s zone for the final minute, squashing any hopes of a miracle comeback for the Golden Flashes. 

The win moves Liberty to 14-2 on the year as the team goes into its final game of the regular season. The Lady Flames are 6-0 in conference play.

On Oct. 29, Liberty will host Old Dominion, currently 5-1 in conference play. The match will determine the fate of the Big East regular season championship. The Lady Flames have already clinched a share of the regular season championship. 

To outright clinch, the Lady Flames must win or maintain a better season-long goal differential (goals scored minus goals conceded) over the Monarchs. The title would give the Lady Flames, in theory, an easier path in the Big East field hockey championships, which will be held at UConn’s campus this year. 

The Lady Flames look forward to competing against the Monarchs later this week. 

“I’m so excited because I know it’s going to be a tough game,” Cian said. “I’m really excited. I just want to win, give everything and have fun with the girls, and play our game.” 

There are some things the Lady Flames will want to tighten up going into the game against ODU and later in the tournament.

The Lady Flames had 11 penalty corners, though they were unable to score on any of them. The same goes for penalty strokes; Liberty received one, but Bolton was unable to get it past Kent State’s goalie. 

In terms of shots, Liberty had 30 in total, trouncing Kent State’s seven. Turning those shots into goals is something Head Coach Nikki Parlsey-Blocker plans to address. 

Liberty hosts ODU Oct. 29 at 3 p.m. 

Randle is the sports editor. Follow him on Twitter.