Flames women’s lacrosse falls to the Blue Devils

Even in the dreary rain, Flames fans showed their unwavering support of the women’s lacrosse team Tuesday, Feb. 27 as they played against their rivals, the Duke Blue Devils. Keeping a close trail of No. 37 Duke’s lead throughout the entirety of the game, the Flames ultimately couldn’t keep close enough to the Blue Devils, suffering defeat to the North Carolina team. 

Duke came with a deep bench and an inconsistent set of past game results; however, it was still able to get past Liberty’s defense and capitalize on the evening.

The exciting match had the Flames dominating the stat sheet with 33 shots on target, but they fell flat when fully capitalizing on chances. 

Going into the game, Liberty had an all-time record of 0-3 against Duke. According to Head Coach Kelly Nangle, these challenging season openers benefit the entire season. 

“We schedule really hard purposefully so that we are challenged in the beginning,” Nangle said. “Mainly, so we can be prepared down the road in conference play.”

As the field was set, a moment was taken prior to the match for both teams to acknowledge awareness for student-athletes’ mental health. Morgan’s Message, the signature butterfly nonprofit organization, was started by the parents of Duke lacrosse player Morgan Rodgers after her battle with mental health. Founded July of 2020, the organization brings to light the challenges athletes face while in college sports and adapts ways to help improve mental health.   

 

Opening up the match, Duke had an aggressive start, netting a goal in the first minute of play coming from Blue Devils senior middle Maddie McCorkle. followed by plays from her teammates, Duke quickly made the score 3-0.

Liberty, although down early in the game, kept its composure. The Flames followed Duke’s scoring burst with one of its own, started by an opening goal from senior attacker Jordan Sheive. The team continued to keep its chances high and defense strong, and the first quarter came to a close with Liberty leading 6-5.

Finishing out the first half, Duke dominated in goals, scoring four straight. Liberty was able to come back at the bottom of the second quarter with a striking goal from sophomore middle Ava Rajala. However, this effort was combatted by another Duke goal in the final minute of the first half, leaving the score with Liberty trailing by three.

Going into the second half, the Blue Devils still held a 10-7 lead over the Flames, and the team struggled to combat Duke’s defensive pressure. With a few minutes left of the second half, the Flames made a determined run of goals against the Blue Devils, but their efforts were not enough to fully bring them down. The Flames finished out the evening with a score of 16-13. 

However, the evening spotlighted multiple solid outings from Liberty. Sophomore middle Katie Colavito had an outstanding performance that detailed her composure, picking up two goals for her team in the final quarter.

“I am so proud of how unified we played,” Colavito said. “We gave 120 percent; it was a great matchup and a fun game.”    

Senior middle Mackenzie Lehman also tallied up four goals over the night and was a huge component in the success against Duke. Lehman, while disappointed in the result, kept a positive outlook. 

“I think this is the best we have played,” Lehman said. “This is what Liberty lacrosse looks like — hard work and resilience.” 

The Flames will continue their season March 6 at 3 p.m. against Pittsburgh, with a 1-4 record on the season.

“We are making a lot of adjustments,” Nangle said. “We keep improving, and these games make us better.”

With home-field advantage, Liberty looks to seal a win against the No. 71 ranked team out of Pennsylvania. During the last meeting against the Panthers, the Flames took home a domineering win 13-7.

Jolly is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion