Women’s soccer begins season 6-0 after winning against Longwood Lancers

Senior Night could not have gone any better for the Liberty University Women’s Soccer team.

The Lady Flames took care of business Sunday night at Osborne Stadium, defeating the Longwood Lancers 3-0. The dominant victory extends the Flames’ undefeated start to the season to six wins and marks the team’s second shutout.

The night kicked off with a celebration for the Flames’ four senior athletes. Midfielder Lysie Findley, goalkeeper Ainsley Leja, forward Taylor Mason and midfielder Briana Myers were escorted by their loved ones onto the field, where they were then honored for their commitment and contribution to the program.

Building on a hard-fought victory over Delaware two nights earlier, the Flames wasted no time setting the tone against their in-state rival. Before the 15-minute mark, Liberty dominated the pace of play while also attempting two corner kicks and one shot on goal.

Around one minute later, redshirt sophomore forward Halle Engle intercepted a routine pass between two Longwood defenders and scored the Flames’ first goal of the night. This marks Engle’s fourth goal of the year and continues her dominant sophomore campaign.

After the game, Engle credited Head Coach Lang Wedemeyer for recognizing the scoring opportunity.

“We work on that play a lot. … I heard Coach Lang screaming at me, ‘Halle, cheat!’ and I just went up and stole the ball and went with momentum and just finished it,” Engle said. 

Following the score, it was much of the same for Liberty. In the next 15 minutes, Liberty continued to maintain its commanding pace of play.

At the 31-minute mark, freshman midfielder Haley Noblit capitalized on a perfect pass from sophomore midfielder Gabby Miranda, netting Liberty’s second goal of the night. The goal was Noblit’s first career score as a Flame and Miranda’s first assist of the season.

Determined to pick up some momentum before the half, Longwood seemed to adopt a more physical style of play. Despite the Lancers’ best efforts, the Flames held a commanding 2-0 lead over their visitors at the half.

Out of the break, Longwood tried its best to get back in the game, but the efforts had no effect.

After nearly 20 minutes of gameplay, freshman midfielder Isabella Wedemeyer capitalized on a ricochet shot, scoring after the ball rebounded off multiple Longwood defenders. The shot gave the freshman her second goal in three games.

With the game now out of reach, Liberty cruised to victory, extending its record to a perfect 6-0. In these six games, Liberty has outscored opponents 15-4, with goals from nine different players.

Following the Flames’ dominant performance, Lang Wedemeyer spoke highly of his team’s play and highlighted the Flames’ depth as a key to victory.

“I really thought our bench did an exceptional job, coming into the game and being able to maintain that great momentum and get a second goal to put us up 2-0 at halftime,” Lang Wedemeyer said. “And then again, the bench came in and scored a third goal to really seal the game for us.”

Looking ahead, the Liberty Women’s Soccer team faces its toughest stretch yet. The Flames kick off their five-game road trip Thursday night, when they travel to Blacksburg, Virginia, to face the Virginia Tech Hokies. The matchup will be crucial for Liberty, as it has never beaten Virginia Tech on the road.

Following this matchup, the Flames will travel to Morgantown, West Virginia, where they will face the West Virginia Mountaineers on Sunday afternoon.

Engle said the team is pacing itself for the next set of games in the season. 

“We have two big games this week, but we’re going to take them one at a time. Tech will be a good game,” Engle said. “Coach (Wedemeyer) just mentioned that we’ve never actually beaten them in the fall, so we’re definitely going to come out and look for a win.”

Following the five-game road stretch, the Flames return to Osborne Stadium Sept. 27, where they will face FIU.

Garrett is a sports reporter.