Flames Field Hockey Falls Short Against No. 3 Virginia Cavaliers

In their first home game of the season, the No. 11 Liberty University Flames Field Hockey team fell short against its in-state rival, the No. 3 Virginia Cavaliers.

Prior to the Flames’ Sunday matchup with the Cavs, Liberty opened its season Aug. 31, when the team traveled to Kent, Ohio, for a two-game road trip, defeating Indiana 2-1 in double overtime in game one and dominating Kent State 4-1 in game two.

Heading into the matchup with the Cavaliers, the Flames were looking to pick up their second straight win over their commonwealth rival. In their previous matchup Aug. 29, 2023, Liberty upset Virginia 3-1 in Charlottesville.

The Flames opened the game looking to make a statement. Their aggressive play resulted in multiple scoring opportunities and corner penalties. In only the first 11 minutes of play, Liberty attempted four shots, two of which came off corner penalties.

However, the game’s momentum began to shift, favoring Virginia. In the final minutes of the first period, the Cavaliers controlled the game’s tempo by maintaining the majority of the possession. After the first period, the game remained tied at zero.

At the start of the second period, Virginia wasted no time proving why it is the No. 3 team in the nation. The Flames’ defense looked helpless against the powerful Cavalier offense.

Despite three straight saves by Liberty’s redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Michaela Skinner, Virginia finally connected when graduate midfielder Suze Leemans put the Cavaliers up one, scoring on the rebound of a blocked corner shot.

Virginia continued its aggressive play throughout the period but could not capitalize again. The first half ended with the Cavaliers leading the Flames 1-0.

The third period was much of the same. Virginia opened the second half with two quick shot attempts, once again controlling the game’s tempo.

Liberty’s defense prevented Virginia from scoring its second goal and nearly tied the game on a shot from graduate defender Ella Murphy in the final seconds of the period.

Finally, in the fourth period, Liberty tied the game on an incredible backhand goal from freshman midfielder Josefina Tomasi. In only her third collegiate game, Tomasi led the team in shots and scored her first career goal.

With the game now tied in the remaining minutes, the intensity of the match reached a new high.

After some back and forth between both squads, Virginia scored on a penalty corner and retook the lead with all but four minutes left. A shot from the Cavaliers’ senior back Jans Croon hit one of the Flames’ defenders and bounced in.

Outside of a late shot from the Flames’ senior forward Martu Cian, Virginia played hard until the final second, officially defeating Liberty 2-1.

Following the game, Liberty Head Coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker had high praise for her team’s performance.

“I was so incredibly proud of the game plan and how we came out and executed. I think a big thing for us is that we are very young. We have nine freshmen and 10 newcomers,” Parsley-Blocker said. “That’s over a third of our team. I think one of the things we’re searching for right now is belief, and if you can do that to UVA, we can beat any team in the country on any given day.”

The Flames are scheduled to return to action this weekend, when they will host William & Mary Friday, Sept. 13, and Duke Sunday, Sept. 15.

Garrett is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion.