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Liberty women’s soccer officially opened up their spring season with two games at the VCU Spring Invitational this past Saturday.
In the first game, Liberty faced James Madison, a team that defeated the Lady Flames, 4-0, this past fall. In windy, but warm conditions, the Lady Flames struggled early to find any rhythm to their play and had to defend for the majority of the first half as James Madison dominated possession.
With the strong wind at their backs in the second half, Liberty was able to create some scoring chances as Amy Oberlin came close to netting a goal with several strong efforts. In the end, the game remained a midfield battle and the 0-0 reflected a strong effort defensively, but with little in the way of opportunities to score.
In the second game of the day, Liberty matched up with William and Mary, and started off the game on a strong note with good chances falling to Mandee Judd and Ashley Braam, both of whom were denied by the Tribe goalkeeper. With the defense lead by Paige Cheek and Tanya Payne holding strong and the midfield connecting on a more consistent basis, Liberty entered half time at 0-0, but with momentum in their favor.
William & Mary came out with increased energy in the second half and was rewarded with a goal 35 minutes in on a pass from the right wing found a unmarked forward, who finish from 8 yards out for a 1-0 lead.
The Lady Flames responded and started to press forward. Both Kristin Faxon and Oberlin would have opportunities, before Hannah Sullivan picked up a loose ball and struck a terrific shot from 25 yards past the William & Mary keeper to even the score at 1-1.
Liberty finished the game by pressing on offense and had a string of corners and free kicks, but could not get the winning goal.
“You don’t want to put too much emphasis on results in the spring, but this was a good opportunity for us to build on our success at the end of last season, and compete on an equal foot with two quality opponents. We now have to find more consistency and replicate this kind of performance in the fall, in order for our program to take the next step forward” stated Liberty head coach James Price.
The Lady Flames return to action this Saturday, April 8th, with a tournament hosted by Longwood University.
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
The Liberty Lady Flames continued their spring season with a pair of games at Longwood University this past Saturday.
In the first match Liberty faced the PWSI club team from Northern Virginia, who were the State Cup finalists last year. Both teams swapped scoring opportunities but were unable to find a goal with Kendall Bartholomew, Amy Oberlin and Hannah Sullivan all getting opportunities for the Lady Flames. The 0-0 final score reflected well on both teams defenses, with defender Paige Cheek impressing for Liberty.
In the second game the Flames faced the host Lancers and enjoyed numerous attempts on goal in the first half with Hannah Sullivan testing the goalkeeper with a free kick and Amy Oberlin shooting just wide from 20 yards. Liberty took the lead in the 20th minute when a corner was half cleared to Hope West who powered a header towards goal. The Longwood keeper could only knock the ball down and Ashley Braam jumped on the loose ball in front, pushing it home from inside the 6 yard box.
In the second half with the rain beginning to fall, both teams had chances to net scores, but an outstanding save from Liberty keeper Katherine Neff, and a hard to handle shot from Hannah Sulivan that the Longwood keeper made a good stop on, kept the score at 1-0 for a Liberty win.
"This was a good test for us today. Both teams are well organized and very talented, and I was pleased with our effort on the defensive end in particular. We just need to have a bit more quality and concentration in the final third if we are going to score more goals." stated head coach James Price
The Lady Flames return to action on April 22nd when they host their annual Spring Tournament at the Liberty Soccer Field.
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
The Liberty Lady Flames wrapped up their spring season with a 1-0 win against Lynchburg College this past Saturday. With heavy rain storms hitting the area, the game was switched from the Liberty Soccer Field to the Lynchburg College practice fields.
The first half saw the Lady Flames start off strong with Ashley Braam using her speed to create a couple of opportunities. One shot from Braam required a good save from the Lynchburg keeper at her near post to keep the blast from going in.
After several chances without netting a goal, the Lady Flames seemed to lack energy in the latter part of the half and the Hornets came close to scoring on a long range effort that came back off the crossbar.
In the second half, Liberty came out strong just like the first half as chances fell to Amy Oberlin, Mandee Judd and Braam, before an Alaina Hohnarth corner was put home by Oberlin at the far post.
The Lady Flames continued to dominate the half but were unable to add another goal against a well organized and resolute Lynchburg defense. Once again, the Liberty defense did not surrender a goal and conceded just one goal in five Spring dates.
"It was difficult to play the soccer we want to play today because of the bumpy field and Lynchburg College is always very competitive. But I was pleased with the way we rolled up our sleeves in the second half and thoroughly deserved the goal in the end. It has been a solid spring season for us with no new injuries, and we are starting to get some important players back, too. I am really looking forward to the fall and working with this group again." stated James Price
The Flames scheduled second game versus Longwood was cancelled due to a waterlogged field.
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
Got some great feedback from the team over the weekend: after a great spring season, the ladies are very optimistic about this fall.
Their team motto is "the Big South is played in the Fall but won or lost in the summer"- so they have been working hard to prepare for 2006. In addition, they will be getting 4 freshmen next Fall and "are very excited about all of them".
The competition will be amp'd up too; some names that we'll see on the pre-season schedule include Wake Forest and Arkansas.
Finally, and possibly most importantly, the ladies have great team spirit- with a team member stating "I want to say how special these girls are to me. They are my sisters and the chemistry that this team has will be huge for our upcoming season. We are excited about our chance to play the game that we love as a form of worship for our Savior".
Looking forward to BIG things AGAIN from the ladies.
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
- By olldflame