Liberty University
(14-2)
Kent State
(11-5)
No. 9 Liberty Bests No. 22 Kent State 2-1 on Senior Day
10/24/2021 5:05:00 PM | Field Hockey
Goals from Martu Cian and Daniella Rhodes lifted No. 9 Liberty to a 2-1 Senior Day triumph over No. 22 Kent State, Sunday afternoon at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.
Liberty bolsters its overall record this season to 14-2. The victory is the 11th straight and fifth top-25 win of the season for the Lady Flames. The longest winning streak in program history is 12 games, held by the 2013 team.
Kent State drops to 11-5 and see its six-game winning streak ended with today's setback.
The Lady Flames' Cian and Rhodes provided the scoring for the hosts. Cian's goal was the fifth of her rookie season, while Rhodes' goal was her 15th of the year.
Prior to the start of the contest, Liberty honored its six-player senior class – Kendra Jones, Jill Bolton, Ashley Dykema-Pereira, Maddie Hosler, Alexis Paone and Darby Brennan – with a special ceremony.
Scoring Summary
8' – LIBERTY – Martu Cian (Daniella Rhodes)
48' – LIBERTY – Daniella Rhodes (unassisted)
59' – KENT STATE – Helena Cambra Soler (Clara Seto Rodriguez) | Penalty Corner
Goalkeepers
W: Azul Iritxity Irigoyen 14-2, three saves
L: Azure Fernsler 10-5, 17 saves
Turning Point
Freshman Martu Cian put Liberty on the board with her goal in the eighth minute. Jill Bolton sent a ball into the right side of the circle that made its way onto the stick of Daniella Rhodes. Rhodes knocked a pass to Cian, who sent a reverse shot over Kent State goalkeeper Azure Fernsler for 1-0 lead at the 7:14 mark.
The score remained 1-0 through three quarters despite the Lady Flames outshooting the Golden Flashes 22-3 in the first 45 minutes. Liberty broke through for its second goal of the day, as junior Daniella Rhodes carried the ball into the circle and ripped a reverse shot into the top of the cage at the 47:12 mark for a 2-0 home advantage.
Key Stats & Notes
• Liberty outshot Kent State 30-7 in the contest. The Lady Flames outshot their opponents 69-9 in two games this weekend.
• Bolton led all players with nine shots (seven on goal) on her Senior Day. Rhodes was second on the squad with seven shots (five on goal).
• Liberty earned 11 penalty corners in the contest, compared to four for Kent State.
• Rhodes' 15 goals are tied for the most on the team. The Liberty junior has 44 goals in 47 career games, good for fifth most in program history.
• Lady Flames goalkeeper Azul Iritxity Irigoyen made three saves to pick up her 14th win of the season. Golden Flashes netminder Azure Fernsler tallied 17 saves in the match.
• During Liberty's 11-game winning streak, the Lady Flames have outscored their counterparts 47-9.
• All six Liberty seniors saw playing time in today's contest. Four of the six seniors started the game – Bolton, Ashley Dykema-Pereira, Maddie Hosler and Kendra Jones.
• Liberty is 5-2 against top-25 competition this year.
•The Lady Flames improve to 3-0 all-time against the Golden Flashes. Two of those victories have come at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.
• Liberty is 6-1 on its home turf this fall and 13-1 at the Liberty Field Hockey Field over the last two seasons.
Up Next
Liberty will close out regular season play with a home BIG EAST contest against No. 15 Old Dominion (13-3, 5-1 BIG EAST), Friday. Match time is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.
A win over the Monarchs would give the Lady Flames their first outright BIG EAST regular season title in program history and the No. 1 seed for the 2021 BIG EAST Field Hockey Championships. Liberty and ODU have met 13 times, with the Lady Flames winning seven of those matchups. Liberty went 3-2 versus ODU during the spring 2021 campaign.
Team Stats
CIAN, Martu (5)
Assisted By: RHODES, Daniella
Reverse shot after feed from 10
7:14
RHODES, Daniella (15)
Reverse into top of cage
47:12
CAMBRA SOLER, Helena (2)
Assisted By: RODRIGUEZ SETO,Clara
Tip on corner
58:58
