Liberty University
(19-2)
Rutgers
(19-4)
Final Four Bound! Liberty Bests Top-Ranked Rutgers in Shootout, Wins 3-2
11/14/2021 8:56:00 PM | Field Hockey
The Liberty field hockey team is heading to the NCAA Field Hockey Championship Final Four for the first time in program history following a dramatic 3-2 victory over top-ranked Rutgers in a shootout, Sunday afternoon at the Bauer Track/Field Hockey Complex.
Liberty will head to Michigan for next weekend's Final Four and will meet No. 5 Maryland (15-6), next Friday at noon. The match will be contested at Phyllis Ocker Field Hockey Field in Ann Arbor, Mich. The other national semifinal will feature No. 7 Northwestern (16-5) and No. 12 Harvard (17-1) at 3 p.m.
Liberty's Charlotte Vaanhold sealed the victory with her goal as the fifth Lady Flame in the shootout. Vaanhold's goal made it 4-2 in the shootout with only one remaining Rutgers player to go. Liberty sophomore goalkeeper Azul Iritxity Irigoyen stopped two of Rutgers' four chances in the shootout.
The Lady Flames trailed 2-1 with under four minutes remaining in regulation before senior Jill Bolton scored the equalizer on a penalty corner at the 56:46 mark.
After a scoreless 20 minutes of overtime and double overtime, the game was settled in a shootout. The Lady Flames' first, second, fourth and fifth shooters – Bolton, Reagan Underwood, Maddie Hosler and Charlotte Vaanhold – each scored to secure the win.
Liberty improves to 19-2 overall and extends its winning streak to 16 games, the longest streak in the country. The Lady Flames earned their first first-ever victory in program history over a No. 1-ranked team. The Scarlet Knights, the top seed in the NCAA Tournament and the Big Ten champions, see their season end with a 19-4 record. The setback also snaps Rutgers' seven-match winning streak.
Scoring Summary
8' – LIBERTY – Lexi Hosler (Charlotte Vaanhold) | Penalty Corner
34' – RUTGERS – Milena Redlingshoefer | Penalty Stroke
37' – RUTGERS – Gianna Mancini (unassisted)
57' – LIBERTY – Jill Bolton (Bethany Dykema and Kendra Jones) | Penalty Corner
80' – LIBERTY – Charlotte Vaanhold | Shootout Winner
Goalkeepers
W: Azul Iritxity Irigoyen 19-2, one save
L: Gianna Glatz 17-4, three saves
Turning Point
Liberty led Rutgers 1-0 at the half courtesy of a Lexi Hosler penalty corner goal, her second of the season, in the eighth minute. The Scarlet Knights scored back-to-back goals in the 34th and 37th minutes from Milena Redlingshoefer and Gianna Mancini to take a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Lady Flames drew their fifth and final penalty corner of the contest and capitalized. Following an insert from Bethany Dykema and stick stop from Kendra Jones, Bolton sent a shot that bounced off a Rutgers defender's stick, into the air and into the cage to even the game at 2-all. The Scarlet Knights won a penalty corner with four seconds left in regulation, but Liz Romano's shot went wide just before the horn sounded.
In the first overtime, Liberty redshirt Kendra Jones nearly ended the game at the 63:46 mark, as her diving shot from the right side of the circle sailed wide left. Rutgers earned three penalty corners in the second overtime, and the Liberty defense held firm to force a shootout.
The Lady Flames' Bolton, Underwood, Cian and Vaanhold each scored in the shootout session. Liberty's Azul Iritxity Irigoyen staved off shootout attempts from Iris Langejans and Guillermina Causarano to help seal the 3-2 win and punch Liberty's ticket to the Final Four of the NCAA Field Hockey Championship.
Key Stats & Notes
• This is Liberty's first-ever Final Four appearance. This is also the first time any Liberty Athletics team has reached the Final Four at the Division I level.
• Today's victory is Liberty's first in program history against the No. 1 team in the country. The Lady Flames entered Sunday with an 0-6 mark all-time against No. 1 teams.
• The Lady Flames improve to 9-2 this year against top-25 teams and have won eight straight matches against ranked foes.
• Liberty improves to 3-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament play, including a 2-0 mark in the last three days.
• Bolton's fourth quarter goal was her team-best 18th of the season and 60th of her decorated career. Bolton is the program's all-time leader in goals (60) and points (153) and ranks third in assists (33).
• The Lady Flames held a 9-8 edge in shots and 5-4 edge in penalty corners.
• This is only the second time this season Rutgers allowed three goals in a match. Coming into the game, the Scarlet Knights were surrendering 0.91 goals per game.
• Today's match was the first ever between Liberty and Rutgers.
Up Next
Liberty will meet Maryland (15-6) in the Final Four of the NCAA Field Hockey Championship. Match time is noon at Phyllis Ocker Field Hockey Field in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The Lady Flames will be appearing in their first Final Four, while Maryland will be playing in its 20th Final Four. The Terrapins edged No. 10 Syracuse 2-1 on Sunday to reach the national semifinals.
Liberty and Maryland will be meeting for the second time ever. The Terrapins topped the Lady Flames 4-1 in the only ever meeting on Oct. 8, 2017 in College Park, Md.
Team Stats
HOSLER, Lexi (2)
Assisted By: UNDERWOOD, Reagan
reshot off corner
7:44
Redlingshoefer, Mil. (8)
RU Redlingshoefer, Mil. PENALTY STROKE GOAL, goal number 8 for season.
33:23
Mancini, Gianna (5)
straight shot
36:20
BOLTON, Jill (18)
Assisted By: DYKEMA, Bethany , JONES, Kendra
pure corner
56:46
VAANHOLD, Charlotte
80:00
