Liberty Earns Home Conference Victory
4/16/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
The Liberty Lady Flames lacrosse squad defeated Gardner-Webb on Saturday in a Big South clash by the final score of 16-10 at the Liberty Lacrosse Field.
With the victory, Liberty improves to 3-12 on the season and 2-4 in Big South play. The Runnin' Bulldogs fall to 3-12 and 1-6 in conference play following the loss.
The Lady Flames netted the first two goals of the contest to take the 2-0 lead with 25:28 remaining in the first half. The first Liberty goal was scored by freshman Brianna McCaffrey, her seventh strike of the season.
Fellow freshman Hannah Pridemore netted the second Liberty goal with 25:28 to play in the first half. Pridemore's goal was set up by McCaffrey's first assist of the season.
Back-to-back Gardner-Webb goals tied the contest at two apiece with 22:51 remaining in the opening frame.
McCaffrey placed the Lady Flames back on top with 22:37 left to play in the first half. After Katy Pridemore won the draw control, the sophomore flicked the ball ahead to McCaffrey. The Florida native corralled the ball and raced to the net, ripping the go-ahead goal into the back of the frame.
Liberty's 3-2 lead was briefly lived when the Runnin' Bulldogs netted the equalizer with 20:13 remaining in the first half.
The Lady Flames took control of the game over the next 14 minutes, outscoring Gardner-Webb 5-0 to take a commanding 8-3 lead. The Liberty run was sprung by McCaffrey's third goal of the contest with 17:55 left to play in the opening half.
Two of the next Lady Flames' goals were notched by redshirt-senior captain Callie Francis, her 18th and 19th of the season. The final two goals during the five-goal run were netted by Kayla Foster and the team goal leader Kallie Britton.
The Runnin' Bulldogs netted the final goal of the opening half to cut the deficit to 8-4 with 3:32 remaining before intermission.
Liberty extended its lead to six after netting the first two goals of the second half. The first Liberty tally of the new half was provided by Kelly Belue, her second on the year.
Michaela Rich jumped into the action for the Lady Flames, netting her first goal of the contest with 26:48 remaining in the second half.
Amanda Steinmuller recorded three unanswered goals for Gardner-Webb, cutting the six-goal deficit to just three with 17:49 left in the second frame.
The Lady Flames extended their lead back to six after three unanswered goals of their own over a span of three minutes. Francis, Hannah Pridemore and Rich were the trifecta that provided Liberty with its second six-goal lead of the half.
The Runnin' Bulldogs cut the Liberty lead back down to four with 10:08 remaining in the second half, but would not trim the gap any lower.
With 9:29 left to play in regulation, Rich completed the hat trick to extend the Liberty lead back to five. Rich's goal was set up by Foster, her 19th assist on the campaign. With 6:55 left in regulation, Rich added one more goal to her final tally. Rich's goal was assisted by Kallie Britton, placing the Lady Flames ahead by six.
After Steinmuller notched her game-high sixth goal to cut the deficit down to five, Liberty's Alyssa Kidder netted her second goal of the year to solidify the final score at 16-10 in favor of the Lady Flames.
Liberty had four different players tally four points apiece, leading the offensive efforts for the Lady Flames.
Liberty outshot the Runnin' Bulldogs by the final tally of 38-26. The Lady Flames also won both the ground ball (22-19) and draw control (16-12) battles.
Aubrie Tarris competed in goal for Liberty in the first half, yielding four goals on 12 shots. Tarris accounted for four saves and earned her first collegiate victory.
Katherine Widrick finished in goal for Liberty, allowing six goals on 14 shots faced. The New York native also notched eight saves in the victory.
The Lady Flames will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Radford, Va., to take on the Highlanders at 4 p.m.
