Liberty University
(0-3)
No. 2 Syracuse
(3-0)
No. 2 Syracuse Tops No. 13 Liberty, 3-2, in Overtime
9/3/2016 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
The No. 13-ranked Liberty field hockey team led defending national champion and No. 2-ranked Syracuse, 2-1, after a goal by Serena Barr at 57:22. However, the Orange was able to find the equalizer with less than three minutes remaining to force overtime.
Lies Lagerweij scored to tie the match at 2-2 and then converted on a penalty corner in the 73rd minute to give the Orange a 3-2 overtime win over the Lady Flames at the Hofstra Field Hockey Stadium, Saturday afternoon.
Liberty (0-3) trailed, 1-0, at intermission after being outshot 6-0 in the first half. The Lady Flames got on the board less than two minutes into the second stanza. Freshman midfielder Agueda Moroni hit a backhanded shot as she drifted towards the baseline. The attempt deflected off Syracuse defender Claire Webb and past goalkeeper Regan Spencer. Moroni's first collegiate goal drew Liberty even at 1-1 in the 37th minute.
Liberty goalkeeper Allison Schaefer and her defense fended off Syracuse pressure for much of the second half. After Moroni's goal, Schaefer made five saves in a 15-minute span to keep the score tied.
The Lady Flames applied pressure to the Syracuse defense and drew three penalty corners in just over a two-minute span. On the first attempt, Serena Barr's shot was saved by Spencer. On the second try, Spencer turned aside both attempts from Bethany Barr.
Moroni then inserted the third attempt to Bethany Barr, who set her sister Serena and peeled off to the right side of the circle. Serena found Bethany on the right side, and Bethany returned a pass to Serena, who dribbled, spun right, and fired a strike inside the left post to give Liberty a 2-1 lead during the 58th minute. The goal was Serena's first goal of the year.
The Lady Flames nearly took a 3-1 lead in the 67th minute as forward Kendra Jones slipped past the defense and ripped a shot at Spencer. Spencer saved the first and turned aside the rebound shot attempt by Jones to keep the Orange within one.
Just over a minute later, Roos Weers sent a ball into the arc from the top that was collected by Lagerweij. The Delft, Netherlands native pivoted and struck the ball past Schaefer for her third goal of the season at 67:32.
Lagerweij's game-winner, her fourth goal of the season, came from just inside the circle on am insert from Liz Sack. The shot beat Schaefer low left.
Syracuse scored the game's first goal in the 23rd minute. Defender Annalena Ulbrich entered the right side of the circle and slipped the ball through a Liberty defender to Laura Hurff. Hurff took a few dribbles and fired a low blast into the right side of the goal cage for her first goal of the season.
Syracuse outshot Liberty, 22-8, on the afternoon and held a 14-8 edge in shots on goal. The Orange drew 10 penalty corners compared to three for Liberty.
Schaefer made 10 saves on the afternoon for her second double-digit save total of the season. Spencer made five stops and was credited with the win.
"I am so incredibly proud of the way this team competed today. The girls executed our game plan so well," said head coach Jodi Murphy. "Despite coming up short in the end, I thought everyone took a tremendous step forward against the defending national champion and arguably the best team in the country. Across the board, the team really began to gel today, and everyone showed what they are capable of as individual players and the team collectively."
A Look Ahead
The Lady Flames' next match is at Virginia on Sept. 12 followed by their BIG EAST opener at Villanova on Sept. 16 to conclude a five-game road trip. The team will open its six-game 2016 home schedule against non-conference foe Longwood on Sept. 20 at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.
Team Stats
Laura Hurff (1)
Assisted By: Annalena Ulbrich
19 slipped the ball through the def. to
22:04
MORONI, Agueda (1)
17 backhanded strike that deflected off
36:32
BARR, Serena (1)
Assisted By: BARR, Bethany
9 took a pass in the arc from 12, spun a
57:22
Lies Lagerweij (3)
Assisted By: Roos Weers
16 sent it into the arc from the top, 21
67:32
Lies Lagerweij (4)
Assisted By: Liz Sack
24 sent a pk corner to 21, who beat the
72:37
