Liberty’s fall sports are officially underway all over campus, and we will provide weekly updates on all of the teams throughout the semester.
CROSS COUNTRY
Making his first NCAA Division I Cross Country Championship appearance on Saturday, Liberty’s Nicholas Kiprotich placed 113th to finish in the top half of the field. He traversed the 10K course at Panorama Farms in 30:40.1, finishing about two minutes behind individual champion Graham Blanks of Harvard. Kiprotich came in third among the five CUSA participants in the race which featured 236 total finishers.
FIELD HOCKEY (17-3, 7-0 Big East)
Syracuse scored the equalizer with 2:21 to play in regulation, and would score the game winner in the 63rd minute to lift the Orange past No. 7 Liberty by a score of 2-1 in the Sweet 16 of the 2023 NCAA Field Hockey Championship. Liberty sees its season end with a 17-3 record following the loss.
WOMEN’S SOCCER (16-3-1, 5-2-1 CUSA)
The Liberty women’s soccer program saw its season come to an end with a 2-1 loss to host and No. 4 seed Georgia in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Womens’ Soccer Championship.
Liberty, Conference USA champions, were facing off against the SEC Champion Georgia Bulldogs in the program’s eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
The Lady Flames enjoyed a historic season that saw Liberty earn an 11-0 record to begin the season, own a 24-match unbeaten streak dating back to 2022, match the program’s single season win record, and secure its eighth conference championship in program history.
MEN’S SOCCER (9-6-3, 4-4-2 OVC)
No. 3 seed Liberty lost to No. 6 seed Eastern Illinois in the Ohio Valley Men’s Soccer Quarterfinals on penalty kicks, 3-1. Despite outshooting Eastern Illinois, 26-8, during regulation and two 10-minute over time periods, Liberty was never able to score. Liberty’s season comes to an end at 9-6-3.
VOLLEYBALL (15-14, 8-8 CUSA)
Despite being the host, the Lady Flames were knocked out of the CUSA Volleyball Championship in the Quarterfinals, falling to UTEP in four sets. The fourth-seeded UTEP won the final two sets of the match to earn the victory over teh host and No. 5 seed Liberty on Friday at Liberty Arena.
