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
For the first time since 2012, Liberty swept the men’s and women’s cross country conference titles this past Saturday in Oxford, Alabama. The Lady Flames enjoyed the largest margin of victory (66 points) in CUSA Cross Country Championship history while the men’s squad pulled out their first conference championship in 11 years.
Led by the duo of Adelyn Fairley (second place) and Allie Zealand (third), Liberty put seven runners inside the top 14 of the women’s 6K finishers. As a result, the Lady Flames notched a dominating victory over defending champion Middle Tennessee and marked Liberty’s first conference crown since 2021 in the ASUN.
The men’s squad halted a run of 10 consecutive runner-up finishes that spanned three conferences, claiming its first tile since the 2013 Big South Championship. Paced by Tristian Merchant (third place), six Flames crossed the line within the top 20 finishers as Liberty edged defending champion Middle Tennessee.
The NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships will be next up for the Flames. The meet, which will determine the team and individual qualifiers to the 2024 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, is set for Nov. 15 at Winthrop Farm in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
FIELD HOCKEY (10-7, 4-3 Big East)
Liberty secured its spot in the Big East Championship for a ninth straight season with a 6-0 win over Georgetown in its regular season finale on Friday afternoon at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.
The Lady Flames are the No. 4 seed for the tournament and will face top seed and regular season champ UConn in the semifinals on Friday at 1 p.m. at Providence’s Lennon Family Field.
WOMEN’S SOCCER (14-1-4, 6-1-2 CUSA)
The Lady Flames became co-regular season champs in CUSA and earned a first round bye in the CUSA Women’s Soccer Championship with a 4-0 win over Kennesaw State at home on Friday night. Halle Engle scored the game opening goal in the third minute, propelling Liberty to the win.
Liberty will be the second seed for the second consecutive season. The Flames will advance to the semifinal round that begins on Nov. 6 in Miami. The Lady Flames will play on Friday. Liberty will face three-seed New Mexico State after they defeated six-seed Jax State, 4-1, on Wednesday.
MEN’S SOCCER (7-6-3, 5-3-2 OVC)
Concluding regular season play with two contests at Osborne Stadium, Liberty played to a scoreless tie against Houston Christian on Thursday night and then tied Incarnate Word at 2 on Sunday afternoon.
Liberty finishes the regular season in fourth place in the OVC standings. As the 4 seed, the Flames will face 5 seed Incarnate Word in the quarterfinals on Sunday at 5 p.m. in Edwardsville, Illinois.
VOLLEYBALL (13-13, 7-7 CUSA)
The Lady Flames returned home over the weekend where they defeated Sam Houston in four sets on both Friday night and Saturday afternoon to even the team’s overall and conference record entering the final two weeks of the regular season.
Liberty will conclude its home schedule this weekend against UTEP. The Flames and Miners square off on Friday at 6 p.m. and again on Saturday at noon.
