Liberty field hockey had a dream season. The Flames advanced to the school’s first ever Final Four at the Division I level, not just in field hockey but in any sport. The fairy tale ending would not come to fruition as Liberty fell, 2-0, on Sunday afternoon to Northwestern.
“Obviously we lost so that was not the best thing ever in terms of the result, but I am so proud of the group’s effort,” said Liberty head coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker. “We had a lot of good chances early, but unfortunately we didn’t put one away. You’ve got to take your hat off and give credit where credit is due, they were totally outstanding defensively, Northwestern that is.”
The match was scoreless at halftime, but the Wildcats would score two goals in the third quarter to seize control and never look back as Northwestern claimed the program’s first ever national championship. Liberty, the highest scoring team in the country, was shutout for the first time since Oct. 28, 2019 in a 1-0 loss at Virginia.
It will be a season to remember for the Lady Flames though. Liberty finished the year at 20-3 overall and 10-3 against top 25 opponents winning nine straight matches against ranked foes before Sunday’s loss in the national championship. The Flames had won 17 straight overall, the longest win streak in the country, prior to the loss to Northwestern.
Liberty’s wins this season included regular season triumphs over nationally-ranked Stanford, Duke, North Carolina, Kent State, Old Dominion, and Temple. The win over the Tar Heels was the program’s first ever win over UNC, the three-time defending national champion. It was North Carolina’s first ever loss at home since 2014, a streak of 62 straight wins and the first ever defeat at Karen Shelton Stadium which opened in 2018.
The Flames defeated UConn in a 1-0 shutout win in the 2021 Big East Field Hockey Championship title game to end UConn’s reign of nine straight Big East Championships. It secured the first Big East title in program history for the Flames as Liberty advanced to the NCAA Field Hockey Championship for the first time since 2014 and just the third time in school history.
Getting to the NCAA Tournament wasn’t enough for this team. The Lady Flames shut out A10 champions No. 11 Saint Joseph’s, 2-0, in the Sweet 16, the second ever NCAA Tournament win in program history. One week ago, against No. 1 and host Rutgers, Liberty picked up its first ever win against the top ranked team in the country after falling in its first six opportunities.
Advancing to the Final Four, Liberty faced Maryland, a storied program with 20 Final Four appearances and eight national championships in program history. It took double overtime, but the Liberty Flames field hockey team outlasted the Maryland Terrapins to advance to Sunday’s National Championship game. No. 9 Liberty defeated No. 5 Maryland, 3-2, in double overtime thanks to a goal by Charlotte Vaanhold with 1:27 left before the match would have gone to a shootout.
“It’s such a special group,” Parsley-Blocker said of the team and group of seniors. “I think of Jill Bolton and Kenny (Jones), all those girls, they are the people that built this house. They are the girls that helped build this culture and lay a foundation and ultimately got us to this point. I don’t think it’s sunk in how much we did do. I know we didn’t win the national championship, but to even make it here is incredible. Certainly we want to win, we don’t want to just get here, but you have to get here sometimes before you win it. I hope, Lord-willing, we’re back, but I’m always going to remember it as the first time we were here with a really special group of student-athletes.”
*photo courtesy Liberty Athletics
