Home Field Hockey: No. 23 Liberty dominates No. 17 James Madison 6-1
Sports

Field Hockey: No. 23 Liberty dominates No. 17 James Madison 6-1

Contributors

liberty basketballNo. 23 Liberty turned in its most dominating season opener in program history, upending No. 17 James Madison 6-1 on Friday evening at the JMU Field Hockey Complex.

Lady Flames senior Agueda Moroni tallied three goals in the contest, while junior Mallory Fortenbaugh and freshmen Alivia Klopp and Kemy Meidane added goals in the winning effort. Liberty moves to 1-0 on the season, while JMU falls to 0-1.

Scoring Summary

4’ – LIBERTY – Kemy Meidane (Agueda Moroni)

9’ – LIBERTY – Agueda Moroni (Alivia Klopp)

28’ – LIBERTY – Mallory Fortenbaugh (Agueda Moroni)

37’ – LIBERTY – Agueda Moroni (Kendra Jones, Mallory Fortenbaugh)

51’ – LIBERTY – Alivia Klopp (unassisted)

68’ – LIBERTY – Agueda Moroni (unassisted)

70’ – JAMES MADISON – Lindsay Gippe (Cassie Hunter, Ashley Gippe)

Goalkeepers

W: Allison Schaffer 1-0, four saves
L: Caitlin Nelson 0-1, five saves

Turning Point

The Lady Flames controlled the contest from the opening whistle, drawing two penalty corners in the first four minutes of the game. Meidane scored the first goal of her career in the fourth minute, redirecting a Moroni offering into the cage. In the ninth minute, Moroni scored her first goal of the year on a fast break opportunity, assisted by Alivia Klopp.

Key Stats & Notes

  • The Lady Flames led 3-0 at intermission and held an 11-4 edge in shots in the first stanza. Mallory Fortenbaugh, Liberty’s inserter on its fourth short corner of the match, scored on a feed from Moroni at 27:08 to make it 3-0 Lady Flames.
  • Friday’s win by five goals marked the largest margin of victory in a season opener in program history. The previous best was a 4-0 Liberty triumph over Saint Joseph’s in the season opener on Aug. 30, 2013.
  • Moroni scored three goals in a game for the third time in her career and is now the only Lady Flame in program history to score three goals on three occasions during her career. The Argentina native, a second team All-American in 2017, now has 32 career goals (fourth in program history) in just 38 career games.
  • Liberty outshot JMU 19-10, led by 10 shots (seven on goal) from Moroni.
  • James Madison finished with a 7-6 edge in short corners over Liberty.
  • The Lady Flames held the Dukes scoreless for all but the final seconds of the game. The Dukes’ Lindsay Gippe scored on a short corner at the 69:26 mark.
  • In total, 21 different Lady Flames saw action on Friday evening and seven different players recorded shots.
  • Liberty’s victory was its first over a ranked opponent since a 2-1 win at No. 20 American on Oct. 6, 2016.
  • The Lady Flames are now 4-4 all-time in season openers, including a 2-2 mark against James Madison.

Up Next

Next up for the Liberty field hockey team is a matchup against No. 3 Duke on Sunday afternoon. Game time is slated for 1 p.m. at Jack Katz Stadium in Durham, N.C. The Blue Devils opened their season with a 3-0 victory versus No. 22 William & Mary on Friday.

Contributors

Contributors

Have a guest column, letter to the editor, story idea or a news tip? Email editor Chris Graham at [email protected]. Subscribe to AFP podcasts on Apple PodcastsSpotifyPandora and YouTube.