Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Lady Flames eager to open season at home against Washington
9/20/2021 4:53:45 PM | Women's D1 Hockey
As it gears up for a potentially historic season with records for both consecutive (four) and most overall (five) national titles within reach, Liberty University’s ACHA Division I women’s hockey team will debut a new-look lineup when it hosts the Washington Pride (Md.) U19 travel team for exhibition games Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m. at the LaHaye Ice Center.
Two-thirds of this year’s team — 16 out of 24 players — are either freshmen or sophomores.
Liberty padded its roster with seven freshmen recruits and one sophomore transfer — including four forwards and four defensemen — making it deeper on defense and even more dangerous on attack.
“We have a really big freshman class coming in, which is always very exciting,” graduate defenseman Sally Hoerr said. “It is great to see all of the returners as well … and the vibe and energy getting higher and higher as we got closer to the start of the season.”
The Lady Flames held an intra-squad scrimmage on Friday afternoon, giving the coaching staff a chance to see them in live action. This weekend’s series will be their first glimpse against outside competition.
“It will be a chance to put on the game jerseys for the first time, which is a special thing, and a kickoff to our campaign,” said Head Coach Chris Lowes, who earned ACHA DI Coach of the Year honors for the first time last spring. “The girls will be ready to go, with a ton of energy and anxious excitement to get going as we continue that molding process.”
The Lady Flames graduated forwards Val Manchak, Alex Smibert, and Danica Polson and defensemen Sydney Pierce and Kristie Serefin from last season’s team that three-peated as national champions.
“We lost some important pieces last year, people who have been cornerstones of our programs for a long time,” Lowes said. “We brought in eight players and we expect them to contribute right away. We have the ability to be a little more explosive offensively, including the defensemen, who will also be able to contribute offensively.”
“Up front, we have four of our top six scorers back, (so) we are building on what was already a really talented group,” he added. “We are definitely young, and there will be some learning curves with this group as we come together and learn the systems and get everyone on board. But we’re fast and talented, and we would give last year’s team a run for its money.”
The Lady Flames have both of their goalies back from last season, sophomores Kylie Mebs and Amanda Storey. Dana McLeod, the reigning ACHA DI Player of the Year, returns to anchor the defense along with fellow graduate defenseman Sally Hoerr and senior Aislyn Stretch.
Offensively, junior forward Yannick Truter, who was named the ACHA DI National Championship MVP, returns to lead the front lines along with graduates Vanessa DeMerchant, Shelby Bradford, Alexis Lauber, and Shannon Fehr — the Lady Flames’ head captain last season who is a first-year student in the Liberty’s College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Sophomore Brityn Fussy, who is coming off a sensational rookie season, is also back, joined by her younger sister Brielle.
Lowes noted that three of the six fastest players on this year’s team are freshmen, and they benefited along with the returners from a three-day power skating clinic the week of tryouts late last month.
“Everyone that was there took something from it,” he said. “The best players in the world always are working on (skating), and there’s so much to it — from the technical, including edge work, to explosiveness. As a staff, we are building on what they did, taking it slow and correcting bad habits to allow the girls to realize their full skating potential.”
That will help give the Lady Flames a competitive edge when they reach the postseason and seek to three-peat as Women’s Midwest Collegiate Hockey (WMCH) tournament champions before contending for their fourth straight ACHA DI National Championship and fifth in eight seasons.
The Lady Flames will open their regular season Oct. 2-3 at home in a championship rematch with Lindenwood University, which Liberty tied for the most national titles and most in a row last April.
The Lady Lions, who dealt Liberty its only three losses over the past three seasons, opened their 2021-22 season by splitting a series with Miami (Ohio) University, winners of three national titles in four seasons from 2014-17.
“That is a good sign that Miami is going to be strong again,” Lowes said.
The Lady Flames will travel to face the RedHawks on Nov. 5 on the way to a two-game series at Adrian (Mich.) College, which they defeated in the 2018 final before beating Lindenwood-Belleville for the 2019 title.
“There is more uncertainty this year than any I’ve ever been a part of,” Lowes added, due to COVID-19 shutting many teams down last season. “There will be more young teams that are going to push into that upper echelon, like Michigan State and teams out West like Colorado and Arizona State (which Liberty hosts Nov. 19-20). We have seen girls that other teams are signing, and know there is more talent coming into the league, which is exciting.”
“We’re a new group,” he added. “We’re unproven. We haven’t done anything this year. We’ve got to be prepared to try to start the season 1-0 and try to stay in the present. We’ve got to go out and earn it every game like we did last year.”
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media
