Liberty University Club Sports
West Virginia University
DII Lady Flames miss DVCHC playoffs, sign three recruits for 2022-23 season
2/24/2022 6:27:47 PM | Women's D2 Hockey
Liberty University’s ACHA Division II women’s hockey team may have ended its 2021-22 season on winning notes, with a 3-1 and 9-2 sweep of West Virginia on Feb. 12-13 in Morgantown, W.Va. That series snapped a three-game losing skid after finishing the fall semester on a five-game winning streak with a home sweep of the Mountaineers.
The Lady Flames (7-10-1) didn’t play enough games to qualify for the DVCHC Tournament, held last weekend in Delaware, after being ousted by Pennsylvania for the sixth position by one point. Liberty will also likely miss the 16-team ACHA DII National Championships cut as it dropped from fifth to eighth in the Southeast Region rankings with only the top four from each of the four regions or conference tournament champions advancing.
On brighter notes, Head Coach Rena Leone recently received commitments from three recruits for the 2022-2023 season — defenseman Kate Walhof, forward Maris Pais, and goalie Abby Hodsden.
Walhof, from Orange City, Iowa, currently plays for the Sioux Center Storm’s girls varsity team while attending Unity Christian High School. She chose Liberty for its faith-based education and for the opportunity to continue her hockey career while pursuing a degree in criminal justice.
Pais, from Pocono Pines, Pa., plays travel hockey with the Leigh Valley Phantoms and high school hockey and soccer for Hoosac School, where she was a soccer team captain and named the hockey team’s most improved player in 2019. She plans to major in psychology.
Hodsden, from Bridport, Vt., currently plays for the Vermont Shamrocks while being homeschooled through Seton Home Study School. She previously played for Middlebury High School’s girls varsity hockey team, where she was a team captain and won the IronWoman Award.
“I chose Liberty because of its focus on Christ in everything it offers,” said Hodsden, who plans to study exercise science. “Liberty will help me not only grow in knowledge, but also in my faith.”
