DII Lady Flames go 1-2 in pool play at third national tournament in program history

Friday, March 21

Centene Community Ice Center l St. Louis, MO

1:45 PM EST

Liberty University Club Sports

Mercyhurst University

Liberty freshman forward Abby Rogers skates against Villanova in a 3-2 setback in the second round of pool play near St. Louis, a repeat of the DVCHC final in Delaware.

DII Lady Flames go 1-2 in pool play at third national tournament in program history

3/26/2025 9:21:00 PM | Women's D2 Hockey

Liberty won the first game in the series over Mercyhurst before being eliminated by back-to-back losses to Villanova and Wisconsin.

Liberty University's ACHA Division II women's hockey team completed its most successful season in program history with a third trip to the National Championships this past Friday through Sunday near St. Louis. The Lady Flames (27-5), who finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the Southeast Region, earned their third victory in tournament history before finishing 1-2 and missing an opportunity to advance to the Final Four.

In Friday afternoon's opener, played less than an hour after the start of Liberty's DI women's championship final, Liberty overcame a 3-1 deficit midway through the first period by netting six unanswered goals for a 7-3 victory over Mercyhurst (Pa.) University in the first round of pool play at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo.

ACHA Nationals logo

Playing in her first national tournament game, against the No. 5-ranked team in the Southeast Region, Lady Flames freshman forward Calissa Klein netted a hat trick, scoring the first tying goal in the first period off an assist from junior forward Guin Donovan.

Klein pulled Liberty back within 3-2 on her second goal, unassisted, before freshman forward Abigail Rogers netted the second equalizer off an assist from junior defenseman Emma Wallace with 4:25 left in the first period. Then in the second, Klein completed her hat trick with the game winner off an assist from Rogers at the 12:13 mark.

Senior forward Bel Gracia stretched the lead to 5-3 off feeds from sophomore linemate Cora Williams and graduate forward Hunter DiGrazia before Liberty added two more goals in the third when Donovan finished assists from Rogers and junior forward Izzy Crossman and freshman forward Patricia Misiak scored unassisted.

Liberty outshot Mercyhurst, 44-21, and graduate goalie Kylie Mebs made 18 saves to earn the victory.

Liberty DII women's hockey goal celebration

Liberty DII women's hockey goal celebration

However, the Lady Flames dropped their next two games to Villanova, 3-2 on Saturday, in a rematch of their March 2 DVCHC tournament final in Harrington, Del., and Wisconsin — which also defeated Mercyhurst and Villanova to reach the semifinals — 4-1 on Sunday.

Williams netted the game's first goal against the Wildcats off an assist from Misiak midway through the first period before Villanova tied it midway through the second and Gracia put the Lady Flames back on top, 2-1, with a power-play goal assisted by junior forward Reanna Cruz. But the Wildcats responded with a power-play equalizer just over a minute later and Camryn Browne added the game winner just over a minute into the third.

Liberty outshot Villanova, the No. 3-ranked team in the Southeast Region, 27-25 and sophomore goalie Abby Manzewitsch made 22 saves in the setback. She started Sunday's game against Wisconsin but didn't face a shot before being replaced by junior goalie Abigail Hodsden with 14:19 left in the first period, when Klein lifted the Lady Flames to a 1-0 lead with her fourth goal of the tournament, assisted by Williams. But the Badgers responded with four unanswered goals over the next 51 minutes — including the equalizer and game winner by Katherine Buckley in the final five minutes of the second period — to seize control.