DII Lady Flames ousted by defending champion Villanova in DVCHC tournament final

Saturday, March 1

Harrington, DE

2:45 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

Rowan University

Patricia Misiak Liberty DII women's hockey secondary

Lady Flames fresman forward Patricia Misiak skates past a Rowan player during their Oct. 19 matchup in the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photo by Ryan Anderson)

DII Lady Flames ousted by defending champion Villanova in DVCHC tournament final

3/5/2025 12:28:00 PM | Women's D2 Hockey

Liberty will regroup as it prepares to compete in the ACHA Division II women's hockey National Championships from March 21-25 near St. Louis.

In its first game in four weeks due to snow, Liberty University's No. 1-seeded ACHA Division II women's hockey team knocked off the rust to beat No. 4 Rowan (N.J.) University for the fourth time this season, 2-1, in Saturday's semifinal round of the DVCHC tournament before falling to defending tournament champion Villanova (Pa.) University, 3-2, in Sunday's championship game on the Centre Ice Rink at the Delaware State Fair in Harrington, Del.

The Lady Flames (26-3) outshot the Profs (12-10-1) by a 25-19 margin in the semifinal matchup, when all three goals were scored in the second period, with Liberty's two unassisted scores coming in the span of just over a minute. Senior defenseman Kate Walhof netted the first goal at the 12:13 mark before Madison Natter added the game-winner solo with 11:10 left in the period. Just over two and a half minutes later, Rowan cut the deficit in half on a goal by Maria Cantino.

Graduate goalie Kylie Mebs started between the pipes for the Lady Flames and made 18 saves to secure the victory.

Against the Wildcats, Liberty was outshot 29-12 and was called for five penalties to just one for Villanova (18-7-1). Walhof scored the game's first goal at the 14:26 mark of the second period before Villanova's Camryn Brown — who netted the equalizer with 11:31 left in the second period — tallied the game-winner on a power play with 3:11 to go in the third. Lady Flames junior forward Reanna Cruz had tied it at 2 with 9:19 remaining in regulation off freshman forward Calissa Klein's second assist of the contest.

Sophomore goalie Abby Hodsden made 26 saves for Liberty, which was outshot 11-3 in the third period. The Lady Flames, ranked No. 1 out of the Southeast Region, will be the last of Liberty's four teams at the ACHA DII National Championships in the Centene Community Ice Center near St. Louis to begin competition from March 21-25. Last season, seeded fourth in its pool, Liberty finished 2-1 for its first two wins in program history at nationals, narrowly missing advancing to the Final Four.