Lady Flames pick up where they left off last season, overcoming Pride

Saturday, September 6

Lynchburg, VA

1:30 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

Washington Pride

Lady Flames pick up where they left off last season, overcoming Pride

9/6/2025 7:01:00 PM | Women's D1 Hockey

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In its exhibition opener against the U19 travel program from outside Washington, D.C., Liberty opened a 2-0 lead after the first period en route to a 3-1 home triumph.

Showcasing its tremendous speed and stick skills that helped it win a record seventh national title last March in St. Louis, Liberty University's ACHA Division I women's hockey team opened its 2025-26 season with a 3-1 victory over the Washington Pride on Saturday afternoon at the LaHaye Ice Center.

"What we really did a great job with was our breakouts," Lady Flames Assistant Coach Frank Keating said. "We had a lot of clean breaks, so those really worked well today. We've still got a little bit of work to do on our odd-man rushes, two-on-ones and three-on-ones, but it's the first game of the year, with only a couple weeks on the ice, and I thought they did well for the first game."

Head Coach Chris Lowes and Assistant Coach Mike Morrison experimented with some of the line combinations as they look to find the right fits for the depth of talent the Lady Flames feature at the forward positions.

"We're still playing with the chemistry," Keating said. "We've got some new players that we're trying to incorporate, so even the lines we thought we were going to start this game with we mixed up. It was a good first effort. We've got a few weeks to get better and better. We hit the ground running, (but) our execution can be a bit smoother."

He said Liberty leaned on its veterans and got valuable contributions from three of its four new additions, all but graduate defenseman Allison Shaw, a transfer from Adrian College who was unavailable.

"The captains led the way today, they really did," Keating said. "(Graduate forward) Brielle Fussy had a great game, as did Zosia Adamek. (Senior goalie) Alex (Keith) played great in the net. She had to make a lot of good stops."

Izzy Pettum Shond, a graduate transfer from Indiana Tech, rotated in with Fussy and Adamek on the Lady Flames' top line, but it was another newcomer who netted Liberty's first goal of the season with 5:01 remaining in the first period when freshman forward Chloe Moses finished feeds from junior defenseman Sophia Adamek and junior forward Ellie Sarauer.

"It was great to see her get on the board," Keating said. "(Moses) drove into the offensive zone, passed it over (to Sarauer for) a shot, and she … put it in the net. The goalie made a great save, and she was able to pick up rebound and drive it home."

The Lady Flames added an unassisted goal with 1:06 left in the period to open a 2-0 advantage when sophomore defenseman Jules Lefaive launched a laser from near the blue line that whizzed past Washington goalie Madison Maloney.

"There was a scramble in front of the net, and the puck squirted out to the point," Keating said. "Jules got a great shot off, and their goalie never saw it. That gave us good momentum."

After a scoreless second period, Liberty extended its lead to 3-0 with 11:53 to play on a phenomenal shot by senior forward Brookelyn Beauchamp on a man advantage.

"She picked the puck up in the offensive zone, made a couple of quick moves, saw that there was a big scramble in front of the net, and she just ripped one right into it, nothing but net," Keating said. "It was just a beautiful shot. I don't need to think the goalie saw it because of all the clustering in front of her."

However, the Pride answered with a power-play goal of its own just over two minutes later when defenseman Addie Vederman capitalized on a power play by sneaking a shot past Keith (25 saves) with 9:22 remaining in regulation, spoiling the potential shutout.

"Washington played a great game," Keating said. "I tip my hat to them. They came out ready to play, and I think we're going to see that every time we step onto the ice this year."

With Shaw out, the Lady Flames dropped a couple of their forwards, Beauchamp and sophomore Brooklyn Voortman, back into the defensive zone.

"They each played a period and a half on defense to try to see if we can bolster some of our back line," Keating said. "We're just trying out who's going to be the best one to fill in as needed."

The Lady Flames will be off the next two weekends before welcoming Purcell Academy (British Columbia) for three games from Sept. 26-28 in the LIC, when Keith will likely platoon between the pipes with sophomore Brooklyn Adams and freshman Emma McDonald, who will each get a start.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer