Right wing Presley Ellis works a fast break with fellow junior forward Hayley Lee in a game last season. (Photos by Simon Barbre)
Lady Flames score six unanswered goals to finish sweep UMass on road
10/10/2026 12:01:00 AM | Women's D1 Hockey
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For the second night in a row, Liberty had to overcome an early 1-0 deficit, and it responded in a big way sparked by Sienna McClinchey’s hat trick.
Senior forward Sienna McClinchey netted the first hat trick of her career to help lift Liberty University's ACHA Division I women's hockey team to a 6-1 triumph over the University of Massachusetts at Amherst that completed a series sweep, Friday night at the historic Mullins Center in Boston.
For the second night in a row, the Minutewomen (2-5) scored first on a goal by Ava Krouson directly off a faceoff won by Eleni Spack with 8:44 to play in the first period.
"I didn't love our start," Lady Flames Head Coach Chris Lowes said. "It's never a bad thing to face a little adversity and get down. I liked our response to it."
Just 2:12 later, graduate center and alternate captain Tristan Craig netted the equalizer for Liberty with the first of her two goals on the night, finishing a feed from junior forward Hayley Lee.
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Senior forward Sienna McClinchey scored her first hat trick against UMass at Amherst.
McClinchey netted the game winner with her first goal, a redirection of junior defenseman Jules Lefaive's shot from the point with 59 seconds left in the first period.
Liberty (4-0) had three different scorers in the second period, starting with junior forward Presley Ellis' insurance goal off an assist from Lee with 5:16 to play. Craig and McClinchey followed with their second goals of the game over the final three minutes of the second. Craig's came off assists from Lee and graduate forward and alternate captain Brookelyn Beauchamp and McClinchey's was set up by senior forward Ellie Sarauer and senior defenseman and head captain Sophia Adamek.
"Craig's second score was a backbreaker, a shorthanded goal that put us up 4-1," Lowes said. "That was Craig doing her own thing, using her speed and finishing with a great shot on the breakaway."
Finally, in the third, McClinchey completed her hat trick off with a beauty of a shot off an assist from graduate forward Allison Greene, who had two goals and an assist in Thursday night's 4-1 series-opening win.
"McClinchey's last goal was her best one, on a nice shot from the slot," Lowes said. "Playing with Greene and Saraurer, that line was buzzing tonight, and Sienna made the most of her opportunities. She went to the net, went to the dirty areas, and got rewarded."
Liberty outshot the Minutewomen, 43-17, for the game and graduate goalie and alternate captain Alex Keith recorded 16 saves to secure the victory.
"At the start of the season, you expect to have some growth, and I'm happy with the Game 2 win, and a sweep against a good team on the road," Lowes said as the team traveled to Kingstown, R.I., for Saturday's 11 a.m. puck drop against the University of Rhode Island. "It's a quick turnaround, so that will be good for us. We'll get to hit the road early (afterward). We don't play a lot of three-game weekends on the year, but so far, so good. We need to go do our thing, play like we did tonight and keep building and growing with each game and we should be fine."
