DII Lady Flames rout Wildcats to clinch No. 1 seed going into DVCHC Playoffs

Saturday, February 14

Lynchburg, VA

8:30 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

Villanova University

Cora Williams Liberty DII women's hockey

Lady Flames junior alternate captain Cora Williams moved into second place among ACHA Division II scoring leaders with eight points in two games against Villanova. (Photo by Travis Clayton)

DII Lady Flames rout Wildcats to clinch No. 1 seed going into DVCHC Playoffs

2/17/2026 6:12:00 PM | Women's D2 Hockey

Liberty benefited from five goals and three assists from sophomore forward Cora Williams, who moved into second place among ACHA DII scoring leaders.

Liberty University's ACHA Division II women's hockey team wrapped up a wildly successful 19-2 regular season with an 8-1 and 7-2 sweep of DVCHC rival Villanova on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, Senior Day at the LaHaye Ice Center.

The Lady Flames shut out the Wildcats (10-6-1) twice before losing their last three matchups with Villanova last season by one goal — 2-1 in a series split in Lynchburg, Va., and by 3-2 scores on neutral ice at Delaware in the DVCHC final and near St. Louis in ACHA DII National Championships pool play. After the Wildcats canceled their Jan. 30-Feb. 1 home series against Liberty and Pennsylvania in Philadelphia due to snow, the Lady Flames dominated their DVCHC rivals.

Junior forward and alternate captain Cora Williams, who moved into second place among ACHA DII women's scorers over the weekend, netted a natural hat trick and assisted the Lady Flames' first and final goals in Saturday's opener before adding two goals and one assist in Sunday's rematch to bring her season totals to 36 goals and 10 assists.

In the first game, starting with a power-play score, Williams scored the Lady Flames' fifth, sixth, and seventh goals back-to-back-to-back in a span of three minutes late in the second period to extend Liberty's lead to 7-0.

Freshman defenseman M.J. Petisce, sophomore forward Calissa Klein, freshman forward Pimsiri Wilhelmy, graduate defenseman Kate Walhof, and senior forward Guin Donovan each added single scores. The Lady Flames outshot the Wildcats 48-17, and graduate goalie Kylie Mebs (5-0) made 16 saves before yielding the shutout with eight seconds remaining in regulation.

Arianna Pastoor scored first for Liberty in the rematch, off the 10th assists on the season from both freshman forward Emma Bardwell and Williams. Wilhelmy doubled the lead a minute and a half later before Williams scored unassisted at the 15:35 mark of the second period, and sophomore forward Patricia Misiak scored 10 minutes later for a 4-0 advantage.

Back-to-back goals by Villanova late in the second period and early in the third cut the deficit in half and ended senior goalie Abby Hodsden's shutout bid before the Lady Flames responded with three unanswered goals in the final 16:30. Walhof sparked the counterattack with a power-play goal off assists from Bardwell and sophomore forward Abby Rogers before goals by Williams and Donovan down the stretch secured the sweep.

Liberty only outshot the Wildcats by a 40-34 margin, and Hodsden made 32 saves to improve to 6-1 on the season.

Donovan and fellow defenseman Emma Wallace, Hodsden and fellow goalie Abby Manzewitsch, and forward Brylie Beddell were honored in pre-game Senior Day festivities.

On the weekend of Feb. 27-March 1, the Lady Flames will travel to Aston, Pa., to compete in the DVCHC Playoffs. Seeded first, Liberty will face the lowest-seeded winner of the two quarterfinal contests on Feb. 27 in the semifinals at 2:15 p.m. on Feb. 28.