Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Sunday, March 1
Aston, PA
12:15 PM
Liberty University Club Sports
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Navy
Liberty's ACHA Division II women's hockey team won its first DVCHC Tournament title by defeating Delaware 7-0 on Saturday and Navy 7-1 on Sunday at Ice Works in Aston, Pa. (Photo by Emely Gomez)
DII Lady Flames sink Midshipwomen, claim first DVCHC Tournament title
3/2/2026 8:18:00 AM | Women's D2 Hockey
Liberty, the No. 1-ranked team in the Southeast Region, improved to 21-2 by dominating Delaware, 7-0 in Saturday’s semifinals, and Navy, 7-1 in Sunday’s final.
For the first time since 2019, when it won the College Hockey East championship, Liberty University's ACHA Division II women's hockey team captured a postseason tournament, winning the Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference Championship with a 7-0 triumph over Delaware on Saturday and 7-1 victory over the Naval Academy, Sunday afternoon at the Ice Works in Aston, Pa.
Liberty (21-2), which advanced to last season's DVCHC before falling to defending champion Villanova, 3-2, extended its winning streak to eight games and strengthened its seeding for the March 15-19 ACHA Division II National Championships in Maryland Heights, Mo., by earning the tournament crown.
"I am beyond proud of how well the ladies competed this weekend," Lady Flames Head Coach Rena Leone said. "The energy in the locker room and the encouragement on the bench pushed this team to the next level. (Assistant) Coaches (Justin) Forth and (Holly) Carpenter continually pour into this group, helping every player reach her full potential. Our equipment manager, (junior) Micah Witt, brings unmatched energy that keeps the team fired up throughout the game. It truly was a full team effort."
Against the Blue Hens (13-7-2), ranked fourth in the Southeast Region, the Lady Flames took a 1-0 lead with 5:50 left in the first period on a goal by junior forward Cora Williams, the DVCHC Most Valuable Player who on Sunday moved in front of Sacred Heart's Nichole Partridge to become the leading scorer in the nation.
Liberty proceeded to break the game open with four goals in the second period, the first and last by freshman forward Emma Bardwell, the Lady Flames' player of the game. In between those two scores, senior Guinivere Donovan scored at the 15:43 mark, finishing feeds from freshmen forwards Sasha Haring and Sabrina Honeycutt to extend the lead to 3-0.
Graduate forward Shirley Whitmore netted a shorthanded goal with 12:07 to play in the period off another assist from Haring beforeHoneycutt added a second shorthanded score early in the third period. Sophomore forward Calissa Klein capped the scoring with the game's only power-play goal with 9:16 remaining in regulation off freshman forward Arianna Pastoor's second assist of the game, set up by sophomore forward Patricia Misiak.
Liberty outshot Delaware 38-25, and graduate goalie Kylie Mebs made 25 saves to record her third shutout of the season, lowering her goals-against average to 1.00 and raising her save percentage to 95.2.
Sunday's final was a showdown between the top two teams in the Southeast Region rankings, with the No. 1 Lady Flames dominating the No. 2 Midshipwomen in a rematch of their regular season-ending Senior Day showdown, a 4-3 triumph, on Feb. 15 at the LaHaye Ice Center.
Donovan started the scoring off an assist from Haring with 13:02 left in the first period before freshman forward Pimsiri Wilhelmy doubled the lead with a power-play goal set up by Misiak.
Lady Flames sophomore forward Abby Rogers added another score on the power play to extend the lead to 3-0 in the second period, finishing feeds from graduate defenseman Kate Walhof and Williams.
Navy (17-7) ended Mebs' second shutout bid of the playoffs just 44 seconds before the second intermission before Liberty added four goals in the third to sink the Midshipwomen's upset hopes. Honeycutt started and ended the third-period scoring with a shorthanded goal at the 18:12 mark before icing the win off assists from Williams and Misiak with 4:49 to play.
Walhof extended Liberty's lead to 5-1 by capitalizing on assists from Honeycutt and Haring at the 9:58 mark before Donovan, the Lady Flames' player of the game, scored unassisted to stretch the lead to 6-1.
Liberty outshot Navy by a 40-24 margin, and Mebs made 23 saves to improve to 8-0.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
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Liberty (21-2), which advanced to last season's DVCHC before falling to defending champion Villanova, 3-2, extended its winning streak to eight games and strengthened its seeding for the March 15-19 ACHA Division II National Championships in Maryland Heights, Mo., by earning the tournament crown.
"I am beyond proud of how well the ladies competed this weekend," Lady Flames Head Coach Rena Leone said. "The energy in the locker room and the encouragement on the bench pushed this team to the next level. (Assistant) Coaches (Justin) Forth and (Holly) Carpenter continually pour into this group, helping every player reach her full potential. Our equipment manager, (junior) Micah Witt, brings unmatched energy that keeps the team fired up throughout the game. It truly was a full team effort."
Against the Blue Hens (13-7-2), ranked fourth in the Southeast Region, the Lady Flames took a 1-0 lead with 5:50 left in the first period on a goal by junior forward Cora Williams, the DVCHC Most Valuable Player who on Sunday moved in front of Sacred Heart's Nichole Partridge to become the leading scorer in the nation.
Liberty proceeded to break the game open with four goals in the second period, the first and last by freshman forward Emma Bardwell, the Lady Flames' player of the game. In between those two scores, senior Guinivere Donovan scored at the 15:43 mark, finishing feeds from freshmen forwards Sasha Haring and Sabrina Honeycutt to extend the lead to 3-0.
Graduate forward Shirley Whitmore netted a shorthanded goal with 12:07 to play in the period off another assist from Haring beforeHoneycutt added a second shorthanded score early in the third period. Sophomore forward Calissa Klein capped the scoring with the game's only power-play goal with 9:16 remaining in regulation off freshman forward Arianna Pastoor's second assist of the game, set up by sophomore forward Patricia Misiak.
Liberty outshot Delaware 38-25, and graduate goalie Kylie Mebs made 25 saves to record her third shutout of the season, lowering her goals-against average to 1.00 and raising her save percentage to 95.2.
Sunday's final was a showdown between the top two teams in the Southeast Region rankings, with the No. 1 Lady Flames dominating the No. 2 Midshipwomen in a rematch of their regular season-ending Senior Day showdown, a 4-3 triumph, on Feb. 15 at the LaHaye Ice Center.
Donovan started the scoring off an assist from Haring with 13:02 left in the first period before freshman forward Pimsiri Wilhelmy doubled the lead with a power-play goal set up by Misiak.
Lady Flames sophomore forward Abby Rogers added another score on the power play to extend the lead to 3-0 in the second period, finishing feeds from graduate defenseman Kate Walhof and Williams.
Navy (17-7) ended Mebs' second shutout bid of the playoffs just 44 seconds before the second intermission before Liberty added four goals in the third to sink the Midshipwomen's upset hopes. Honeycutt started and ended the third-period scoring with a shorthanded goal at the 18:12 mark before icing the win off assists from Williams and Misiak with 4:49 to play.
Walhof extended Liberty's lead to 5-1 by capitalizing on assists from Honeycutt and Haring at the 9:58 mark before Donovan, the Lady Flames' player of the game, scored unassisted to stretch the lead to 6-1.
Liberty outshot Navy by a 40-24 margin, and Mebs made 23 saves to improve to 8-0.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
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/ Women's D2 HockeyLiberty WD2 vs Villanova Highlights
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