Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Senior forward and alternate captain Haley Battles launches a driving shot from in the circle in the second period. She scored the last two goals in the third period of Saturday night's 5-0 semifinal victory over Michigan-Dearborn. (Photos by Ted Allen)
Top-ranked Lady Flames wear down No. 6 Wolverines in dominant ACHA semifinal win
3/22/2026 8:59:00 AM | Women's D1 Hockey
Liberty posted its third straight shutout in the tournament, a 5-0 victory that sets up Sunday’s WMCH final rematch with No. 2 Midland.
No. 1-ranked Liberty University's Division I women's hockey team punched its ticket back to the ACHA Division I National Championship final with a 5-0 semifinal triumph over No. 6 Michigan-Dearborn, late Saturday night at the Centene Community Ice Center's NHL Arena in Maryland Heights, Mo.
"They've got a great team, well coached, and a strong (forward) line," Assistant Coach Frank Keating said of the Wolverines, who the Lady Flames met for the first time. "Our girls just came out ready to go. They've got some scorers, and our team was able to hold them at bay, and we're really happy about that."
Liberty (36-0-1) outshot Michigan-Dearborn (31-3-1) by a 53-29 margin for the game, and senior goalie and alternate captain Alex Keith made 29 saves for her 13th shutout of the season and 21st for the Lady Flames.
"Alex is just super," Keating said. "She once again held down the fort. We gave up a couple shots that could have made a difference, but she was there to make the saves."
"It takes every single girl, from the defense all the way up to forward," Keith added, deflecting credit for the shutout. "We have so much depth, so every single line is able to go out there and just lock down on defense. It makes me feel super confident with those girls in front of me, for sure. No matter what line's going out or if someone has to fill in someone's shoes on any line, they're going to go out and execute."
After a scoreless first period that featured back-and-forth action and quality scoring chances for both sides, Liberty outshot the Wolverines 20-6 and outscored them 3-0 in the second.
The Lady Flames broke the scoreless tie by capitalizing on their first power-play after a protocol violation assessed to the Michigan-Dearborn bench to start the second period.
Isobel Pettem-Shand received a pass through traffic across the slot from head captain and fellow graduate forward Brielle Fussy and one-timed her shot from the left crease past Wolverines goalie Kenna Borso for a 1-0 lead with 18:40 to play in the period.
Then with 12:34 left, graduate forward and alternate captain Zosia Adamek — left wide open in the left crease — put away a point-blank shot off Fussy's crossing pass into the top-left corner of the cage for her first goal of the tournament and a 2-0 Liberty lead.
"Zosia was our player of the game," Keating said. "Actually, that whole line of her, Brielle (Fussy), and Iso (Pettem Shand) played great tonight. It was a super effort by that line. They were passing the puck around controlled. Even when they weren't on a power play, they were able to see each other and get the puck to each other's sticks. They did a great job."
With the Lady Flames back on a power play, Adamek struck again after junior forward Ellie Sarauer won a left-circle faceoff to graduate forward Allison Shaw, who set up Adamek in the high slot. From there, she blasted a shot that beat Borso to the left side of the net for a commanding 3-0 advantage at the 3:02 mark.
Liberty maintained pressure throughout the third period and tallied two more scores — both by Battles unassisted. On the first, she capitalized on a delayed penalty, with Keith pulled from the cage for a sixth skater. Battles weaved her way through the Wolverines' defense up the left wing and followed her own shot that drew Borso out of the cage for a wraparound at the right post into an open net.
"As you could see at the end, Battles just wanted one and just took it from one end to the other and finished," Keating said. "She went coast to coast, actually went around the back of the net and came back around and drove it home."
Battles later capped the scoring with an empty-netter with 20 seconds to go, putting the win on ice even as she slipped and fell onto the ice during her goal celebration.
The dominant win sets up a rematch of the WMCH Championship final with No. 2 Midland (Neb.) University, a 4-2 Liberty victory exactly three weeks ago on the Warriors' home ice.
"They play a really, really tough game and so do we, so it will be a really good matchup," Keith added. "I'm excited. I feel super good, ready to play another one."
She said Sunday's 7 p.m. EST showdown for a potential eighth national title can't come soon enough, though the later start is fine with the Lady Flames.
"(Preparation) starts right after this game," Keith said. "It starts with recovery, doing everything we can to kind of get our bodies in good shape for tomorrow. We've just got to come out the way we've been doing, especially like we did today."
The Warriors (30-4-4), who outscored opponents by a 168-35 margin in the regular season — second only to Liberty's 165-27 differential — haven't been quite as dominant in the tournament. After beating the University of Massachusetts-Amherst 3-0 and Adrian (Mich.) College 1-0 in pool play, Midland outlasted No. 5 Maryville (Mo.) University, last season's runner-up to Liberty, 4-3 in overtime in Saturday's first semifinal.
"Midland's a tough team, and it played a great game tonight to advance," Keating said. "I know their coach will have them ready to go again, and it's going to be another battle (on Sunday). Here at nationals, it's just about execution on the day of, and we'll just see which team comes out on top."
By Ted Allen/Staff WriterGallery: (3-22-2026) DI women's hockey vs. Michigan-Dearborn
"They've got a great team, well coached, and a strong (forward) line," Assistant Coach Frank Keating said of the Wolverines, who the Lady Flames met for the first time. "Our girls just came out ready to go. They've got some scorers, and our team was able to hold them at bay, and we're really happy about that."
Liberty (36-0-1) outshot Michigan-Dearborn (31-3-1) by a 53-29 margin for the game, and senior goalie and alternate captain Alex Keith made 29 saves for her 13th shutout of the season and 21st for the Lady Flames.
"Alex is just super," Keating said. "She once again held down the fort. We gave up a couple shots that could have made a difference, but she was there to make the saves."
"It takes every single girl, from the defense all the way up to forward," Keith added, deflecting credit for the shutout. "We have so much depth, so every single line is able to go out there and just lock down on defense. It makes me feel super confident with those girls in front of me, for sure. No matter what line's going out or if someone has to fill in someone's shoes on any line, they're going to go out and execute."
After a scoreless first period that featured back-and-forth action and quality scoring chances for both sides, Liberty outshot the Wolverines 20-6 and outscored them 3-0 in the second.
The Lady Flames broke the scoreless tie by capitalizing on their first power-play after a protocol violation assessed to the Michigan-Dearborn bench to start the second period.
Isobel Pettem-Shand received a pass through traffic across the slot from head captain and fellow graduate forward Brielle Fussy and one-timed her shot from the left crease past Wolverines goalie Kenna Borso for a 1-0 lead with 18:40 to play in the period.
Then with 12:34 left, graduate forward and alternate captain Zosia Adamek — left wide open in the left crease — put away a point-blank shot off Fussy's crossing pass into the top-left corner of the cage for her first goal of the tournament and a 2-0 Liberty lead.
"Zosia was our player of the game," Keating said. "Actually, that whole line of her, Brielle (Fussy), and Iso (Pettem Shand) played great tonight. It was a super effort by that line. They were passing the puck around controlled. Even when they weren't on a power play, they were able to see each other and get the puck to each other's sticks. They did a great job."
With the Lady Flames back on a power play, Adamek struck again after junior forward Ellie Sarauer won a left-circle faceoff to graduate forward Allison Shaw, who set up Adamek in the high slot. From there, she blasted a shot that beat Borso to the left side of the net for a commanding 3-0 advantage at the 3:02 mark.
Liberty maintained pressure throughout the third period and tallied two more scores — both by Battles unassisted. On the first, she capitalized on a delayed penalty, with Keith pulled from the cage for a sixth skater. Battles weaved her way through the Wolverines' defense up the left wing and followed her own shot that drew Borso out of the cage for a wraparound at the right post into an open net.
"As you could see at the end, Battles just wanted one and just took it from one end to the other and finished," Keating said. "She went coast to coast, actually went around the back of the net and came back around and drove it home."
Battles later capped the scoring with an empty-netter with 20 seconds to go, putting the win on ice even as she slipped and fell onto the ice during her goal celebration.
The dominant win sets up a rematch of the WMCH Championship final with No. 2 Midland (Neb.) University, a 4-2 Liberty victory exactly three weeks ago on the Warriors' home ice.
"They play a really, really tough game and so do we, so it will be a really good matchup," Keith added. "I'm excited. I feel super good, ready to play another one."
She said Sunday's 7 p.m. EST showdown for a potential eighth national title can't come soon enough, though the later start is fine with the Lady Flames.
"(Preparation) starts right after this game," Keith said. "It starts with recovery, doing everything we can to kind of get our bodies in good shape for tomorrow. We've just got to come out the way we've been doing, especially like we did today."
The Warriors (30-4-4), who outscored opponents by a 168-35 margin in the regular season — second only to Liberty's 165-27 differential — haven't been quite as dominant in the tournament. After beating the University of Massachusetts-Amherst 3-0 and Adrian (Mich.) College 1-0 in pool play, Midland outlasted No. 5 Maryville (Mo.) University, last season's runner-up to Liberty, 4-3 in overtime in Saturday's first semifinal.
"Midland's a tough team, and it played a great game tonight to advance," Keating said. "I know their coach will have them ready to go again, and it's going to be another battle (on Sunday). Here at nationals, it's just about execution on the day of, and we'll just see which team comes out on top."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
Players Mentioned
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