Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Sunday, March 22
St. Louis, MO
7:00 PM EST
Liberty University Club Sports
3
vs
4
Midland University
Graduate forwards Isobel Pettem-Shand (left) and Zosia Adamek and graduate defenseman Sammy Peebles (40) battle two Warriors in Sunday night's ACHA Division I National Championship final near St. Louis. (Photos by Ted Allen)
Triple-overtime heartbreak: Lady Flames dethroned by Warriors in ACHA DI final
3/23/2026 10:11:00 AM | Women's D1 Hockey
Liberty rallied from a 3-1 third-period deficit to tie WMCH rival Midland before falling late in the third 20-minute, sudden-death extra stanza.
For the third season in a row, Liberty University's Division I women's hockey team's final game required multiple overtimes to determine a winner, late Sunday night at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo.
In a back-and-forth battle that lasted nearly four hours, the top-ranked Lady Flames' quest for an eighth ACHA DI National Championship was denied by No. 2 Midland (Neb.) University, 4-3 on a power-play putback with 2:32 remaining in triple overtime.
"It will be a pretty memorable game. I look at last year's game that went to overtime, and that was kind of the same thing," Head Coach Chris Lowes said, referring to Liberty's 3-2 triumph over Maryville (Mo.) University in double overtime. "It obviously feels a little different when you get the win."
This time, it brought back memories of the Lady Flames' 2-1 double-overtime loss to Minot State in the 2024 semifinals, ending Liberty's ACHA-record run of five consecutive national championships. Midland was playing in its third consecutive overtime contest, after surviving past 2024 national champion Adrian (Mich.) College (1-0) in the last round of pool play and the 2025 runner-up Saints (3-2) in the semifinals, both single-overtime affairs.
But nothing could match the drama of the epic 117-minute final between the top two seeds with the 2026 title on the line. It will go down as one of the most thrilling finals in ACHA National Championship history.
"At the end of the day, both teams were tired, and they just were lucky enough to pop one in," Lady Flames graduate forward and alternate captain Zosia Adamek said. "It could have gone either way. We just didn't dial in on a couple of our chances. We had a lot of momentum (going into overtime), but what can you do?"
Midland snapped the Lady Flames' 16-game winning streak and ended their string of three straight shutouts in the tournament to capture its first national championship. The Warriors started as a program in the 2014-15 season, the year Liberty captured its inaugural crown.
"They're a really talented team," Lowes said. "It was a defensive battle. Teams had to really work to get good offensive chances. We both had ebbs and flows, and in overtime, I thought we out-chanced them."
Liberty showed tremendous poise and perseverance under pressure in overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the final 10:32 of regulation to force the three 20-minute extra periods of five-on-five sudden-death action.
Junior forward Ellie Sarauer sparked the comeback with a near coast-to-coast drive up the right wing and point-blank backhand finish that trickled through the five-hole and across the goal line to trim Midland's advantage to 3-2.
Then, with 4:30 to play, the Lady Flames executed the equalizer on a beautiful power play goal when senior forward and alternate defenseman Haley Battles sent a pass to graduate defenseman Sammy Peebles in the high slot. Peebles dished it to head captain Brielle Fussy at the top of the right circle, where she delivered a fantastic feed to fellow graduate forward Isobel Pettem-Shand across the slot for an electrifying one-timed backdoor finish inside the left post.
"That third-period comeback was pretty awesome," Lowes said. "Our girls showed a lot of fight in adversity."
Both teams had quality scoring chances in the closing minutes, but neither could net the game winner, and the national championship game came down to three 20-minute sudden-death overtime periods that featured surprisingly fast-paced five-on-five action.
Liberty outshot Midland 81-67 for the game, including 19-9 in the first overtime period, when it was unable to capitalize on back-to-back power-play opportunities.
Senior goalie and alternate captain Alex Keith, who set an ACHA record with 13 of the Liberty's 21 shutouts on the season, made several spectacular saves in the overtime periods, standing on her head to keep the Lady Flames' hopes alive time after time.
On the deciding power play in the final minutes of the third overtime, Warriors senior forward Taylor Bell followed her own shot that Keith blocked but couldn't glove, lifting the rebound from deep in the left crease into the top-right corner of the net for the dramatic game winner.
"Obviously, we were riding a high, and I thought we had the momentum (at the end of regulation)," Lowes said. "Everyone's tired. Essentially, we played almost two full games. That's a long game and a lot of hockey, and after a long week. I thought our energy was good, and I was proud of the way the girls battled. That's just overtime. We knew it was going to come down to a bounce. The penalties were sporadic at times, but) they did enough to earn a call, and they made us pay. Both teams were gassed, but they found a way to get that touch on the power play."
Midland generated the better-quality scoring chances throughout most of the first period before Liberty delivered the first goal with 2:10 to play when Battles stole the puck along the right boards in the Warriors' defensive zone and skated through the right circle past two defensemen. She finished the drive with a sizzling forehand from deep in the right crease past Midland goalie Meghan Stewart into the top-right corner of the cage for a 1-0 lead.
But the Warriors converted the tying and go-ahead goals in the second period, starting with a power-play goal at the 16:47 mark when Darbi Poole took a loose puck out of a crowd of players in front and threaded a shot in the left crease through the five-hole of Keith.
Then, with the teams at even strength, Midland defenseman Victoria Campbell capitalized on a putback of a pad save by Keith with a wide-open finish at the left side of the goal line to seize a 2-1 advantage with 2:16 remaining in the period.
Matters got worse before they got better for the Lady Flames in the third, with the Warriors (31-5-3) netting what would have been an insurance goal on a shot from the high slot by defenseman Makenna Larson off an assist from Campbell on a reset after a quick counterattack.
For Liberty (36-1-1), its storybook season ended with heartbreak on a team that featured four fifth-year team captains: forwards Adamek, Battles, and Fussy and goalie Keith; as well as senior defenseman Emerson Oakes.
"I'm just very thankful and proud of all of them, thankful that I got to meet all of them, proud that I got to play with them and just go through all that battle with them," Zosia Adamek said. "It's a common feeling knowing that I got to do it with all of them."
It was also the last game in a Lady Flames uniform for graduate transfers Isobel Pettem-Shand, a forward from Indiana Tech, and Allison Shaw, a defenseman from 2024 national champion Adrian College, as well as graduate defenseman Sammy Peebles and senior forward Brookelyn Beauchamp, who missed the postseason with a lower-body injury.
"It's always hard," Lowes said. "You have that turnover, and only one team gets to raise a trophy. The message to our vets is to walk out of here with their heads high because they've set the standard in the league. We were the No. 1 seed all year. We defended our conference title against the same team on their ice. That doesn't matter now, and it doesn't feel like it right now, but I think as they look back on it, we had a pretty awesome year."
It was the teams' third matchup in the past two months as the Lady Flames won their Jan. 23 meeting in the WMCH Showcase 4-3 on a goal by Battles in the first minute of overtime in the same arena near St. Louis. Then, Liberty captured its sixth WMCH Tournament title in the seven years of the league's existence by doubling up the Warriors, 4-2, in the Feb. 21 championship final in Fremont, Neb.
The Lady Flames hold a 15-3 lead in the all-time series against Midland, with their only previous losses on back-to-back days in Nebraska on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, 2023, when they went on to lose at the national tournament for the first time in Lowes' nine seasons at the helm.
Since then, Liberty had won five in a row against the Warriors by a combined score of 20-10.
"We've been in some big games the past few years with them, conference titles," Lowes said, not to mention the 2022 ACHA DI National Championship final, a 5-1 triumph for the Lady Flames also played in the Centene Community Ice Center.
That was the Lady Flames' fifth title in seven years and the freshman season for Liberty's four fifth-year players, including Battles, who scored five goals in four games this weekend. She was the WMCH Tournament MVP that year, when they defeated the Warriors 4-0 in the final.
"We're disappointed for sure, but just thankful for the group of girls that we have," said Adamek, a zoology major from Victoria, British Columbia, who recorded three goals and two assists in the tournament to move into a tie with Pettem-Shand for second place to Fussy (18 goals, 25 assists) among the Lady Flames' season scoring leaders. She passes the baton to her younger sister, junior defenseman and fourth-leading scorer Sophia Adamek. "The girls will have to do some recruiting, but I believe in the group and what they're going to become."
By Ted Allen/Staff WriterGallery: (3-23-2026) DI women vs. Midland in ACHA final
In a back-and-forth battle that lasted nearly four hours, the top-ranked Lady Flames' quest for an eighth ACHA DI National Championship was denied by No. 2 Midland (Neb.) University, 4-3 on a power-play putback with 2:32 remaining in triple overtime.
"It will be a pretty memorable game. I look at last year's game that went to overtime, and that was kind of the same thing," Head Coach Chris Lowes said, referring to Liberty's 3-2 triumph over Maryville (Mo.) University in double overtime. "It obviously feels a little different when you get the win."
This time, it brought back memories of the Lady Flames' 2-1 double-overtime loss to Minot State in the 2024 semifinals, ending Liberty's ACHA-record run of five consecutive national championships. Midland was playing in its third consecutive overtime contest, after surviving past 2024 national champion Adrian (Mich.) College (1-0) in the last round of pool play and the 2025 runner-up Saints (3-2) in the semifinals, both single-overtime affairs.
But nothing could match the drama of the epic 117-minute final between the top two seeds with the 2026 title on the line. It will go down as one of the most thrilling finals in ACHA National Championship history.
"At the end of the day, both teams were tired, and they just were lucky enough to pop one in," Lady Flames graduate forward and alternate captain Zosia Adamek said. "It could have gone either way. We just didn't dial in on a couple of our chances. We had a lot of momentum (going into overtime), but what can you do?"
Midland snapped the Lady Flames' 16-game winning streak and ended their string of three straight shutouts in the tournament to capture its first national championship. The Warriors started as a program in the 2014-15 season, the year Liberty captured its inaugural crown.
"They're a really talented team," Lowes said. "It was a defensive battle. Teams had to really work to get good offensive chances. We both had ebbs and flows, and in overtime, I thought we out-chanced them."
Liberty showed tremendous poise and perseverance under pressure in overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the final 10:32 of regulation to force the three 20-minute extra periods of five-on-five sudden-death action.
Junior forward Ellie Sarauer sparked the comeback with a near coast-to-coast drive up the right wing and point-blank backhand finish that trickled through the five-hole and across the goal line to trim Midland's advantage to 3-2.
Then, with 4:30 to play, the Lady Flames executed the equalizer on a beautiful power play goal when senior forward and alternate defenseman Haley Battles sent a pass to graduate defenseman Sammy Peebles in the high slot. Peebles dished it to head captain Brielle Fussy at the top of the right circle, where she delivered a fantastic feed to fellow graduate forward Isobel Pettem-Shand across the slot for an electrifying one-timed backdoor finish inside the left post.
"That third-period comeback was pretty awesome," Lowes said. "Our girls showed a lot of fight in adversity."
Both teams had quality scoring chances in the closing minutes, but neither could net the game winner, and the national championship game came down to three 20-minute sudden-death overtime periods that featured surprisingly fast-paced five-on-five action.
Liberty outshot Midland 81-67 for the game, including 19-9 in the first overtime period, when it was unable to capitalize on back-to-back power-play opportunities.
Senior goalie and alternate captain Alex Keith, who set an ACHA record with 13 of the Liberty's 21 shutouts on the season, made several spectacular saves in the overtime periods, standing on her head to keep the Lady Flames' hopes alive time after time.
On the deciding power play in the final minutes of the third overtime, Warriors senior forward Taylor Bell followed her own shot that Keith blocked but couldn't glove, lifting the rebound from deep in the left crease into the top-right corner of the net for the dramatic game winner.
"Obviously, we were riding a high, and I thought we had the momentum (at the end of regulation)," Lowes said. "Everyone's tired. Essentially, we played almost two full games. That's a long game and a lot of hockey, and after a long week. I thought our energy was good, and I was proud of the way the girls battled. That's just overtime. We knew it was going to come down to a bounce. The penalties were sporadic at times, but) they did enough to earn a call, and they made us pay. Both teams were gassed, but they found a way to get that touch on the power play."
Midland generated the better-quality scoring chances throughout most of the first period before Liberty delivered the first goal with 2:10 to play when Battles stole the puck along the right boards in the Warriors' defensive zone and skated through the right circle past two defensemen. She finished the drive with a sizzling forehand from deep in the right crease past Midland goalie Meghan Stewart into the top-right corner of the cage for a 1-0 lead.
But the Warriors converted the tying and go-ahead goals in the second period, starting with a power-play goal at the 16:47 mark when Darbi Poole took a loose puck out of a crowd of players in front and threaded a shot in the left crease through the five-hole of Keith.
Then, with the teams at even strength, Midland defenseman Victoria Campbell capitalized on a putback of a pad save by Keith with a wide-open finish at the left side of the goal line to seize a 2-1 advantage with 2:16 remaining in the period.
Matters got worse before they got better for the Lady Flames in the third, with the Warriors (31-5-3) netting what would have been an insurance goal on a shot from the high slot by defenseman Makenna Larson off an assist from Campbell on a reset after a quick counterattack.
For Liberty (36-1-1), its storybook season ended with heartbreak on a team that featured four fifth-year team captains: forwards Adamek, Battles, and Fussy and goalie Keith; as well as senior defenseman Emerson Oakes.
"I'm just very thankful and proud of all of them, thankful that I got to meet all of them, proud that I got to play with them and just go through all that battle with them," Zosia Adamek said. "It's a common feeling knowing that I got to do it with all of them."
It was also the last game in a Lady Flames uniform for graduate transfers Isobel Pettem-Shand, a forward from Indiana Tech, and Allison Shaw, a defenseman from 2024 national champion Adrian College, as well as graduate defenseman Sammy Peebles and senior forward Brookelyn Beauchamp, who missed the postseason with a lower-body injury.
"It's always hard," Lowes said. "You have that turnover, and only one team gets to raise a trophy. The message to our vets is to walk out of here with their heads high because they've set the standard in the league. We were the No. 1 seed all year. We defended our conference title against the same team on their ice. That doesn't matter now, and it doesn't feel like it right now, but I think as they look back on it, we had a pretty awesome year."
It was the teams' third matchup in the past two months as the Lady Flames won their Jan. 23 meeting in the WMCH Showcase 4-3 on a goal by Battles in the first minute of overtime in the same arena near St. Louis. Then, Liberty captured its sixth WMCH Tournament title in the seven years of the league's existence by doubling up the Warriors, 4-2, in the Feb. 21 championship final in Fremont, Neb.
The Lady Flames hold a 15-3 lead in the all-time series against Midland, with their only previous losses on back-to-back days in Nebraska on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, 2023, when they went on to lose at the national tournament for the first time in Lowes' nine seasons at the helm.
Since then, Liberty had won five in a row against the Warriors by a combined score of 20-10.
"We've been in some big games the past few years with them, conference titles," Lowes said, not to mention the 2022 ACHA DI National Championship final, a 5-1 triumph for the Lady Flames also played in the Centene Community Ice Center.
That was the Lady Flames' fifth title in seven years and the freshman season for Liberty's four fifth-year players, including Battles, who scored five goals in four games this weekend. She was the WMCH Tournament MVP that year, when they defeated the Warriors 4-0 in the final.
"We're disappointed for sure, but just thankful for the group of girls that we have," said Adamek, a zoology major from Victoria, British Columbia, who recorded three goals and two assists in the tournament to move into a tie with Pettem-Shand for second place to Fussy (18 goals, 25 assists) among the Lady Flames' season scoring leaders. She passes the baton to her younger sister, junior defenseman and fourth-leading scorer Sophia Adamek. "The girls will have to do some recruiting, but I believe in the group and what they're going to become."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
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