Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Lady Flames, Runnin' Bulldogs to Meet for Wednesday BSC Lacrosse Contest

Liberty lacrosse will travel to Boiling Springs, N.C., for a Wednesday Big South showdown at Gardner-Webb. The contest will begin at 4 p.m. at Spangler Stadium.

The Lady Flames (3-10), who stand in third place in the conference standings at 2-1, will be looking to bounce back from a tough 12-11 overtime loss to Campbell in Lynchburg, Saturday afternoon. The Runnin' Bulldogs (0-13, 0-3 Big South) are still in search of their first win of 2017. Their most recent setback came at home last Saturday, 17-6, to Presbyterian.

Liberty will take on Gardner-Webb, Wednesday in Boiling Springs, N.C.
Series History
Liberty holds a 3-0 edge in the all-time series with the Runnin' Bulldogs. The two programs last met on April 16, 2016, in Lynchburg. Liberty's Michaela Rich notched four goals, while Brianna McCaffrey and Callie Francis scored three times each, lifting the Lady Flames to a 16-10 victory.

How to Follow the Lady Flames
Live stats for the contest, courtesy of Gardner-Webb athletics, will be available on the Liberty lacrosse schedule/results panel on LibertyFlames.com. Also, be sure to follow @LUGameday on Twitter for live in-game updates from Spangler Stadium.

2017 Big South Update
Liberty is currently in third place in the Big South with a 2-1 mark, trailing only Campbell (3-0) and High Point (3-0). Following Wednesday's contest, the Lady Flames will host Big South preseason favorite High Point on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Liberty Lacrosse Field.

Here's a look at the current conference standings:
Team Conference Overall
Campbell 3-0 6-6
High Point 3-0 9-3
Liberty 2-1 3-10
Longwood 1-2 5-8
Presbyterian 1-2 2-9
Radford 1-2 5-7
Winthrop 1-2 4-9
Gardner-Webb 0-3 0-13

Nangle vs. Krick
Liberty Lacrosse Head Coach Kelly Nangle will be facing a familiar opponent on the sideline in Gardner-Webb Lacrosse Head Coach Jill Krick. Krick played for the Lady Flames from 2011-14 and was coached by Nangle during her senior season. Krick is in her second year in charge of the Runnin' Bulldogs.

Britton, White Shoulder the Scoring Load of Late
Liberty's recent scoring surge has been aided by the efforts of redshirt sophomore Paige Britton and freshman Carly White. Britton scored a career-best six goals at Longwood, last Wednesday, while White scored once in the 18-8 win over the Lancers.

On Saturday at home against Campbell, the duo combined for seven of the 11 Liberty goals. White registered a career-best four tallies, while Britton added a hat trick.

Lady Flames News and Notes
  • Liberty is No. 8 in the country in ground balls per game (22.46) and No. 16 in the country in caused turnovers per game (11.23). The Lady Flames are second in the Big South in both categories.
  • The Lady Flames are averaging 15.67 goals per game through three Big South Conference contests.
  • Sophomore midfielder Brianna McCaffrey leads Liberty in goals (25), draw controls (51) and shots (73). McCaffrey is fifth in the Big South and 48th nationally in draw controls per game (3.92) and third in the conference in shots per game (5.62).
  • McCaffrey has tallied seven free-position goals in 2017, which ranks sixth-most in a single season in Lady Flames lacrosse history. Former Liberty player Sam Struss holds the record with 13 in 2014. Paige Britton has four free-position tallies in the last two contests.
  • Sophomore attacker Kayla Foster leads the team with 36 points (17 g, 19 a). She tallied a season-high seven points (4 g, 3 a), last Wednesday at Longwood. Foster's 19 assists places her 50th in the country and tied for fifth in the Big South (1.46/game).
  • Liberty senior defender Victoria Tickle paces the team with 38 ground balls and is 38th in DI in ground balls per game (2.92) and fourth in the Big South. Tickle is eighth all-time in program history with 87 ground balls.
  • Liberty's freshmen have accounted for 42 of the 120 goals (35 percent) scored by the Lady Flames, this season. Grace Fletcher paces Liberty freshmen with 12 goals, followed by Hannah Quast (11), Carly White (11), Jenna Joyal (5) and Nikki Stumpf (3).
  • Over the last seven games, Liberty is averaging 11.57 goals per game. The Lady Flames averaged just 6.50 goals a game during their first six contests.
  • Liberty is first in the Big South in woman-down goals per game (.43) and fourth in woman-up goals per game (.64).
Scouting Gardner-Webb
Despite placing last in the Big South in goals per game (7.00), GWU boasts one of the top scorers in the conference in junior midfielder Amanda Steinmuller. Steinmuller is fourth in the Big South with 32 goals (2.46/game) and ranks eighth in the Big South in assists (16) and No. 50 in NCAA DI in points (48).

Sophomore attacker Abby Hanscom paces the squad in ground balls (27) and caused turnovers (13) while winning a team-high 37 draw controls. Freshman midfielder Colleen Conn is second on the team in ground (26) and caused turnovers (10).

Goalkeeping duties have been split amongst three netminders, with freshman Melan White (0-8, 22.51 GAA, 69 SV in 402:27) and freshman Katie Sylvester (0-4, 16.50 GAA, 44 SV in 294:29) likely to both see action in Wednesday's contest.

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