Freshman Lauren Flax opened the scoring in the fourth minute of the contest. The forward drove the ball into the left side of the penalty area, made one move before sending a blast off the side panel of the goal. The score was the All-Freshman team honoree’s first of the tournament and her first since Oct. 9 against Kennesaw State.
Liberty added a second goal in the first half with Flax’s second goal of the contest. Fellow forward Halle Engle stole the ball in the attacking end, but was tripped up when the Bears’ goalkeeper, Ella Becker, played the ball. The opportunity squirted out to a trailing Flax who sent in a tough angle shot into a yawning net. Flax recorded her fourth goal of the season and the first multi-goal game of her career while Engle was awarded the assist.
The Lady Flames’ defense controlled the game and possession in the first half. Missouri State was unable to record a single shot in the first 45 minutes.
Liberty kept pressing coming out of the half. Engle beat her defender as she crashed towards the end line and drew a penalty as the Bear pulled her arm from behind. Ivy Garner was given the opportunity from Head Coach Lang Wedemeyer and the senior rewarded the choice with the third score of the contest.
Grabbing the 3-0 lead, Garner scored her 15th goal of the season and broke a CUSA record with five goals in the CUSA Championship. The senior also joins a tie for fifth in CUSA history with 15 goals in a single season and a tie for sixth in CUSA history with 36 points (15g, 6a).
Missouri State managed two shots in the second half with just one on goal.