Women’s Soccer welcomes Liberty for CUSA home opener

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee women's soccer team will look to stay perfect when it welcomes the reigning Conference USA Tournament champions, Liberty, to Dean A. Hayes Stadium on Thursday at 7 p.m.

The Blue Raiders (8-2-2) open their home conference slate with a marquee opponent in the Lady Flames (8-1-2), who have won six consecutive matches as they head to Murfreesboro.

Quick Kicks

The Blue and White finished 7-2-2 in non-conference play, posting their highest win percentage (.727) since 2009 (.812) in the first period of the season.
Middle Tennessee Soccer began the season with a 4-0-2 record, its best start in program history.
Head Coach Aston Rhoden improved both his and Middle Tennessee's record in CUSA openers to 8-6 with a 2-0 defeat of Jax State on Sunday.
Team co-captain Hannah Murphy scored her fourth goal of the season in the victory, which marked a new single-season career-best tally.
Both of the afternoon's goals were scored in the span of 2:14, which marks the fastest MTSU has scored multiple goals since Oct. 19, 2025, when Murphy and Emma Pettersen both netted in 37 seconds during a 4-0 thrashing of UTEP.
Middle Tennessee's eighth shutout of the season puts it only one shy of last year's tally while keeping pace with the nation's leaders, including Saint Mary's (CA), Auburn, Purdue, Green Bay and Stanford.
Freshman forward Ania Denham has taken the nation by storm in her first collegiate season, scoring a team-leading seven goals and logging two assists for a total of 16 points through 12 games.
Her goals and points tallies are the most by any player in CUSA.
Five of the Welshwoman's goals have been game winners, which is a tally that she only trails Ohio State's Amanda Schlueter in.
In total goals, she is tied for third among true freshmen nationwide.
The nine's assist against Jax State on Sunday marked her fifth consecutive match with a goal contribution, becoming the first Blue Raider to do so since Peyton DePriest between Sept. 2 and Sept. 16, 2021.
Middle Tennessee was picked to finish sixth out of 10 teams in the 2026 Conference USA Coaches Preseason Poll, after a fourth-place finish a year prior.

Series History
The Blue and White will meet the Lady Flames for only the third time in program history as they look for their first victory in the series. The most recent matchup between the sides was on Oct. 27, 2024, when Liberty claimed victory in Lynchburg, 2-1.

Scouting the Lady Flames
The Blue Raiders host Liberty (8-2-2, 1-0 CUSA) for their 2026 conference home opener.

The Lady Flames logged a 14-4-4 (6-0-2) record a year ago, finishing tied for first with Western Kentucky in the conference standings while also claiming the CUSA Tournament Championship crown.

Liberty has won six games on the bounce, including notable victories over Charlotte (2-0, Aug. 30), James Madison (1-0, Sept. 10) and Old Dominion (2-1, Sept. 13).

In the 2026 Conference USA Preseason Poll, the Lady Flames were unanimously picked to finish first.

The reigning CUSA Tournament champions claimed the majority of the conference preseason awards, with Halle Engle named Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and Lauren Littleton named Preseason Defensive Player of the year, in addition to five selections to the all-conference team.

Liberty is led by 10th-year head coach Lang Wedemeyer, who has led the program to three NCAA tournament appearances and three conference championships during his time in Lynchburg.

Follow the Blue Raiders
Stay up to date with MTSU Soccer on Instagram (@mt_wsoccer), X (@MT_Soccer), and Facebook (Middle Tennessee Soccer).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ania Denham

Hannah Murphy

Emma Pettersen

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics