VILLANOVA, Pa. — Villanova field hockey will host No. 12 Liberty for its regular season finale in a crucial BIG EAST matchup on Friday, October 30 at 12 p.m. from Snell Field at Ursinus College. 

Friday's face-off has huge implications for a potential BIG EAST Tournament spot for both teams. Liberty has already clinched its spot in the tournament; however, the team can stay in the two seed or move down to the three seed with a loss. 

As for Villanova, the team can be slotted as the two, three, or four seed while also being potentially eliminated. With a win, the 'Cats will put themselves as the two seed. With a loss, VU can clinch the three seed if Georgetown beats ODU, or they can be the four seed if Temple beats Providence.

If both Providence and Old Dominion both win, the seeding will come down to goal differential between the three teams of Villanova, Providence and Old Dominion. The Wildcats currently hold the best goal differential of the three with a +3, while the Friars hold a -1 and the Monarchs a -5. 

Villanova still controls its own destiny following a 2-0 weekend that included a huge win over Providence on the road and a win over Wagner to wrap up the team's non-conference schedule. 

On Friday against the Friars, it was two late goals by Molly Zimmerman and Colleen Finnan to give the 'Cats the 2-1 win over Providence. Maddi Sears was excellent in the action with six saves on seven shots faced for an .857 save percentage to anchor the defense for Villanova. On Sunday against the Seahawks, it was the Evie and Adie Minnella who helped power VU's offense, in addition to Katharina Balks with three points. 

Following the weekend, Maddi Sears and Colleen Finnan were both named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. It marked the second selection for Sears this season, while it was the fourth straight nod to the Honor Roll for Finnan. She becomes the sixth player in program history to be named to the Honor Roll at least four times in one season. 

As for Liberty, they come into the contest after a 1-1 weekend where the team beat Temple, 4-0, but fell to then-No. 7 Duke, 5-4 in shootouts. Even with the loss, Liberty comes into the contest with an overall record of 11-5 and a 4-1 conference record. 

Friday's game will be the 15th all-time meeting between the two teams, with the Lady Flames holding the series record, 14-0. The two teams met twice last season in both last year's regular season finale as well as the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament. Liberty won both contests 5-0 and 3-1, respectively. 

Offensively, Liberty has recently been guided by Luna Prieri, who earned BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week following a four-point showcase this past weekend. This season, she is joined by two 20-point performers in Clarisa Lucicello and Josefina Tomasi. Ludicello leads the team in goals with 10 and in points with 24, while Tomasi is tied for second in goals with eight and sits second in points with 20. Including the three players mentioned, Liberty has eight players in double-digit points this season. 

In net, the Lady Flames are led by Diane Saint Martin, who has started every game of the season for the team. She comes in with an 11-5 record with a .621 save percentage to go with 41 saves on 67 shots faced.

Liberty is led by head coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker, who enters her 10th season as the head of the program. Last season, she led the Flames to the BIG EAST Tournament Championship, in which they defeated UConn by a score of 2-1. The team then fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by a score of 3-2 in Penalty shots against Syracuse.

Friday's regular season finale will be streamed on the Villanova Athletics YouTube Channel.