Hays Prepares for Third Collegiate Soccer Season
Unfortunately for Alden Hays, the Liberty University’s NCAA Division I women’s soccer team has a lot of depth at goalkeeper.
“There are still three older goalies ahead of me,” said Hays, who enters her junior season at Liberty. “It’ll be the sixth college season for one of them. It’s great for the team though. I did have the opportunity to play this spring, but I don’t know how much I will play in the fall.”
Hays, who graduated from Fellowship Christian School in 2024 and won back-to-back championships with the Lady Paladin girls’ soccer team, looks to make her regular-season action for the Lady Flames in the fall of 2026.
Liberty opens fall camp in July and begins the season on Aug. 5 with an exhibition match in Lynchburg, Va., against Longwood University. The main season for women’s college soccer is the fall.
In the spring, Liberty played exhibition matches against Longwood, High Point University, James Madison University, the University of North Carolina and the University of Tennessee.
“We all played,” Hays said. “It was a good experience. It helped my confidence a lot. I did not expect to play against UNC, but they put me in the lineup, and I had a good save. Then I played more in the spring than I thought I would.”
As a backup goaltender, Hays always must be ready to play whether they call on her to enter the game whether it’s the spring or fall season.
“That’s the main thing, be ready,” she said. “Most of the year I watch film three days a week. But in the summer, I probably watch five days a week. You have to stay mentally and physically sharp in drills and stay prepared.”
In the fall of 2025, the Lady Flames notched a 14-4-4 record, including a 6-0-2 mark in Conference USA contests. Liberty captured the Conference USA Championship and went on to the NCAA Division I Championships. The Lady Flames lost at Clemson, 2-1, in the NCAA playoffs.
“We did well last year,” Hays said. “The beginning of the season was rough and went through a scoring slump. But we picked it up and honestly played our best in the conference tournament. We could have beaten Clemson [in NCAA tournament]. It was very close.”
Hays’ teammate at Liberty is fellow FCS graduate and soccer player Avery Paulson.
“It’s been awesome to be here with her,” Hays said. “We’ve actually gotten even closer here. Our faith has grown. We’d not been roommates before, but it’s great to live with someone who knows you so well and is going through the same things. I can always talk to her.”
Hays has found a home in Lynchburg, Va.
“It’s been great here,” she said. “During the recruitment process, someone told me chose a school that you would like if you didn’t play soccer there. That’s the case for me at Liberty. I love it there. It aligns with my values and my family’s values.”
Hays switched her major from sports management to interdisciplinary studies.
“I changed my major because I wanted to focus on leadership and entrepreneurship,” she said.
Hays offers advice to the Fellowship class of 2026 members headed to collegiate sports.
“When I got to Liberty, the upperclassmen didn’t tell us we’d be considered late to practice if we arrived 10 minutes before practice and not 20 minutes before,” Hays said. “Be very early and don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”
(Photos courtesy of libertyflames.com)