Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Freshman-fueled Flames eager for Saturday's opener vs. ECU
2/16/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
A youth movement is in full force among the ranks on Liberty University's men's lacrosse team, which opens its 2017 season Saturday at 3 p.m. against SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference (SELC) foe East Carolina at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields.
After graduating nine seniors — including their entire starting midfield — from last season's squad, the Flames return just two seniors and three juniors on a 28-man roster that features 14 freshmen and nine sophomores. The Flames are ranked No. 20 in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) Division I Preseason Coaches Poll.
"We're really well balanced this year, and as of right now, that's one of our strengths," Liberty Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. "We feel confident in the guys we have to plug in on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. I'm excited to see how they respond in a game situation. We'll give them an opportunity to show what they have to offer and that they're willing to fight and compete."
McQuillan has tremendous skill to work with and unlimited potential to develop among his past two recruiting classes, which he considers the deepest and strongest in program history.
"Talent-wise, we have the roster to win an SELC championship and go for the first time to (MCLA) nationals at the Division I level," McQuillan said. "I know it'll be a little bit of a challenge to try to identify who we are as a team and what kind of team we will be, just because of how young we are."
McQuillan and his coaching staff have designated senior midfielder Brett Wood as a team captain and are looking for a few more players to step into leadership roles this spring.
"It's still early and we are finalizing our full list of captains, but everybody plays a role as a leader in whatever way they are capable," McQuillan said. "We want to empower these guys — especially as young as we are — to take their skillset, things they have competence in, and lead in that capacity and be someone we can rely on over the course of the season."
Sophomore Sam Gregory (33 goals, 16 assists in 2016) and senior Nick Lombardozzi (26G, 10A) are proven commodities on offense over the past two seasons. They will serve as catalysts on a speedy attack that can score quickly on fast breaks.
"Offensively, we've got some really good firepower," McQuillan said. "We'll be leaning on Sam and Nick to spark our attack and help us through the early-season transition. We need to find our stride pretty quickly."
At midfield, Wood and junior Sam King will be complemented by freshmen Carter Elliott, Derrick Esh, and Erik Arvesen, with junior Jacob Campbell, sophomore Eric Masters, and freshman Jimmy Fowler taking turns as faceoff specialists.
Sophomore Win McKeever returns to anchor the Flames at the long-stick midfielder position after an excellent freshman season. He will be backed up by freshman Grayson Rhyne and a defensive corps led by sophomores Ean White and Tyler Keen and freshman Lukas Tophoven, who played for the German National Team last year.
"Defensively, we preach being under control, using controlled aggression," McQuillan said. "We want to be known as a physical team, but don't want to spend a lot of time in the penalty box, so we have to have the right temperament on defense."
In goal, McQuillan plans to play sophomore Brayden Harriman and freshman Ryan Reynolds for a half each in Saturday's opener.
"We'll give both guys the opportunity to show the progress they have made through the summer and the fall," McQuillan said.
Though the Flames have battled a few cases of the flu and a couple nagging injuries, they expect to be at full strength with a complete roster available for Saturday's opener.
Liberty's schedule may be the most challenging it has faced to date, giving it plenty of opportunity to move up in the national rankings.
"We're looking forward to a difficult schedule within and outside of the SELC," McQuillan said. "After we open up against ECU, we'll go on the road (on Feb. 27) to play (No. 16) Michigan State, traditionally a very strong team and a perennial national qualifier."
Liberty will then travel to take on No. 3 Colorado and No. 7 Colorado State on March 24-25 before concluding its regular season with four more nationally ranked opponents. The Flames will host No. 15 Florida State on March 31, No. 17 Connecticut on April 2, and No. 21 Davenport in a "Midnight Mayhem" matchup on April 7 before going to No. 19 Virginia Tech on April 15 for a contest that could determine the SELC Northwest Region champion.
"Florida State is looking like a real contender, not only for an SELC championship but at the national tournament," McQuillan said, noting that the Seminoles opened the season by upsetting No. 8 Arizona State and No. 10 Arizona on the road last weekend. "Hopefully, we have success right from the beginning, because we won't have a lot of time to right the ship."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
