Men’s lacrosse ranked No. 4 in MCLA preseason coaches’ poll
1/26/2022 4:42:13 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Liberty University’s men’s lacrosse team, which won the inaugural Atlantic Lacrosse Conference (ALC) Tournament championship last spring before finishing fourth in the MCLA National Invitational Tournament, debuts at No. 4 in the MCLA Division I preseason coaches’ poll, released on Wednesday.
That matches the second highest the Flames have been ranked since moving up to Division I in 2014. They won their first six games and finished at No. 4 in their last official ranking in 2020, before the rest of that season was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, when Liberty won a program-record 15 straight games to start the season, it was ranked as high as No. 3 before being ousted by South Carolina in both the SELC and MCLA Divsion I tournaments.
“Preseason polls are really (speculative) to have an understanding of who’s coming back and who’s moved on and graduated, especially since a lot of these teams haven’t played in almost two years,” Flames Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said.
Liberty is one of three ALC teams in the Top-25 along with No. 9 Clemson, which it defeated in the ALC Tournament final, and Virginia Tech, which it will conclude its regular season against on April 15 in Blacksburg, Va.
For the second preseason in a row, the Flames will open with a scrimmage against Roanoke College, this time at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields, on Feb. 5 at 3 p.m.
“Roanoke College has always been a strong team and a strong competitor in the ODAC and a great test for our guys early in the year, to play a high-level (NCAA Division III) lacrosse team,” McQuillan said. “That game is a great opportunity for us to experiment with who we have and how we run things. We are wildly competitive and we want to compete and we want to win, but with it being a scrimmage, we may try some things out and be more flexible in our coaching decisions.”
They will use that contest primarily to prepare for their Feb. 19 season opener against USC, the reigning MCLA national champion from 2019, also to be played at home.
“We still have over three weeks to prepare for what is a bit of a mystery,” McQuillan said, noting that the Gamecocks have had a coaching change and a vastly different roster from when they won the title. “We expect a strong team and for that rivalry to pick up right where it left off. They’re ranked No. 7, so it is a really good opportunity for us to prove our spot in the top five.”
One of the highlights of the schedule this season is the April 8 “Midnight Mayhem” matchup against top-ranked BYU, which ousted Liberty in last spring’s first-ever meeting, 10-7 in the first round of the National Invitational in Round Hill, Texas, before going on to defeat No. 2-ranked Georgia Tech, 19-15 in the semifinals, and No. 3-ranked Chapman, 16-9 in the championship final.
The Flames have traveled to Salt Lake City to compete in MCLA National Championships twice, and played Utah Valley in the MCLA consolation final. McQuillan is hopeful of setting up a regular rotation of facing the Cougars at home and away.
“We are glad we were able to get BYU on the schedule as our ‘Midnight’ opponent this year, with it being a natural rivalry pitting the largest Morman university in the world against the largest Christian university,” McQuillan said.
With a 36-man roster, Liberty is loaded for a potential run at its first MCLA Division I national title.
“This is definitely the deepest team and as a whole the strongest overall team we’ve had in program history,” McQuillan said. “There are lots of unknowns (but) our guys are ready. They have been working hard throughout the fall and we have added a few guys this spring that returned from last year’s team.”
That includes midfielder Keaton Mohs, last season’s leading scorer as a freshman, sophomore goalie Eric Warnstrom, and senior middie Cole Jankowsky, one of the Flames’ faceoff specialists last year. Liberty also will return two graduate students for their sixth seasons of eligibility — standout goalie Ryan Reynolds, the MVP of the ALC final, and defender Reagan Pritchett. Additionally, it has picked up a transfer from Christopher Newport University, junior attack Liam Jungles.
“He’s got a lot of really good qualities and a strong lacrosse foundation,” McQuillan said. “It is going to take some time to work a guy like that into the fold, but he gives us some depth at a position we’re light on and we are excited to see his potential this season.”
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer