Liberty University Club Sports
NC State
Flames fend off Wolfpack’s second-half comeback bid, pull away for 13-10 win in Raleigh
3/5/2022 5:08:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
In a rematch of last spring's ALC Tournament semifinal victory, Liberty University's men's lacrosse team overcame a second-half rally attempt to stage a 13-10 road triumph, Saturday at ALC South opponent North Carolina State.
The No. 5-ranked Flames (4-0, 2-0 in ALC North) opened a 5-3 lead after the first quarter and extended it to 8-4 by halftime before allowing the Wolfpack (3-2, 1-1 ALC South) to outscore them 4-1 in the third quarter, trimming the deficit to 9-8 entering the fourth.
"It was a bit more of a dogfight than we wanted," Liberty Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. "A lot of credit to NC State for keeping that game a game for four quarters. They did a great job of being aggressive, and making us uncomfortable, and their goalie (Alex Duggleby) had a phenomenal game. We had plays set up and we ran them and their goalie, on multiple occasions, stole what should have been a score."
Likewise, Flames graduate goalie Ryan Reynolds made 11 saves, including a number of clutch ones, while allowing 10 goals.
"We rely on Ryan probably more than we should, and he played great," McQuillan said. "When our defense doesn't play at its best, we have been able to fall back on him."
In Saturday's case, the Flames played solidly on both sides of the ball.
"We definitely controlled the pace of the game," McQuillan said. "We scored first and never fell behind. They did get it close there, within one goal, but we were always in control of the game, and the pace, and had more opportunities to score. NC State was able to capitalize on more of its chances."
Liberty won both the faceoff duel, 16-10, and the ground ball battle, 39-25, and held a 52-45 advantage in total shots. After being outshot 16-9 in the third quarter, the Flames rebounded by outshooting the Wolfpack 16-6 in the fourth.
Three middies — seniors Ethan Bohannan, who won 7 out of his 10 faceoffs; and Cole Jankowski, who got the upper hand on 6 out of his 11 chances; and junior middie Shane Reynolds, who was successful 3 out of his 5 tries — helped give the Flames the edge in time of possession.
Offensively, graduate attack Carter Elliott netted a team-high 4 goals and picked up 7 ground balls; freshman Will Geary and senior Cooper Branham both added 3 goals and 1 assist; sophomore middie Keaton Mohs had a goal and 2 assists; and senior attack Mark Rolewicz and senior middle Cameron Carter both contributed a goal and an assist.
"Offensively, we've just got some really unique and talented players that put up a lot of points," McQuillan said.
He was pleased to again see the Flames respond after letting the Wolfpack back into the contest after halftime.
"Going into halftime, we felt pretty good with an 8-4 lead," McQuillan said. "We started the third quarter with back-to-back penalties, and we were able to kill both of those, but weren't able to get on the offensive right away and create some momentum in the third quarter, when they outplayed us on all accounts."
He lit a fire under them going into the fourth quarter, and they answered the call.
"One thing I do appreciate with this group — whether it's injuries or the game not going our way or not getting breaks — is this team has continued to respond in a positive way," McQuillan said. "Being a top-five team and with the reputation we have built over the past few years, we get everyone's best shots, and our guys not to buckle under the pressure.
"They were able to weather the storm that NC State was able to put on us in the third quarter and remained calm, collected, and patient on offense with some production," he added. "They weren't going to give this game away or let NC State steal it from us. We slowed things down, started playing our brand of lacrosse, and minimized mistakes and banked on our opportunities."
The Flames return to the Liberty Lacrosse Fields for a top-10 showdown with No. 8 Florida on Monday at 7 p.m.
"It's a quick turnaround," McQuillan said. "We'll have (Sunday) to rest up before playing a hot Florida team, that is coming off of one-goal wins over Georgia Tech (10-9 on Friday) and Michigan State (11-10 on Saturday). We are looking forward to that matchup. Florida is one of the big surprises of the year. We are hoping to calm them down a little bit, and defend our home field."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
