Liberty University Club Sports
University of Florida
Fifth-ranked Flames storm past No. 8 Gators with nine unanswered goals spanning first to third quarters
3/7/2022 10:48:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
A 9-0 run from late in the first quarter to midway through the third erased a 4-0 deficit and lifted Liberty University's men's lacrosse team, ranked No. 5 in the MCLA Division I coaches' poll, to a 13-11 triumph over No. 8 Florida, Monday night under intermittent rain showers at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields.
The Flames (5-0) dealt their former SELC rival Gators (8-1) their first loss, but not without a fight as Florida rallied from the 9-4 deficit to draw within one goal in the final three minutes.
"We definitely dug ourselves in a hole, but we were able to lean on each other and get back in it," Flames graduate attack Carter Elliott said. "It was a fight til the end and we've been working on our mental toughness this year, so it's definitely helped out."
Florida struck first just over a minute after the opening faceoff on a wraparound shot by James Dugan from the left side. He later stretched the Gators' lead to 4-0 at the 6:18 mark of the first quarter by beating Flames goalie Ryan Reynolds with a low shot from the top of the box.
"They shot out of a cannon, came out and played seven minutes of some of the best lacrosse I've seen in a long time and got four really good goals on great looks," Liberty Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said.
Elliott ended Liberty's scoring drought with the first of his seven goals on the night, with 4:48 left in the first, firing a shot from the top-left side of the box into the upper netting that trimmed the deficit to 4-1. Elliott made it a 4-2 contest with a driving and diving shot through the left crease.
Then, with 1:21 left, Flames senior attack Cooper Branham received senior middie Thomas Pinel's pass from behind the cage, pivoted, and fired a shot from the top right side of the box past Gators goalie Wade Parker.
Both teams were held scoreless for the first six minutes of the second quarter before Elliott struck again, tying the contest at 4-4 off an across-the-box assist from senior middie Ryan O'Connor with 8:50 remaining.
Branham gave the Flames their first lead at the 5:56 mark, taking a pass back from sophomore middie Keaton Mohs and unleashing a shot from the top right side of the box a split second before being checked to the ground by a Florida defender.
Then, after killing off a two-man penalty, Mohs extended the Flames' lead to 6-4 at the 1:00 mark with a sixth unanswered goal before halftime. He received a pass from senior middie Cameron Carter at the top of the box, maneuvered around a Gators defender with a quick spin move, and ripped a shot from eight yards out under the crossbar.
"Defense played great, especially in man-down situations," McQuillan said. "Statistically, I'm probably not going to be as happy when I look at the numbers that went into tonight's game, but nothing's going to replace the heart and the hustle and the investment these guys made in each other, to be able to come back and go into the half with a lead after going down 4-0."
Freshman middie Will Geary pushed Liberty's lead to 7-4 with 11:13 left in the third period with a shorthanded fast-break finish after chasing down a lead pass and picking up the ground ball in the left side of the box.
Elliott padded the advantage to 8-4 with 9:34 left in the third with a point-blank shot in the left side of the box before Mohs intercepted a pass on the defensive end and took it from coast to coast, finishing with a wraparound finish in the left crease at the 8:41 mark, lifting Liberty's lead to 9-4.
"Keaton played phenomenally on both sides of the ball," McQuillan said. "He's just such a talented player, we've just tried to get him to slow down and pace himself and be patient because he draws so much attention from the defense. Tonight, he was able to dish when he needed to dish, he was able to finish when he needed to finish."
Florida finally ended the 9-0 Flames run when Christian Holland put away a pass from fellow middie Nolan Testa with 7:34 to go in the third before fellow Gators attack Ian Dexter cut it to 9-6 with a one-on-one finish over Reynolds with 6:02 left. Then Ethan Gerber's point-blank finish off a feed from fellow Florida freshman middie Dylan Weinberg sliced Liberty's lead to 9-7 with 2:55 to go in the third.
Back-to-back goals by Elliott in the left side of the box in the first minute of the fourth quarter pushed Liberty's lead back to four goals at 11-7 before Florida attack Kyle Johnson kept the Gators within striking range with a fast-break finish before a backhanded turnaround putback by freshman attack Ethan Heim trimmed the gap to 11-9 with 9:07 left.
Carter stopped the bleeding by cutting from behind the right side of the cage and finishing with a forehand, padding the lead to 12-9 with 7:45 to play. Pinel's apparent finish of a feed from Mohs from behind the net was called off after he stepped into the crease, before Gerber and Weinberg pulled the Gators back within 12-11 with 2:31 to go on shots from the left side of the box.
However, the Flames worked the clock before Elliott darted out from behind the cage and converted an insurance score with 1:33 to go, aggravating a hamstring injury that kept him out of Saturday's win at North Carolina State.
Back-to-back saves by Reynolds preserved the two-goal advantage with 50 seconds remaining in regulation, when the Gators went on a man-up situation but couldn't capitalize as Reynolds came out of the cage to win possession on the end line and saved a last-second Florida shot.
Liberty will return to action this Friday at 7 p.m. when it hosts No. 2 Clemson in a rematch of the inaugural ALC Championship final, won by the Flames.
"With Clemson coming in this weekend and the rest of our schedule, we've got plenty of opportunities to continue to prove that we belong in the top echelon of the MCLA," McQuillan said.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by the Liberty Flames Sports Network (LFSN)
