Liberty University Club Sports
ALC Playoffs
Flames vanquish Volunteers with dominant second-half performance in ALC semis
4/29/2023 9:16:14 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Liberty University’s men’s lacrosse team, ranked No. 3 in this week’s MCLA Division I Coaches’ Poll overcame a one-goal deficit early in the second half before pulling away for a 20-11 triumph over unranked Tennessee in Saturday’s semifinal round of the ALC Conference Championships at Lynchburg’s City Stadium.
“Tennessee gave us everything we could handle in that first half and even coming into the second, jumping out on us,” Flames Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. “That first half, it just felt that everything was going Tennessee’s way. All their shots were landing, we were struggling with some of our shot selection and the second half, we just kind of started finding our groove and our rhythm.”
The Flames (13-2) outscored the Volunteers (9-6) by a 13-3 margin over the final 28 minutes, 40 seconds to take complete control of the contest.
“Defensively, we just started talking better, communicating, just giving our goalie Ric (Warnstrom) better shots on goal and he was making some great saves for us and bailing us out,” Liberty junior defender Matthew Walker said. “The key was just staying under control, staying poised, finding our groove. We stayed together and played as a unit … and we were able to find our killer instinct and pulled it out.”
Trailing 4-3 in the first quarter, the Flames worked the last 50 seconds off the clock before graduate attack Cooper Branham set up sophomore midfielder Will Geary up top, where he slipped on turf but managed to release a sidearmed shot that skipped past Tennessee goalie Zach Janus for the equalizer with 1.2 seconds left in the first quarter.
The score remained knotted at 4-4 until Tennessee middie JD Shellenberger fired a shot on the run from the right side into the upper netting with 6:34 left in the first half.
Then, at the 3:03 mark, the Flames finally got on the scoreboard, re-tying the contest on a fast-break finish by Branham after a low scoop save by Warnstrom and outlet pass to Walker. Walker sent a transitional feed to Branham, who rifled a shot from the left wing past Janus inside the right post.
“Transition goals really help with momentum, so when we can get one, we like to take them,” Branham said.
Branham, who netted a game-high five goals, struck again 1:55 before halftime by darting out from behind the left side of the cage and sneaking a turnaround shot past Janus inside the left post.
“We were getting a lot of good looks early on, but we weren’t finishing, so that was our focus going into the rest of the game,” said Branham, who was named the Player of the Game. “We like those high-percentage shots, those on the run, down the alley, middle-of-the-field shots, so whenever we can get those we like to take them.”
Warnstrom made back-to-back saves of shots by Shellenberger before the Flames went down a man on a penalty and Tennessee’s Ethan Holthaus took a feed in the left crease and finished a shot high from close range, knotting the score at 6-6.
But once again, the Flames capitalized in the clutch, this time taking a 7-6 lead with 1.1 seconds to play in the half off a restart by junior middie Keaton Mohs, who found sophomore attack Braden Landry cutting into the open right crease for a catch-and-release finish.
Mohs played through a shoulder injury and took quite a bit of punishment throughout the contest, but survived to fight another day.
“I expect the same from him (Sunday) and for the rest of the year,” McQuillan said. “He’s that kind of guy and we’ve got a team full of guys like that.”
Liberty’s lead was short-lived as Volunteers’ attack Jackson Zimmer netted the equalizer 23 seconds into the second half. Then, after forcing a turnover in front of the Tennessee bench, Shellenberger’s shot into the top right corner of the cage put the Volunteers back on top, 8-7, with 13:40 left in the third quarter.
Just over a minute later, Branham tied it back up with a shot from behind his head after receiving a feed from senior attack Cameron Carter right in front. Then, the Flames reclaimed the lead for good when freshman midfielder Bennett Newman won a ground-ball pickup in traffic and flipped a pass across to Mohs in the middle where he found Branham open on the left perimeter, where he unleashed a howitzer of a shot into the upper netting for a 9-8 advantage with 9:48 left in the third quarter.
After senior middie Remy Newton helped break up a Tennessee attack, Liberty capitalized on the other end to go up 10-8 on a running shot by Geary, who beat Janus with a low shot with 6:23 to go.
Just over a minute later, freshman attack Luke Branham, the ALC Rookie of the Year, gave the Flames their first three-goal lead with a shot from the left crease at the 6:20 mark.
Mohs stretched Liberty’s edge to 12-8 on a short-ranged wrist shot from the left side while being fouled and flattened to the turf. The Flames couldn’t capitalize on the man advantage after losing the ensuing faceoff, but upon regaining possession, junior middie Ryan Merbach converted a running shot on the other end to extended its lead to 13-8 with 2:18 left in the third.
Liberty continued to build on its advantage to start the fourth quarter, again converting off a fast-break with Mohs serving as mediator, setting up Luke Branham for a finish from the center at the 13:16 mark.
“We don’t necessarily bank on those, but those are definitely great to get and came at opportune times today,” McQuillan said.
Good off-ball movement by Landry and fellow sophomore transfer Peyton Doyle opened the door for back-to-back high-percentage shots off assists from Newman and Luke Branham, respectively, extending the lead to 17-8.
After two goals by the Volunteers trimmed the deficit to 17-10 with just under 7:00 remaining in regulation, Doyle set up Luke Branham for a fantastic dodge and one-handed finish under tight coverage at the 4:57 mark to pad the lead to 18-10.
“He was coming around the crease and I thought he was going to get smoked,” Cooper Branham said of Luke Branham’s goal. “He somehow made it out with one hand and ended up finishing it, so that was awesome to see. He’s doing a great job (and) I’m super proud of him. As an older brother, that’s all I can ask for.”
Cooper Branham powered his way past two defenders and capped his five-goal performance with a tough left-handed bounce shot with 3:30 to play.
“It was fantastic, those two being able to play together,” McQuillan said of the Branham brothers. “But obviously winning championships is what their goal is and thankfully, we’re still alive to be able to do that. Getting Braden Landry back (from injury) was good for the offense, good for the flow. We had some production from some guys like Ryan Merbach and Peyton (Doyle) so, and I say it all the time, what makes us dangerous is we have a lot of guys that can score.”
A phenomenal finish by senior attack Mark Rolewicz put the icing on the lopsided win with 2:12 to go as he changed hands with his stick in front and tucked a contested shot inside the right post.
The Flames’ triumph sets up a rematch with No. 1-ranked Virginia Tech, one of two teams to defeat them this season, in Sunday’s 3 p.m. championship game. The Hokies (13-2) dominated Temple in Saturday’s other semifinal, 23-7.
“If we just play together as a team, I think we can pull it out and win our second ALC Championship (in three seasons),” Walker said. “I’m excited to hopefully knock off a No. 1 team and take the momentum into the (May 8-13 MCLA) National Championships in Texas.”
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
