Men’s lacrosse hoping to send out seniors as MCLA DI national champions in Texas

Gallery: (5-5-2024) Men's lacrosse nationals preview

After capturing its second ALC Tournament title in four years, Liberty University's No. 4-seeded men's lacrosse team will open play in the MCLA Division I National Championships on Monday at 10:45 a.m. (EST) against No. 13 Northeastern (Mass.) University (11-4), the team that dealt the Flames (12-4) their first loss this season, 8-7 in wintry conditions on Feb. 18 in Lynchburg, Va.

Liberty, which is making its sixth consecutive national tournament appearance after missing the cut the first four seasons it competed at the Division I level, has won four in a row since losing its fourth game of the season, to No. 3 Chapman on March 23 at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields.

After losing three games in three days on a trip to Utah in early March, the Huskies closed out the regular season and conference tournament play on a nine-game winning streak.

"That weekend (in Utah) didn't define them," Liberty Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said, noting that at least one of the three losses (to Utah Valley, Utah, and BYU) were played in blizzard-like conditions. "What they did after that defines them. They are trending in the right direction, as well."

Every game in the MCLA tournament will be streamed live on its website.

Should they advance past Northeastern on Monday, the Flames would face a potential quarterfinal round showdown with No. 5 Virginia Tech — if it can get past No. 12 Arizona State — on Tuesday at 7:45 p.m. (EST), when temperatures will likely still be in the upper 80s in Round Rock, with a high of 90 forecast for that day.

"We don't want to get hung up on the fact that there's a chance we'll see Virginia Tech," said McQuillan, noting that it would be a rematch of Liberty's 18-14 ALC semifinal victory at Lynchburg City Stadium that avenged a 10-9 loss in Blacksburg, Va. "It is tough to beat a good team multiple times in the year, but obviously, our focus and attention is on Northeastern, and I'm sure Virginia Tech will say the same thing, that they've got their hands full with a very strong ASU team. At end of the day, we've got to play four teams and beat four very good teams (to claim the championship)."

Following their 17-13 triumph over Tennessee in the ALC final, the Flames took Monday through Wednesday off before practicing on Thursday and Friday on their home turf and again in Texas on Sunday.

"We've taken some time to get the guys some much needed rest, giving them space to attend to their academics," McQuillan said. "We feel very good where we're at, making the trip out to Texas a day earlier than in the past. (But) with us leaving on Saturday, they had to cram all of their exams and final preparations in beforehand."

If Liberty can make it back to the Final Four, as it did for the first time at the DI level last May before falling to eventual tournament champion Concordia (Calif.), which has since moved up to the NCAA Division I ranks, it will have to celebrate Commencement from afar with its nine seniors in Texas before Thursday's semifinal or Saturday's championship game.

"We're going to have to see, not knowing what our schedule is with the single-elimination tournament," McQuillan said. "We hope to all still be in Texas on Saturday, but we will prioritize getting our seniors back before then if not."

He said the players for the most part would rather graduate on the field as champions.

"When you play lacrosse in college, it comes with the territory that you may potentially have to make your graduation ceremony secondary," McQuillan said. "The guys are well aware of the sacrifice, and if it were up to them, they will still be playing."

Liberty is confident that it is playing its best lacrosse of the season and is prepared to reach even higher in Texas, where it has an air of familiarity.

"We have been there three times, so we are very familiar with the location and the field," McQuillan said. "We have a lot of new guys that have never been there, and I have been really impressed with a handful of new guys to the program, from Conor Guiltinan and Luke Campbell, transfers who are new to Liberty, to true freshmen Easton Cahill and Peyton Park, our LSM who contributed in very key ways, I have been pleased with the additions to this year's team who were not a part of last year's national championship run."

At the same time, he acknowledges that the Flames will look to their seniors to lead them in Texas.

"There is no question that this is their team and their season, and obviously, we want to send them out the right way," McQuillan said. "We sent them out with a victory on Senior Night against Clemson, and they ended their careers as ALC Tournament champions, which was great. The last piece of the puzzle would be to be able to send them out as national champions."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer

Men’s lacrosse hoping to send out seniors as MCLA DI national champions in Texas

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Easton Cahill

Luke Campbell

Conor Guiltinan

Peyton Park