Flames open MCLA tournament play by prevailing in defensive duel with Huskies

Monday, May 6

Round Rock, TX

10:45 AM

Liberty University Club Sports

Northeastern University

Flames midfielders Hunter Rockhill (17) and Mark Rolewicz celebrate one of three goals scored by senior attack Braden Landry. (Photos by Andrew Musser)

Flames open MCLA tournament play by prevailing in defensive duel with Huskies

5/6/2024 2:19:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Liberty will face No. 12 Arizona State, which upset No. 5 Virginia Tech on Monday afternoon, in Tuesday’s 8:45 p.m. quarterfinals.

Mark-Rolewicz-Hunter-Rockhill — Rolewicz, who netted Liberty's final goal, celebrates another score with Rockhill, who paced the Flames with four assists.

In a rematch of its first loss of the season, Liberty University's No. 4-seeded ALC championship men's lacrosse team turned the tables on No. 13 CLC champion Northeastern in Monday morning's MCLA Division I National Championships opener in Round Rock, Texas, netting the last three goals of the second and fourth quarters to seal an 11-6 triumph.

Kyle-McQuillan-mug — Head Coach Kyle McQuillan kept his team calm and composed.

"We felt confident coming into this game that we could control the pace and get a lead and protect it," Flames Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. "It was a good first game, though it was not our cleanest game. Northeastern is probably the most physically dominating team we've played all season. They're big and fast and they checked us hard, so goals were a little more difficult to come by. Our scoring was pretty balanced, which is pretty consistent with what we've done all year."

Liberty capitalized on its first man-up opportunity when freshman midfielder Hunter Rockhill (1 goals, 4 assists) dodged down the left side of the box and set up senior attack Keaton Mohs (2G, 3A) who started the scoring from near the left crease.

The Flames doubled their lead to 2-0 in the final five seconds of the first quarter when Mohs, ranging behind the cage, spotted fellow senior attack Braden Landry (3G, 1A) cutting toward the net for a point-blank finish in front.

Northeastern senior middie and team captain Ryan McCarthy trimmed the deficit to 2-1 just over two minutes into the second quarter after dodging a defender at the top of the box and firing a shot that got behind Flames goalie Eric Warnstrom (10 saves). But Liberty responded immediately off the ensuing faceoff win by freshman Jayson Houck, who received a return pass before promptly finding Mohs open for a laser of a shot from the left side of the box.

Then, the Flames extended their lead to 4-1 on a beautiful passing sequence from Rockhill to Mohs behind the cage where he fed freshman attack Easton Cahill on the left side, who rifled a shot past Northeastern goalie and co-captain Sam Bellamy.

The Huskies showed plenty of fight and executed a phenomenal clearing pass from left to right up the field before middie Wynton Bastian assisted attack Tucker Smith's rocket of a shot from the right side that cut the gap to 4-2.

Rockhill finished a sidearm shot after using a windup hitch to sweep pass a defender to push the Flames' edge to 5-2 before Northeastern's Bradley Peterson darted out from behind the right side of the cage with a speed dodge and turnaround shot into the top left corner of the net for his team-leading 35th goal of the year, making it a 5-3 contest. Then, with the Huskies on a man advantage, Bastian ripped a bounce shot from the top right side of the box, trimming the gap to 5-4.

Following an unnecessary roughness penalty against Northeastern for a check to the chest of Houck on transition, Liberty capitalized moments after the man-up situation expired as Mohs threaded a feed from behind the net to sophomore attack Luke Branham (2G) just outside the crease for a well-timed finish and a 6-4 lead.

Keaton-Mohs-midfield — Senior attack Keaton Mohs (8) equaled his season average with a 5-point game.

Moments later, a spectacular clear by senior Bryn Jungles from behind his own cage to fellow long-stick midfielder Peyton Park, a freshman, led to a fast-break finish by Landry off a feed from Mohs.

Tic-tac-toe passing from Mohs to Landry to Branham led to an easy finish near the left crease, expanding Liberty's lead to 8-4 with 1:46 remaining in the first half. Warnstrom made two saves of high-percentage shots from near the left crease in the closing minutes.

Northeastern's Bastian ended a scoring drought to start the second half by sidearming a left-handed shot from close range on the right side past Warnstrom for his 35th goal of the year with 6:18 left in the third quarter, getting back within three goals.

"To not score a goal in the third quarter was a little concerning, but to only let them score one made it not the worst thing in the world," McQuillan said. "We told the team we have been a fourth-quarter team over the past month and it was good to see that trend continue as we were able to create some separation."

Early in the fourth quarter, the Flames couldn't put away a point-blank shot with a man advantage and the Huskies successfully cleared and cut the deficit to 8-6 with an unassisted fast-break finish by Thomas Bobear.

However, Liberty finally answered with its first goal of the second half at the 9:58 mark of the fourth quarter on a driving feed from Rockhill to Landry in front, where he completed his hat trick for a 9-6 edge.

The Flames padded their lead to 10-6 on a clutch shot from the left perimeter by junior middie Will Geary off a fourth assist from Rockhill with 6:20 remaining in regulation. On its next possession, Liberty worked the shot clock down to 15 seconds before Geary drove from the top of the box and set up graduate attack Mark Rolewicz for a powerful finish in front for a five-goal advantage with 2:40 to go.

"That was a strong fourth quarter from our guys, and Ric (Warnstrom) played well. As the game went on, he found his groove, and that was a great performance from him," McQuillan said. "Our defense played a great game, holding them to minimal opportunities and we scored enough to take control."

Junior defender Conor Guiltinan forced four Huskies turnovers to aid Liberty's cause.

The Flames advance to face No. 12-seeded Arizona State, a 12-11 upset winner over No. 5 Virginia Tech on Monday afternoon, in Tuesday at 8:45 p.m. EST quarterfinal, streamed live by MCLA TV on a pay-per-view basis.

"Today was humid and a little overcast," McQuillan said, noting that on-field temperatures were only in the low 80s, but the team returned to the hotel to rehydrate and watch the Hokies and Sun Devils duel from their air-conditioned rooms. "We were fortunate to play in that 9:45 a.m. time slot because it is going to heat up even more."

Temperatures are projected to be in the upper 80-degree range when Liberty faces ASU on Tuesday night. The teams split two previous meetings, with the Flames falling, 11-10, in 2015 in Tempe, Ariz., before turning the tables on the Sun Devils at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields in 2018, winning 12-11.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer