Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Flames midfielder Will Geary (24) is congratulated by attack Braden Landry during the ALC Championship final won by Liberty at Lynchburg City Stadium.
Men’s lacrosse finalizes roster with walk-ons, welcomes alumni back for Homecoming clash
9/16/2024 4:00:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Liberty will test its new talent this fall when it hosts scrimmages against MCLA rival Virginia Tech and NCAA Division III Hampden-Sydney in October.
After welcoming one of the most talented recruiting classes in recent seasons, Liberty University's men's lacrosse team added four more players through this month's tryout process and started practices last week with a 38-man roster.
"That's probably the most players we've ever carried into the season in recent years, and we feel very good not only about the depth, but that we are very well balanced at all positions," Flames Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. "Bringing in key guys over the summer at important positions, we now have the best team on paper that we've ever had."
He said he noticed the elevated skill across the board during preseason practices and pickup games.
"I am impressed with what our starting point is," McQuillan said. "In the past, our first week of practice has often been a struggle, but we feel very good about where we're starting off. The guys took their offseasons seriously and stayed in shape."
The Flames added Ryan Merbach, a former midfielder who transferred to Flagler (Fla.) College following his sophomore season in 2022, and picked up three walk-ons: freshman goalie Caden Maurer; freshman attack Penn Willman, who is a good friend of fellow E.C. Glass High School alumnus Kason Brehm, a sophomore defender; and sophomore Gabe Dymmel, a former member of Liberty's indoor men's volleyball team.
Over the summer, defenders Matt Walker and Bryn Jungles, who graduated this past spring, opted to exercise an additional year of eligibility due to COVID cutting their freshman seasons short. Additionally, graduate attack Braden Landry has communicated an interest in returning for a fifth season in the spring.
On Friday night, the Flames held off a spirited 20-man team of former players, including Assistant Coaches Mike Zumpano and Ryan Miller and his younger brother Jackson Miller for a one-goal victory in the annual alumni game held on the Liberty Lacrosse Fields over Homecoming weekend.
"It was pretty competitive, and it came down to the end," said McQuillan, who officiated the contest. "We had to spot the alumni a goalie, but other than that, they were able to outfit an entire team, and it was one of the most talented alumni teams ever put together."
One allowance McQuillan made for the alumni team, which also didn't have an experienced faceoff man, was that every time the alumni team scored, NCAA Division I graduate transfer faceoff specialist Caleb Hammett was not permitted to take the ensuing faceoff.
"Other than that, they played straight-up," McQuillan said. "Homecoming was quite a bit earlier than usual, and we had just concluded our first week of practice and hadn't had a bunch of time to work as a team, so it was a pretty even playing field."
The Flames have two and a half weeks to prepare for their fall scrimmage against Atlantic Lacrosse Conference rival Virginia Tech at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields on Oct. 5. They have also added a home matchup with Hampden-Sydney College, an NCAA Division III program Liberty played in the 2019 preseason, on Oct. 19 at 3 p.m.
"That is a really strong program in the ODAC and will be a great barometer, as will the Virginia Tech game," McQuillan said. "Hampden-Sydney will have a little less pressure, since it is not a team we see in the regular season, which will allow us to do a little more development work."
The Flames may add another opponent to their fall schedule on Oct. 26 or hold a Blue and White intrasquad scrimmage that day.
Liberty received five to six commitments for the Fall 2025 recruiting class at its Flames Futures Camp in August and has another scheduled for the weekend before the start of the spring semester. Those will be key for keeping the numbers up with Liberty projected to graduate 12 seniors and three graduate students in May.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
"That's probably the most players we've ever carried into the season in recent years, and we feel very good not only about the depth, but that we are very well balanced at all positions," Flames Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. "Bringing in key guys over the summer at important positions, we now have the best team on paper that we've ever had."
He said he noticed the elevated skill across the board during preseason practices and pickup games.
"I am impressed with what our starting point is," McQuillan said. "In the past, our first week of practice has often been a struggle, but we feel very good about where we're starting off. The guys took their offseasons seriously and stayed in shape."
The Flames added Ryan Merbach, a former midfielder who transferred to Flagler (Fla.) College following his sophomore season in 2022, and picked up three walk-ons: freshman goalie Caden Maurer; freshman attack Penn Willman, who is a good friend of fellow E.C. Glass High School alumnus Kason Brehm, a sophomore defender; and sophomore Gabe Dymmel, a former member of Liberty's indoor men's volleyball team.
Over the summer, defenders Matt Walker and Bryn Jungles, who graduated this past spring, opted to exercise an additional year of eligibility due to COVID cutting their freshman seasons short. Additionally, graduate attack Braden Landry has communicated an interest in returning for a fifth season in the spring.
On Friday night, the Flames held off a spirited 20-man team of former players, including Assistant Coaches Mike Zumpano and Ryan Miller and his younger brother Jackson Miller for a one-goal victory in the annual alumni game held on the Liberty Lacrosse Fields over Homecoming weekend.
"It was pretty competitive, and it came down to the end," said McQuillan, who officiated the contest. "We had to spot the alumni a goalie, but other than that, they were able to outfit an entire team, and it was one of the most talented alumni teams ever put together."
One allowance McQuillan made for the alumni team, which also didn't have an experienced faceoff man, was that every time the alumni team scored, NCAA Division I graduate transfer faceoff specialist Caleb Hammett was not permitted to take the ensuing faceoff.
"Other than that, they played straight-up," McQuillan said. "Homecoming was quite a bit earlier than usual, and we had just concluded our first week of practice and hadn't had a bunch of time to work as a team, so it was a pretty even playing field."
The Flames have two and a half weeks to prepare for their fall scrimmage against Atlantic Lacrosse Conference rival Virginia Tech at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields on Oct. 5. They have also added a home matchup with Hampden-Sydney College, an NCAA Division III program Liberty played in the 2019 preseason, on Oct. 19 at 3 p.m.
"That is a really strong program in the ODAC and will be a great barometer, as will the Virginia Tech game," McQuillan said. "Hampden-Sydney will have a little less pressure, since it is not a team we see in the regular season, which will allow us to do a little more development work."
The Flames may add another opponent to their fall schedule on Oct. 26 or hold a Blue and White intrasquad scrimmage that day.
Liberty received five to six commitments for the Fall 2025 recruiting class at its Flames Futures Camp in August and has another scheduled for the weekend before the start of the spring semester. Those will be key for keeping the numbers up with Liberty projected to graduate 12 seniors and three graduate students in May.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
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