Friday, October 17
Ashland, VA
6:15 PM
Liberty University Club Sports
9
at
22
Randolph-Macon College
Men’s lacrosse stung repeatedly by Yellow Jackets in fall scrimmage opener
10/18/2025 11:31:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Liberty traveled to NCAA Division III Randolph-Macon College and came away with a lopsided loss, and a valuable learning experience before Thursday’s home showdown with Virginia Tech.
It was a challenging opening night for Liberty University's reigning MCLA Division I national champion men's lacrosse team, which traveled to Ashland, Va., on Friday night and suffered a 22-9 fall semester setback against NCAA Division III Randolph-Macon College.
"Our guys were not comfortable in the offense yet, as they are still learning a lot of the plays, and they looked a little bit confused and out of sorts," Flames Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. "But it was a great test, and I told our guys 'Every once in a while, you get punched in the mouth, and it's not always a bad thing.' We're going to use it as a learning opportunity to get better."
Randolph-College was the fourth Old Dominion Athletic Conference team Liberty has challenged in recent years, after previous matchups with Hampden-Sydney, Randolph College, and Roanoke College. The Yellow Jackets may have been the strongest to date.
"We have made some good connections and established relationships with handful of NCAA Division III schools and have played probably the majority of the teams in the ODAC, with the University of Lynchburg being one exception," McQuillan said. "Randolph-Macon is a very, very good team. Honestly, in the 15 years I've been coaching, I would say that was one of the best teams we have ever shared the field with, and I'm glad we had that opportunity."
While the loss was more decisive than anticipated, the Flames gave the Yellow Jackets a decent fight overall.
"I was still impressed," McQuillan said. "We knew they were really talented and had a lot of great players. The big thing we wanted to do was to match their energy and physicality and go toe-to-toe with them, and we did that."
He said the experience of playing the Yellow Jackets at Day Field, home of their football team, was a memorable and invaluable one.
"It was a really cool venue, a great facility, and they were very hospitable," McQuillan said. "Randolph-Macon is going to have a really solid season. It has a 59-man roster, including about 20 freshmen. All in all, both teams got a lot of really great experience. The Fall season is about learning and developing, learning what you have and making adjustments, and tonight was a chance to start that process."
He and his coaching staff experimented with various lineup combinations to test the Flames' newcomers in game situations.
"We did a lot of experimenting," McQuillan said. "We got all of our guys in, everybody had some opportunities to play, and that will give us a lot more insight into where guys are going to fit in," McQuillan said. "There are a lot of starting spots up for grabs, and hopefully we have a clearer picture now."
Liberty can take a lot of positives out of it as it prepares to host ALC rival Virginia Tech on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields.
"We realize we are a young team with 17 freshmen who hadn't even played in a college lacrosse game, and we have got a lot of young guys that are going to be really impactful," McQuillan said. "After losing guys like (all-time MCLA scoring leader) Keaton (Mohs) on attack, (faceoff specialist) Caleb (Hammett), and (defender) Conor (Guiltinan) we definitely knew that this season was going to be one of trying to fill a lot of gaps. It was an opportunity to play arguably one of the best if not the best team we'll face all season. Now, hopefully, we will watch some film this week, learn from it, make corrections, and reboot for Virginia Tech. We are definitely looking forward to rebounding and finishing our fall season on a better note. We have a lot of work to do between now and Thursday night."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Photos by Anna Wheat
"Our guys were not comfortable in the offense yet, as they are still learning a lot of the plays, and they looked a little bit confused and out of sorts," Flames Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. "But it was a great test, and I told our guys 'Every once in a while, you get punched in the mouth, and it's not always a bad thing.' We're going to use it as a learning opportunity to get better."
Randolph-College was the fourth Old Dominion Athletic Conference team Liberty has challenged in recent years, after previous matchups with Hampden-Sydney, Randolph College, and Roanoke College. The Yellow Jackets may have been the strongest to date.
"We have made some good connections and established relationships with handful of NCAA Division III schools and have played probably the majority of the teams in the ODAC, with the University of Lynchburg being one exception," McQuillan said. "Randolph-Macon is a very, very good team. Honestly, in the 15 years I've been coaching, I would say that was one of the best teams we have ever shared the field with, and I'm glad we had that opportunity."
While the loss was more decisive than anticipated, the Flames gave the Yellow Jackets a decent fight overall.
"I was still impressed," McQuillan said. "We knew they were really talented and had a lot of great players. The big thing we wanted to do was to match their energy and physicality and go toe-to-toe with them, and we did that."
He said the experience of playing the Yellow Jackets at Day Field, home of their football team, was a memorable and invaluable one.
"It was a really cool venue, a great facility, and they were very hospitable," McQuillan said. "Randolph-Macon is going to have a really solid season. It has a 59-man roster, including about 20 freshmen. All in all, both teams got a lot of really great experience. The Fall season is about learning and developing, learning what you have and making adjustments, and tonight was a chance to start that process."
He and his coaching staff experimented with various lineup combinations to test the Flames' newcomers in game situations.
"We did a lot of experimenting," McQuillan said. "We got all of our guys in, everybody had some opportunities to play, and that will give us a lot more insight into where guys are going to fit in," McQuillan said. "There are a lot of starting spots up for grabs, and hopefully we have a clearer picture now."
Liberty can take a lot of positives out of it as it prepares to host ALC rival Virginia Tech on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields.
"We realize we are a young team with 17 freshmen who hadn't even played in a college lacrosse game, and we have got a lot of young guys that are going to be really impactful," McQuillan said. "After losing guys like (all-time MCLA scoring leader) Keaton (Mohs) on attack, (faceoff specialist) Caleb (Hammett), and (defender) Conor (Guiltinan) we definitely knew that this season was going to be one of trying to fill a lot of gaps. It was an opportunity to play arguably one of the best if not the best team we'll face all season. Now, hopefully, we will watch some film this week, learn from it, make corrections, and reboot for Virginia Tech. We are definitely looking forward to rebounding and finishing our fall season on a better note. We have a lot of work to do between now and Thursday night."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Photos by Anna Wheat
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