Flames allow rival Hokies to establish early pecking order in preseason ALC showdown

Thursday, October 23

Lynchburg, VA

6:00 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

Virginia Tech

Senior midfielder Luke Campbell controls the ball in last spring's regular-season showdown with Virginia Tech at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields. (Photo by Ryan Anderson)

Flames allow rival Hokies to establish early pecking order in preseason ALC showdown

10/23/2025 10:23:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Liberty led Virginia Tech 9-7 midway through the fourth quarter but was outscored 4-1 down the stretch on its home field.

Liberty University's reigning MCLA Division I national champion men's lacrosse team closed out its fall semester schedule with a back-and-forth battle against its closest rival, ALC South Division opponent Virginia Tech, Thursday night at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields. The Hokies rallied from a 9-7 deficit midway through the fourth quarter and netted the game-winning goal in the final 1 minute, 46 seconds of an 11-10 setback.

"Obviously, whenever you step on the field, as a competitor you always want to win, but there were definitely some things we needed to accomplish today and both sides were able to do that," Flames Head Coach Kyle McQuillen said. "Both squads have a lot of new players, and this was a great time to get the experience. That's what fall ball is for."

Both Liberty sophomore starting goalie Sam Hoffman and junior Ian Carvajal, who played the second half, made four saves. Hoffman gave up five goals as the teams ended the first half tied at 5 and Carvajal allowed six scores — the first and last by Austin Ashley. He pinpointed the top-right corner with his shot that lifted the Hokies to a 6-5 lead at the 14:13 mark of the third quarter before driving down the right side and putting a point-blank finish into the same spot for the final score.

Liberty got a hat trick from senior attack Luke Branham and two goals and an assist from freshman attack Taydan Williams to spark its offense. Branham started and ended the scoring for the Flames with diving shots into the crease, tying the score at 1 early in the first quarter and at 10 with 3:49 to play after cutting sharply from the left side.

But after Virginia Tech turned the ball over with 38.6 seconds remaining in regulation, the Flames failed to capitalize on the opportunity and the Hokies picked up a ground ball and ran out the clock, celebrating as if they'd won a national championship.

"Credit to Virginia Tech," McQuillan said. "In the third quarter, when we went up two, we had the momentum and the ability to pull away, but we just didn't do that. We can blame youth or inexperience or a whole multitude of things, but at the end of the day, we didn't get the job done with the guys we had here today, and Virginia Tech did."

He said the Flames have their work cut out for them over the next three months as they prepare to open their spring schedule against North Carolina State on Feb. 7 at home after scrimmaging NCAA Division III Roanoke College on Jan. 31 in Salem, Va. Liberty lost last Friday's first fall scrimmage at NCAA DIII Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va., 22-9.

"We've got a long way to go before we feel like we can defend a national championship," McQuillan said. "This is a big game, and it helps create some momentum when you win. Obviously, we had every opportunity to prevent that from happening, and we didn't take care of business tonight. We had every chance to not only tie it up, but to pull away and get that victory tonight, but we weren't able to get the job done."

Liberty will meet the Hokies again on April 2 in Blacksburg, Va.

"It's not as early in the season as when we played them last year," McQuillan said. "It'll be right before Easter, a midseason matchup at their place. Regardless, whenever we step on the field against Virginia Tech, it's always going to be a good, competitive game. We have a lot to learn, a lot to be able to digest."

"It's definitely a tough way to finish the fall season," he added. "I can't remember if we've ever finished the fall season without a win under our belt. There's a new day for everything and we're going to learn from it. The good news is we've got a lot of time between now and the next time we step on the field, but we've got a lot of work to do and a lot of experience and confidence to gain. We're just going to take it on the chin and move forward, and now we have the spring to put all of our focus and attention on over the next few months."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer