Men’s lacrosse completes Spring Break sweep, upsets No. 2 Northeastern

Saturday, March 15

Madison, CT

1:00 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

Northeastern University

Liberty men's lacrosse celebration vs. Northeastern

Flames midfielder Hunter Rockhill (center) celebrates a goal with Brody Ashworth (left) and attack Luke Branham. (Photos courtesy of Brooke Samuelson)

Men’s lacrosse completes Spring Break sweep, upsets No. 2 Northeastern

3/15/2025 9:18:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

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Liberty attackmen Keaton Mohs, Luke Branham, and Braden Landry combined for 8 goals and 5 assists and faceoff specialist Caleb Hammett won 14 of 18 attempts to spark the offense.

Gallery: (3-15-2025) Men's lacrosse vs. Northeastern

Liberty University's No. 6-ranked men's lacrosse team opened an 8-4 halftime lead on No. 2 Northeastern University before scoring the last three goals in a 13-10 triumph, Saturday afternoon at Strong Field overlooking the Long Island Sound in Madison, Conn.

Flames attackmen Keaton Mohs, a graduate student who scored four goals and distributed one assist, junior Luke Branham (2G, 2A, five ground balls), and graduate Braden Landry (2G, 2A, 3GB) scored in succession after the Huskies (6-1) tied the game at 10 to start the fourth quarter.

"It was a fun day," Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said after Liberty improved to 6-1 and completed its Spring Break road trip at 2-0. "It was a stressful, but enjoyable game. We battled back and it was probably the most fun we've had as a team, especially coming away with a victory."

Branham, Landry, and Mohs had also netted goals in a 4-0 Flames flurry that stretched their lead to 8-3 in the second quarter. The third goal in that scoring spurt came from freshman middie Will Morris, who kindled the offense and fanned the Flames on the sideline by making a spectacular run from near midfield. Morris sprinted past a Huskies defender and faked a shot before finishing from point-blank range, prompting a spontaneous celebration behind the goal that spilled over to Liberty's sideline.

"That goal got me so excited because what you don't see in that (video posted on Liberty's Instagram page) is me screaming at him not to take that shot, but I was glad it worked out," McQuillan said. "The fake that he has is pretty special, and I don't usually get super animated, but that was probably one of the most I've been, seeing that happen right in front of our sideline."

Northeastern opened an early 2-0 lead before goals by Mohs, on a 12-yard step-down stinger, and junior middie Luke Campbell on a shot from the perimeter tied it by the end of the first quarter.

The Huskies rallied from five goals down late in the second quarter to tie the contest at 9 late in the third on a 4-0 run of their own.

"The third quarter is normally our best quarter, usually what we needed to create some separation, but today, it was a little bit of the opposite," McQuillan said. "We allowed them to have their best quarter, and they scored five goals on us. The talk at halftime was that Northeastern wasn't the No. 2 team in the country for nothing. We anticipated (the Huskies) were really going to press us and get back into that game. We bent, but never broke, and were able to control that fourth quarter and gain that separation at the end."

The catalyst for that shift in momentum was graduate faceoff specialist Caleb Hammett, who won 14 of 18 draws, picked up 11 ground balls, and scored twice off faceoff wins, the first doubling the Flames' lead to 4-2 early in the second quarter and second lifting Liberty to a 10-9 advantage at the end of the third.

"Those were critical goals at critical times," McQuillan said, noting Hammett was most deserving of player of the game honors. "We lost Caleb at the faceoff dot due to injury for the middle section of that game, getting him back was a momentum shift for us."

"It is crazy how much of a confidence booster and spark plug he can be," he added. "We saw him getting taped up on the sideline and by the time he made his way over to get back in the game, Northeastern had tied it, and as soon as he returned, with the competitive advantage he gives us at the faceoff dot, that lifted our emotions and gave us a boost of energy."

Sophomore goalie Ian Carvajal made seven saves, and senior defender Conor Guiltinan and junior defender Brody Ashworth both picked up four ground balls to help Liberty stifle Northeastern's attack.

The Flames extended their winning streak to six games since opening the season by allowing Virginia Tech to net the last three goals in a 16-12 setback on Feb. 8 at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields, where they will return next Saturday at 3 p.m. for an ALC tilt against Temple.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer