Flames men’s lacrosse lights up the night with 21-7 triumph over Texas A&M

Friday, March 28

Lynchburg, VA

7:00 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

Texas A&M University

Flames graduate attack Braden Landry (91) is congratulated after one of his game-high five goals on the night against Texas A&M at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields. (Photos by Ethan Smith)

Flames men’s lacrosse lights up the night with 21-7 triumph over Texas A&M

3/28/2025 11:40:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

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No. 3 Liberty outscored the Aggies 9-0 in the second quarter and 8-2 in the third to break open a 1-1 game and improve to 8-1.

Gallery: (3-28-2025) Men's lacrosse Liberty-Texas A&M

Tied with Texas A&M after the first quarter, Liberty University's No. 3-ranked men's lacrosse team caught fire in the second, outscoring the Aggies 9-0 to seize command of the contest and cruise to a 21-7 triumph on Friday, Military Appreciation Night at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields.

Bradley Mays started the scoring for Texas A&M (1-6) midway through the first quarter as the Flames (8-1) were shut out for the first 12 minutes. But Liberty senior middie Will Geary drove down the right side of the box and found Keaton Mohs (two goals, six assists) behind the net where he set up fellow graduate attack Braden Landry (5G, 1A) cutting through the right crease for a point-blank finish inside the right post to tie the contest at the 2:53 mark.

"In that first quarter, they came out in a zone, and it was giving us some trouble, and their goalie had some tremendous saves and really kept it close," Flames Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. "What really broke the game open was our ability to push (the ball) in transition. The transition game's a big part of who we are and tonight showcased that, especially early in the second quarter. We got six or seven goals (on the fast break) to start to create some separation."

Just 25 seconds into the second quarter, junior attack Luke Branham (2G, 1A) received a pass from Geary and finished a scoring drive from near the right post for a 2-1 Flames advantage.

Senior defender Ben Chun's check and ground-ball pickup in traffic and outlet pass sparked a fast break to junior defender Brody Ashworth, whose shot was blocked by the Aggies' goalie before Ashworth recovered the rebound and set up Mohs for a powerful shot from the left side into the back of the net.

"Our attack showed up," McQuillan said. "We know that Keaton is a huge part of our success and a big part of being able to get points not only on the offensive side of the ball but on transition."

At the 9:22 mark, the Flames stretched the lead to 4-1 on junior attack Luke Branham's behind-the-head finish near the right post set up by another Mohs feed from behind the cage.

Then, 25 seconds later, Chun facilitated another fast break capped by sophomore defensive middie Kason Brehm down the right side.

Junior middie Shane Supek extended the lead to 6-1 before sophomore middie Harris Shook netted back-to-back goals, sophomore middie Hunter Rockhill added another unassisted goal, and Mohs took a pass across the box from Landry and ripped a shot into the top-left corner to make it a 10-1 contest at the 2:06 mark.

Aggies midfielder Mason Costa started the second-half scoring with a driving score before Liberty's goal parade continued, highlighted by flamethrower blasts on either side of the scoreboard celebrating each goal.

Four minutes into the third quarter, Landry took a pass from sophomore defensive middle Ty Broughton and rocketed a sharp-angled submarine shot from the right side of the box into the top-left corner of the net.

Then, 20 seconds after the ensuing faceoff, Brehm scored unassisted before junior middie Gabe Dymmel converted off an assist from Hunter Rockhill.

Sophomore attack Easton Cahill stretched Liberty's lead to 14-2 with another unassisted score before Landry made a spectacular turnaround fadeaway shot from near the top of the box after receiving an entry pass from senior middie Ryan Merbach.

Moments later, with Liberty on a man advantage, Landry received Mohs' feed from the top of the box and capitalized for a point-blank finish deep in the right crease.

Freshman middie Josiah Hoopman bounced a shot into the net from the top of the box off another assist from Mohs, extending the Flames' lead to 17-2 before the Aggies' Costa netted his second goal of the quarter.

Dymmel leaped high to catch Mohs' pass from behind the cage before ripping a sidearm snipe with 2.5 seconds remaining in the quarter, extending the Flames' advantage to 18-3.

After Texas A&M scored back-to-back goals to start the fourth quarter, Merbach and Will Morris unleashed guided missiles from the top of the left and right sides of the box and Hoopman added a howitzer of a shot from the center to pad Liberty's lead to 21-5.

Graduate faceoff specialist Caleb Hammett won 17 out of 21 draws and picked up another nine ground balls while Mohs, Broughton, and sophomore long-stick midfielder Peyton Park each added five ground-ball pickups.

"Texas A&M's (faceoff specialist) was very big, very physical and gave Caleb probably one of the best runs for his money that he's seen this season," McQuillan said. "It just took him a little bit of time to get into a groove, and he was able to separate himself as the game went on. Then, we got some really good faceoff play from Shane Supek (who won 10-of-14 attempts) as well in the second half."

Flames sophomore goalie Ian Carvajal made three saves and allowed three goals in the first half before freshman replacement Caden Maurer stopped four shots and let four others get past him in the second.

For the contest, Liberty wore black military-themed uniforms, which will be auctioned off to raise support for future mission trips.

"This year, it's a little more meaningful," McQuillan said, noting first-year Assistant Coach Brandon Butler was a former player at West Point before serving in the Army for 11 years and team manager Gavin Fitzgerald also served in the Army. "We've got some connections that made it a little more impactful for us. Liberty in general does a very good job of creating events like this just showing that Liberty is very pro-military and pro-military appreciation."

The team held a pre-game tailgate and invited members of Liberty's military community to enjoy a meal with the players.

"We worked with the university's Military Affairs (Office and had them notify any) veterans or students that were military that we had a game, and we fed 40-plus veterans and military personnel before the game, just something to try to say, 'Hey, we appreciate you.'"

The Flames will leave by bus from Liberty at 10:30 a.m. Saturday to the University of Pittsburgh (4-1) for a 1 p.m. ALC North Region showdown on Sunday.

"That's a regional opponent, and it has big implications for playoff seeding," McQuillan said. "Pitt is going to be ready … from a record standpoint and what they've done so far … we've got to go into Pittsburgh with the same focus that we had today. If we play like we did today, we should be in good shape."

The Flames will return to the Liberty Lacrosse Fields next Friday night for a revived Midnight Mayhem matchup against ALC North rival Tennessee with the first faceoff set for 11:59 p.m.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video edited by Noah Richter/Club Sports Video & Media Assistant