Flames tame Tigers’ transition game in 16-12 semifinal triumph

Gallery: (4-26-2025) Men's lacrosse vs. Clemson in ALC semis

In a game featuring major momentum swings, Liberty University's No. 1-ranked men's lacrosse team rallied past and then fended off former SELC rival Clemson in Saturday's ALC Championship semifinal at Lynchburg's City Stadium, 16-12.

"It was a great test, something we really needed," said Flames senior defender Conor Guiltinan, who was named the ALC Defensive Player of the Year. "We kind of got our own revenge against Virginia Tech by beating the team that beat them (in last Friday's quarterfinals in Blacksburg, Va.)."

With their 14th win in a row since losing their season opener to the Hokies, the Flames (14-1) advance to face Tennessee, an 11-8 winner over JMU, in Sunday's 3 p.m. championship rematch, when they will attempt to claim their third tournament title in the ALC's five seasons.

That would clinch the No. 1 seed for Liberty going into the May 5-10 MCLA DI National Championships in Round Rock, Texas, where the Flames have reached the Final Four the past two seasons but never advanced to the final.

Guiltinan intercepted a clearing pass in the center of the field and drove 10 yards before bouncing a shot past Clemson senior goalie John Hennessey to start the scoring at the 11:10 mark of the first quarter.

"That was a big juice goal for the defense," he said. "That was huge for us."

Sophomore goalie Ian Carvajal (14 saves) made his second save before sending an outlet pass to sophomore long-stick midfielder Peyton Park on the right wing. He found sophomore middie Harris Shook before a tic-tac-toe pass sequence from Keaton Mohs (one goal, three assists) to fellow graduate attack Braden Landry (3G, 2A) to junior attack Luke Branham (3G, 1A) resulted in a point-blank finish in the left crease for a 2-0 advantage.

The Tigers (9-7) responded by scoring four straight goals to take a 4-2 lead, prompting a Liberty timeout. After back-to-back goals by sophomore middie Easton Cahill (1G, 1A) and freshman middie Josiah Hoopman (2G) off an assist from Branham, the Flames turned up the heat with a 10-goal scoring run that turned a 5-4 deficit 10 minutes, 22 seconds before halftime into a 14-5 advantage with 6:23 left in the third quarter.

"Halfway through the second to halfway through the third quarter, we played Liberty Lacrosse," Flames Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. "We didn't start that way or finish that way, but thankfully, there was a huge chunk in the middle there of a lacrosse sandwich where there were two bad loaves of bread, but the meat was pretty solid."

Carvajal made a high save of a shot by Clemson senior attack Ian Jackson before junior midfielder Gabe Dymmel (3G) sparked the Flames' attack with a running shot from left to right across the box into the lower-left corner of the net with 6:40 remaining in the first half.

Moments later, Landry's uppercut shot from the right side off an entry feed from sophomore middie Hunter Rockhill lifted Liberty to a 6-5 lead that it would not relinquish.

Guiltinan forced another turnover off the Flames' defensive ride before Landy finished a quick counterattack that doubled the advantage to 7-5 at the 4:34 mark.

"Every game we get some help from our defensive guys on the field, whether it's the D poles or short-stick defensive middies," McQuillan said. "That middle chunk of the game, what really turned the tide was our ability to get out in transition and to stop their transition. When we were able to put a stop to that and then also get our fast break going, it kind of broke the game open for us."

Cahill sent a pass across the box to Mohs for his only goal of the game for an 8-5 lead with 1:32 left in the first half. Then, after another steal on a Tigers' clearing attempt and save by Hennessey after retreating to his cage, Dymmel gave the Flames' offense an adrenaline rush with a leaping finish after sprinting across the box as Liberty took a 9-5 advantage into intermission.

"Gabe's no surprise to us," McQuillan said. "He surprises some people because he has come on late in the season. He was injured for a large portion of the beginning of our season. He's a special player. I'm glad he had some success today and I'm sure he'll continue that momentum going into tomorrow and hopefully down in Texas."

An epic tug-of-war battle by children on hand at halftime foreshadowed the second-half struggle for Liberty, which scored five unanswered goals in the first 8:37 of the third quarter before allowing Clemson to give it a run for its money by going on a 7-1 scoring spurt to trim the deficit to 15-12 with 7:14 remaining in regulation.

"We maybe got too confident, or maybe prideful, because we came out soft in the first quarter, allowed them to get a lead, then we played hard and then I think we just kind of gave up thinking it was an easy win," Guiltinan said. "But then Clemson showed that they could really play, so we had to step on the gas again."

After a clutch save by Carvajal and quick outlet pass to junior defender Brody Ashworth, Hoopman all but sealed the win in the final two minutes with a rocket of a submarine shot from the left side of the box into the top-right corner of the cage.

"It kind of takes us a minute to warm up, but once we do, the second half has always been a good half for us," Guiltinan said, acknowledging the Flames will have to play more consistently from start to finish to tame Tennessee on Sunday. "We will put all the pieces together. Everything that we messed up on today, we'll make better tomorrow."

Graduate faceoff specialist Caleb Hammett and others, including junior middie Shane Supek, won 24 of 32 faceoffs and Hammett picked up 12 ground balls to lead Liberty in both of those categories.

He was selected to the ALC First Team at FOS and as the Specialist Player of the Year while Landry and Mohs, the Offensive Player of the Year, both made the First Team at attack along with Guiltinan on defense. Park and senior defender Ben Chun earned Second-Team honors.

Mohs is closing in on Assistant Coach Ryan Miller's all-time MCLA scoring record of 337 points, with his four-point game boosting his total to 323.

"The best part of how he's played this season is he's just taking what the defense gives him," McQuillan said. "I don't think he's focused on getting to a certain milestone or a certain number of goals. It's just like, 'Hey, what do I have to do today for our team to be successful?' And he's done that consistently. Keaton, who I feel is the front-runner in the MCLA for Offensive Player of the Year, a lot of his points this year have come from assists, and we love that about him."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer

Men's Lacrosse takes on Clemson during the ALC Tournament at City Stadium on April 26, 2025. (Photo by KJ Jugar) — Liberty's coaches, led by Kyle McQuillan (center), were awarded the ALC's coaching staff of the year.

Flames tame Tigers’ transition game in 16-12 semifinal triumph

Players Mentioned

Brody Ashworth

Luke Branham

Easton Cahill

Ian Carvajal

Ben Chun

Conor Guiltinan

Caleb Hammett

Josiah Hoopman

Braden Landry

Keaton Mohs

Peyton Park

Hunter Rockhill

Harris Shook

Shane Supek

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