Flames claim third ALC Championship in five seasons, No. 1 seed going into May 5-10 MCLA Nationals in Texas

Saturday, April 26

Lynchburg, VA

Liberty University Club Sports

ALC Tournament

Graduate attack Braden Landry, the ALC Tournament Offensive MVP, scores one of his four goals to complement four assists, accounting for the difference in the Flames' 16-8 victory over the Volunteers in Sunday's championship game. (Photos by Emily Cuthrell)

Flames claim third ALC Championship in five seasons, No. 1 seed going into May 5-10 MCLA Nationals in Texas

4/27/2025 9:28:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

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Liberty used an 8-0 scoring spurt over a 15-minute stretch spanning the second and third quarters to pull away for a 16-8 triumph over Tennessee, Sunday at Lynchburg’s City Stadium.

Gallery: (4-27-2025) Men's lacrosse ALC final vs. Tennessee

In an ALC Championship final rematch from last spring, Liberty University's No. 1-ranked men's lacrosse team got an eight-point game from graduate attack and Tournament Offensive MVP Braden Landry and rode an 8-0 run midway through its 16-8 rout of No. 11 Tennessee on a spectacular Sunday afternoon at Lynchburg's City Stadium.

After dominating the Volunteers,18-10, in the April 4 Midnight Mayhem matchup at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields, the Flames (15-1) opened a 10-2 halftime lead and claimed their third ALC crown in five seasons in much more decisive fashion than they had last season.

By extending its winning streak to 15 games since a season-opening setback against Virginia Tech, Liberty clinched the No. 1 seed going into next week's MCLA Division I National Championships in Round Rock, Texas, where they will face No. 16 Minnesota (12-3) in the first round on Monday, May 5, at 10:45 a.m. EST. The complete tournament bracket is available online.

"The way these guys responded to getting punched in the mouth really hard at the beginning of the season is what I'm probably most proud of," Flames Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. "They continued to move forward, they built momentum on every single game, and they were fantastic especially coming down the stretch. We've put ourselves in the best position possible, and that's a credit to these guys and how hard they've played all season."

"We have one of the hardest strengths of schedule and our record speaks volumes to how battle-tested we are," graduate attack Keaton Mohs added.

McQuillan said Liberty brought extremely high expectations into the season and has proven so far those projections were accurate.

"Hopefully, we're going to prove that next week as well," McQuillan said. "It's great to win an ALC Championship, and I hope that we're able to finish the job in Texas. We've got some exams to take and a busy week ahead of us, but we'll enjoy the rest, and we'll be ready for (nationals)."

Following a slow start, Liberty evened the score at 1-1 with 5:39 left in the first quarter when junior attack Luke Branham (three goals, one assist) drove from behind the cage and spotted freshman midfielder Josiah Hoopman (3G, 1A) cutting into the middle for a catch-and-release finish from point-blank range.

The Flames seized a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish when graduate attack Keaton Mohs (1G, 2A) gathered a rebound of a blocked shot behind the cage and found Landry (4G, 4A) unguarded in the left crease for an easy open-net finish at the 3:33 mark.

Graduate faceoff specialist Caleb Hammett, the Tournament's Specialty MVP, won the ensuing faceoff (as he did 21 times out of 26 tries), and Hoopman scored unassisted 17 seconds later to lift Liberty to a 3-1 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

The Volunteers again struck first in the second quarter before the Flames finished the first half on a 7-0 scoring spurt in the final 11:09. That run was sparked by sophomore goalie Ian Carvajal's save of a shot by Tennessee midfielder Thomas Gies and senior Tournament Defensive MVP Conor Guiltinan's finish from the top of the box off a centering feed from junior defender Brody Ashworth. Carvajal (8 saves) and Ashworth were also selected to the All-Tournament Team along with Branham, Hoopman, and junior middie Gabe Dymmel.

"Transition and our ability to ride and clear … we put a lot of emphasis on that, and we have such amazing tools, guys like (sophomore) Peyton Park as an LSM who can push that ball in transition, hammers that are some of the most athletic guys we've ever had on our team, and Caleb (Hammett) at the faceoff dot who gives us that opportunity right off the face," McQuillan said. "We've got all the pieces this year so it's up to us as coaches to continue to push this train in a forward direction and capitalize on what hopefully is a national championship."

Five goals in a span of 2:37 put the Flames in the driver's seat before halftime, highlighted by Landry's spectacular double spin aerial finish in the right crease off sophomore middie Hunter Rockhill's driving feed that extended the lead to 5-2.

Hammett won another faceoff and distributed an assist, finding freshman defenseman Caleb Galecke cutting down center of the field for a bounce shot into the lower-left corner of the net. On the next possession, Landry picked up a ground ball in the right corner and drove back toward the box before dumping a pass into Branham for a sharp-angled overhand finish from the right endline, stretching the edge to 7-2.

Mohs then set up sophomore middie Easton Cahill's sidearm shot from center that glanced off the arm of goalie Kyler Gornick's arm and rattled off the post into the back of the net before Landry fed junior middie Luke Campbell, who lined a shot from the same spot into the lower-left corner for a commanding 9-2 lead at the 6:00 mark.

"Everybody's scoring, everybody's doing their job and everybody's clicking, and there's a lot more to come," said Mohs, who was a freshman when the Flames won the inaugural ALC Championship over Clemson, 17-8 at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields. "It feels good. We've just got to keep that ball rolling. We keep preaching to our team that we've just got to play Liberty ball. It doesn't matter who we're playing as long as we do what we know we can do, then we'll win."

He said the Flames need to add some more fuel to the fire as they gear up for their trip to Texas on Saturday.

"I think we haven't even come close to hitting the ceiling yet," Mohs said. "If we just keep improving on the little things that we do and not worry about who we play, we'll only get better from here. It's just about building off what we know how to do and pulling away more, keeping the momentum and not letting the foot off the gas."

"We're not putting a cap on this," McQuillan added. "We continue to find a little bit more of ourselves in every game. There was a stretch there, kind of like (Saturday's semifinal) game and every game for the last eight or nine where we just find a groove. If we can continue to try to stay in that pocket and be the team that we were for the majority of the second quarter … we're a really dangerous team."

Coming off back-to-back Final Four showings at nationals, before being eliminated by eventual national champions Concordia (Calif.) University in 2023 and BYU in 2024, Liberty will look to advance to its first MCLA final on May 10 in Texas.

"I think we're going to completely win the national championship if we keep guys healthy, play safe, play smart, with the right intensity," Carvajal said. "I'm just trying to play in the moment and try to be fully present … and just focus on the next shot, the next-play mentality. I'm not trying to play for myself. I play for the Lord and for the people around me. I'm going to do my absolute best, keeping my mind on the seniors, keeping my mind on God, and representing others, especially the seniors who are going to be out very soon, just to make this as memorable as possible."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Andrew Musser/Club Sports Video & Media Coordinator
ALC Championship trophy, team photo