Flames men’s lacrosse grounds Gophers in MCLA Division I nationals opener, 21-8

Monday, May 5

Round Rock, TX

10:45 AM

Liberty University Club Sports

University of Minnesota

Flames junior defensive middie Ty Broughton checks Minnesota faceoff specialist Owen Tacheny early in Monday's first-round clash. (Photos by Andrew Musser and Thomas Carden)

Flames men’s lacrosse grounds Gophers in MCLA Division I nationals opener, 21-8

5/5/2025 4:11:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

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No. 1 Liberty (16-1) will face Arizona State in a rematch of last year's quarterfinal win on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. EST in Round Rock, Texas.

Gallery: (5-5-2025) Liberty men's lacrosse vs. Minnesota

Liberty University's No. 1-ranked men's lacrosse team broke open a 5-5 tie after the first quarter by outscoring No. 16-seeded Minnesota 6-0 in the second before burying the Gophers, 21-8, in the opening round of the MCLA Division I National Championships, Monday morning at the Round Rock (Texas) Multipurpose Complex.

"That has been our MO (mode of operation) the last few games, in the ALC Tournament games against Clemson and Tennessee," Flames Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. "We know we're going to get teams' best punch at nationals, and they played a pretty flawless first quarter. Credit to Minnesota for coming out and landing the first few punches, but our guys have been phenomenal in responding to every situation this season. We have had the ability to turn things on (offensively) and hold teams down (defensively) for a significant portion of today's game."

Liberty built so decisive a lead that the game was called with more than a minute remaining due to lightning being sighted in the area.

"We were grateful to be able to get this game in this morning with some storms coming in," McQuillan said. "Everything's delayed right now and there are going to be schedule changes, so we are going back to the hotel and playing the waiting game now."

Against the Gophers, Keaton Mohs scored six goals and distributed five assists to eclipse Assistant Coach Ryan Miller's ('16) total by one point, becoming Liberty's all-time scoring leader with 338 for his five-year career. He needs eight points to surpass Davenport's Brian LaRoque and become the MCLA Division I all-time scoring leader.

"He is within striking distance, but he is more focused on getting to Saturday this year," McQuillan said, referring to that day's 2 p.m. MCLA Championship final.

Mohs also joined Miller (102) as the only two Flames players to reach 100 points in a season with a record 105. Fellow graduate attack Braden Landry (5G, 4A) is within one point of joining them with 99 on the year.

Minnesota opened an early 2-0 advantage after winning the first two faceoffs and converting them into goals after junior defensive middie Ty Broughton went down with an apparent knee injury. He returned soon thereafter, though, and played a key role in shutting down the Gophers' attack, providing protection in front of sophomore goalie Ian Carvajal (7 saves).

Liberty was unable to capitalize on its first possession, with several shots going wide and the shot clock expiring before the Gophers turned the ball over on the ensuing clear. Junior attack Luke Branham (2G, 3A) intercepted an outlet pass and quickly connected with Landry for a fast-break finish from close range.

Junior attack Owen Carlson, who netted six of the Gophers' eight goals, scored his second on a turnaround from the top of the box, extending Minnesota's lead to 3-1, before Flames graduate faceoff specialist Caleb Hammett won the ensuing draw, and Landry put away Mohs' feed from behind the cage with a point-blank shot from out in front.

Mohs netted the equalizer from the same spot at the 6:30 mark, and Hamlett won the faceoff before sophomore long-stick midfielder Peyton Park was denied on a point-blank shot attempt, and Hunter Rockhill struck a post with a shot from the perimeter. Fellow sophomore middie Easton Cahill then made a phenomenal cut into the top of the box and ripped an off-balanced shot into the left side of the net for the Flames' first lead, 4-3, with 5:04 to play in the first period.

Branham answered a Minnesota score to reclaim the lead for Liberty before Carlson ripped his fourth goal of the first quarter to tie it at 5 with a low-to-high shot from the right side of the box.

Junior middie Luke Campbell started the second-quarter scoring to put the Flames on top to stay with a high-percentage shot from close range at the 13:20 mark. Back-to-back goals by Mohs — the first off tic-tac-toe passing deep in the box and second on an overhand bounce shot that beat Minnesota goalie Arsen Hanuschak inside the left post — gave Liberty an 8-5 advantage that it continued to expand.

Minnesota struck the near pipe with a shot deep in the left crease before Liberty took advantage on the other end with Mohs dishing an assist from behind the net to Campbell, cutting down the middle for a sure-fire finish and 9-5 lead at the 9:28 mark.

Park pushed the fast break and found Mohs for a point-blank finish and his 100th point of the season at the 7:00 mark, extending Liberty's lead to 10-5. Moments later, the Flames worked a quick counterattack with Mohs and Branham setting up Landry for a one-touch finish near the right crease to stretch the edge to 11-5 at the 6:23 mark.

"Our identity all year has been in transition (scoring) and that was really where we were able to create some separation," McQuillan said.

The Flames continued to pour on the gas while stifling the Gophers' attack in the second half, scoring the first five goals unanswered. Senior middie Will Geary, in his first game back from a fractured collarbone, unleashed a shot from the top of the box that skipped past Hanuschak into the lower left corner for a commanding 15-5 advantage at the 7:02 mark.

"Slowly but surely, he has been able to increase his level of comfort, and today was a great opportunity for him to get in and knock some rust off," McQuillan said.

Park stretched it to 16-5 with an overhand long-stick shot from the center of the box before Minnesota's Colin Jacobson ended a 30-minute scoring drought at the 1:42 mark.

Cahill started the fourth-quarter scoring with a point-blank finish in front of another Mohs assist from behind the cage before Landry netted his fifth goal of the game off a driving feed from junior middie Gabe Dymmel.

Branham intercepted another Minnesota clearing pass and assisted Mohs' sixth score of the game on a shot from the top left of the box, extending the advantage to 19-7 before Dymmel rifled a shot from the left perimeter, making it 20-7 at the 10:05 mark.

Carlson capped a fast-break counterattack with his sixth goal shorthanded before sophomore middie Harris Shook further padded the Flames' advantage with a high-to-low shot on a fast break accounting for the final score.

Hammett won 26 of 36 faceoffs for the game and junior middie Shane Supek went 3-2 from the dot.

The Flames (16-1), who have advanced to the past two MCLA DI Final Fours, will face No. 8 Arizona State, a 16-13 winner over No. 9 Florida State, in Tuesday's quarterfinals, set for 4:30 p.m. EST. All games are being streamed live by subscription on MCLATV.us.

"Both have high-powered offenses, so it should be an exciting game to watch," McQuillan said.

Liberty edged the Sun Devils, 11-10, to reach last season's semifinals before being eliminated by eventual national champion BYU, 20-12.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Andrew Musser/Club Sports Video & Media Coordinator