Sophomore long-stick midfielder Noah Maclary (left) and senior middie Harris Shook return to play key roles for the Flames in the 2026-27 season. (Photos by Mia Sanborn)
Men’s lacrosse battle-tested after fall scrimmages against NCAA Division II and III opponents
10/15/2026 5:27:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
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The Flames will conclude their preseason schedule against Virginia Tech, which finished ranked No. 2 in the MCLA last spring, Oct. 29 in Blacksburg, Va.
For Liberty University's men's lacrosse team, fall semester scrimmages have served as excellent tune-ups in preparation for transitioning to a spring schedule that will test and refine the Flames on a weekly basis.
"This month, we've been really fortunate to have the opportunity to play a number of really strong and super competitive NCAA programs," Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. "I'm really happy with our fall schedule and giving our young team a chance to compete."
On Oct. 3 in Farmville, Va., Liberty played shortened scrimmages against both NCAA Division II Catawba (N.C.) College and NCAA DIII Hampden-Sydney College before giving Roanoke College a hard-fought battle in a full-length 12-8 exhibition loss last Friday night at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields.
The Flames will finish their fall preseason schedule by challenging 2026 MCLA Division I National Championships runner-up Virginia Tech on Oct. 29 in Blacksburg, Va.
Head Coach Kyle McQuillan has overseen a rebuild since the 2025 title.
Liberty (7-7) was eliminated by the Hokies from last season's Atlantic Lacrosse Conference (ALC) Tournament and a potential autobid to the MCLA National Championships in Richmond, Va., with a 13-12 ALC semifinal defeat on April 25 on its home field. McQuillan said that season-ending setback was a significant moral victory for the 2025 MCLA National Championship Flames after they had been blown out at Virginia Tech, 17-5, three weeks earlier.
Similarly, with a team featuring 18 newcomers on a record-sized 44-man roster, Liberty's first three scrimmages against NCAA foes have tested the Flames by fire early to ready them for the rigors of MCLA play, starting in two weeks in Blacksburg, Va.
"The biggest win from our schedule so far has been proving to our guys — and guys proving to themselves — that they can run with teams of this caliber," McQuillan said. "They were super competitive, and while they've not proven themselves yet, our guys have increased and gained a lot of confidence over the past two weeks."
Liberty did not execute up to its offensive potential against the Maroons, but McQuillan and his coaching staff came away with plenty of video to review what areas the Flames need to fine-tune for the future.
"Offensively, we were able to compete and show our athleticism, but there were a lot of areas we just didn't operate at the level we needed to to be successful," McQuillan said. "Our transition defense looked pretty rough early on, and Roanoke College got some quick goals in transition and took an early lead before we made some adjustments and finished out the game with a better scenario. We played pretty disciplined and were able to stay out of the penalty box and take advantage of mistakes that Roanoke College was making."
Graduate Kaeden Kuch returns to help anchor the Flames' midfield this season.
"It was a good first home scrimmage for us, and we saw parts of our offense and things we wanted to see from a system standpoint," he added. "There's still a lot to work on, and we made a lot of mistakes that we need to correct, but we're trending in the right direction. The nice thing about the fall is you're playing games with no consequence, and you get to utilize your depth, getting (newcomers) experience and putting our guys in game situations. I'm happy with where we're at currently, and while we need to progress significantly, I have confidence that we will."
The Flames feature four goalies on their roster this year, and all four received playing time and opportunities to showcase their skills through the first three scrimmages.
"These games help us start making some of those decisions, and the goal is, come February and the start of the regular season, we've got all the guys in the right spots to be successful," McQuillan said.
For the second year in a row, in addition to a 12-man freshman recruiting class, Liberty added six walk-on recruits during the tryout process in early September.
"We had a stable of guys (at tryouts) that were really competitive this year that we feel really good about having on our team," McQuillan said. "For the second year in a row, we have a pretty young team to work around. (But) the future of Liberty Lacrosse is in good hands."
"We've got the guys, the talent, depth, and perspective we need now to be right back in the mix to contend (at the May 10–15, 2027, MCLA National Championships at the River City Sportsplex in Midlothian, a suburb of Richmond)," he added. "Being at that event, playing at that level and the experience that it brings is a huge bonus and creates a lot of confidence for a team."
Despite the benefit the program has received from players coming from NCAA Division I programs — including faceoff specialist Caleb Hammett, a transfer from the University of Massachusetts; and defenders-turned-defensive-coordinators Conor Guiltinan and Matthew Walker, who played key roles in the Flames' first MCLA DI national championship — McQuillan has steered away from adding players through the transfer portal and favored developing recruits straight out of high school. Sophomore attack Taydan Williams fires on junior goalie Jake Hanna in practice.
"Some of best players we've had, our real success stories in a perfect scenario, are players like (MCLA DI all-time leading scorer) Keaton Mohs ('25)," he said. "We want guys that want to be at Liberty. That is our target audience, the gold standard, guys coming right out of high school who have a chance to be bought into what we're doing, because it takes time to acclimate to our culture."
He said developing players on a holistic level is the program's primary focus.
"The big reason for our team's success, outside of wins and losses and how we do on the field of competition, is the development of the young man and the experience that he has through the opportunity to play lacrosse here," McQuillan said. "The development he's able to have by being a part of this university is just as important as the lacrosse piece is."
Liberty, which finished outside of the top 20 for the first time since moving up to the MCLA Division I level in 2014, will face a spring schedule that includes games against six opponents that finished in the top-20 last season. That includes No. 2 Virginia Tech at home on March 5 after opening the season by hosting Connecticut on Feb. 27.
The Flames will then travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to face Florida State, the No. 4 team last season, on March 14 and No. 6 South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., on March 19. The squad will then host games against New Hampshire on March 23 and Florida in its Midnight Mayhem matchup on April 2.
"We are always excited about the Midnight game, and to get a team like Florida, which had a fantastic season before being eliminated by BYU the year we won the championship, will be a great matchup," McQuillan said. "Hopefully, we'll have enough meat on the schedule to put us in an advantageous position (for rankings that will determine the national tournament field.)"
Regardless, the Flames' primary focus will be regaining the ALC Tournament title to clinch the autobid to nationals, as they have done three times in the conference's six seasons.
"We continue to benefit from being in the ALC, which has become the most competitive conference in the MCLA," McQuillan said, noting three of the top seven teams in the nation — Virginia Tech, No. 5 Tennessee, and No. 7 Clemson — are in the six-team ALC.
Liberty will have the opportunity to host the ALC tournament semifinals and championship game for the second year in a row on May 1-2.
