Flames double up Tar Heels on wet field turf in Chapel Hill

Sunday, February 15

Chapel Hill, NC

3:00 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Junior middie Hunter Rockhill scored two goals and distributed one assist against North Carolina on Sunday. (Photo by Anna Wheat)

Flames double up Tar Heels on wet field turf in Chapel Hill

2/15/2026 10:30:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Luke Branham paced Liberty’s attack with three goals and three assists, and fellow senior captain Shane Supek won 14 of 16 faceoffs to ignite the Flames.

Liberty University's men's lacrosse team completed its home-and-home sweep of rival North Carolina schools in the Atlantic Lacrosse Conference with an 18-9 triumph at UNC Chapel Hill in a steady rain on Sunday afternoon.

Head Coach Kyle McQuillan was thankful the Flames had the opportunity to play, even through the cold last weekend and rain on Sunday.

"A lot of teams have experienced games being canceled, and we were fortunate and are glad we were able to still get the game in," he said. "We had never played UNC before nor traveled down to Chapel Hill to play, and they have a great facility down there with a turf practiced field that was exactly what we needed."

Senior attack Luke Branham netted three goals and three assists and sophomore midfielder Will Morris also scored a hat trick while freshman attack Branson Isaacs added two goals and two assists and junior Hunter Rockhill and Easton Cahill both contributed two goals and one assist to pace the Flames' attack.

"Luke Branham had a great game overall and helped to sustain the success that our offense had," McQuillan said. "He was definitely our most consistent player on attack from start to finish. Will Morris had another really solid game today to lead our midfield, and then we got a lot of production from a lot of different guys. We knew that was going to be the case this year, that we were going to spread the wealth of our offense. We were able to get all of our middies on today as well as all of our attack and get them some experience."

The Flames (2-0) got off to a faster start than they had in last Saturday's 18-11 season-opening win over North Carolina State at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields.

"The way we started against NC State … was not how we wanted to begin a game, and today, the guys did the opposite," McQuillan said after Liberty opened a 6-2 lead after the first 15 minutes. "It was probably the best start to a game we could have had. There was a bit of a lull in the middle portion of the game, but the big thing was we wanted to come out and take control early."

The Flames led 9-4 at the half and extended that advantage to 13-6 after three quarters.

Senior faceoff specialist Shane Supek won 14 out of 16 draws to help give Liberty an edge in time of possession. However, it was often most successful when it scored quickly on transition.

"We got a lot of transition goals today, especially early in the game, which was a key to us getting off to a good start," McQuillan said. "At least a third of the goals scored in lacrosse happen in transition … in the first few seconds of an offensive possession after the opponent's possession is over as the result of a turnover, a save, or a call going the other way. That's what is exciting about lacrosse, how very quickly momentum can shift with a big save by a goalie and the next second the ball's going the other direction with an outlet pass to a breaking middie or LSM (long-stick midfielder)."

Defensively, the Flames thrived out of their 10-man ride, turning their goalie into a field player to put extra pressure on the opposing attack to create turnovers.

"Early on, that was a big part of our success and throughout the game, our ride created a lot of turnovers," McQuillan said. "With the weather as wet as it was, there were a lot of loose balls and ground ball battles, and our 10-man ride was wildly successful."

He said the nine goals allowed to the Tar Heels was more than he would have liked, but leaves room for improvement and motivation to tighten up on defense as the Flames prepare to face more formidable attacks.

"Early on in the season, we have have given up a few more goals than we're comfortable with," McQuillan said. "We are committed to being a team that runs a 10-man ride effectively, and to make opponents uncomfortable when we are in it. We are making strides and taking steps necessary to become more confident in running it."

Liberty has the luxury of three goalies who can be used almost interchangeably depending on the situation, with sophomores Jake Hanna and Sam Hoffman (three saves, two goals allowed) rotating in behind junior starter Ian Carvajal, who made five saves and allowed seven goals.

"All three got minutes today, and they each have different attributes that make them the goalies that they are," McQuillan said. "Ian is able to find guys after a save and get the ball where it needs to be with his outlet feeds. Jake is an athletic goalie who is able to come out of the cage with the ball and being part of the clear after a save. And Sam is a combination of the two. All of our goalies are a part of our 10-man ride, and today all three goalies did a great job of sparking our transition and giving us a lot of opportunities on the fast break."

He said the first two games have given the Flames' young and untested field players the experience they need to adjust to the speed of the collegiate game.

"These early games remind us of who we are and what we do," McQuillan said.. "Now, our schedule takes a bit of an uptick, and we need to be firing on all cylinders here as we approach the end of February."

This Saturday at 1 p.m., the Flames will welcome the University of Connecticut to the Liberty Lacrosse Fields. The Huskies were the team that ended the Flames' 26-game home winning streak on April 2, 2017, and dropped them to 5-5 and out of the MCLA Top 25 in their third season at the Division I level. Since that year, Liberty has advanced to the MCLA DI tournament every season with an average of 3.4 losses.

"Going into this weekend, we feel prepared and excited to put ourselves to the test," McQuillan said. "UConn is definitely a team that you don't want to underestimate. The type of players from the New England area play a different style of lacrosse. They work really hard and make you earn everything."

He is expecting the snow barricades surrounding Liberty's field to melt away by Saturday.

"Teams from the Northeast are more willing to travel to the South early in the year to escape some of their winter weather and the snow they may have," McQuillan said. "I'm hoping by this weekend, shouldn't have any remaining snow in the way."

Looking ahead, the reigning MCLA DI national champion Flames will entertain 2019 and 2021 national champion South Carolina (3-0) on Feb. 28 and perennial SELC power Florida State (3-0) on March 8 before traveling to Knoxville, Tenn., over Spring Break for rematches of their ALC championship and MCLA semifinal wins against ALC preseason favorite Tennessee and 2024 national champion BYU.

"We are excited for that trip, when we will obviously see some pretty good competition," McQuillan said. "Our third game that week will be against Auburn, which took down Georgia Tech for the first time in 13 years."

Liberty defeated the Yellow Jackets in the MCLA final on May 10 in Round Rock, Texas.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer