Flames’ 23-game winning streak chopped by Seminoles in 22-8 axing

Sunday, March 8

Lynchburg, VA

12:00 PM

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Florida State University

Liberty players can only watch from the sidelines as Florida State freshman midfielder Jackson Soud follows through on a shot. (Photos by Ted Allen)

Flames’ 23-game winning streak chopped by Seminoles in 22-8 axing

3/8/2026 8:34:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

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Liberty won only 22 percent of its faceoffs and saved only 42 percent of its shots on goal in the second most lopsided loss in program history.

Gallery: (3-8-2026) Men's lacrosse vs. FSU

Liberty University's No. 3-ranked MCLA Division I men's lacrosse team's 23-game winning streak and 10-game home unbeaten streak were snapped in somewhat inglorious fashion, Sunday afternoon at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields. No. 7 Florida State University, a former SELC rival, put on an offensive clinic on the Flames' home turf and dealt them a 22-8 upset setback, Liberty's second most decisive defeat in program history. The only loss that could be considered worse was a 25-10 throttling at the hands of Concordia (Calif.) University in their first MCLA Division I National Championships semifinal appearance in 2023, when the Flames were also ranked third nationally.

"Getting your teeth kicked in that way is not the way that you ever want it to end, but credit to Florida State," Liberty Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. "They were not just more prepared, but they just wanted it more than we did. They just played faster, they were more aggressive, they pushed us around on our own field. There's just really not a whole lot of excuses we can make, and all the credit has to go to Florida State."

Two days after losing at No. 16 Virginia Tech 18-11, the Seminoles improved to 8-2 by dealing the reigning MCLA Division I national champion Flames (4-1) their first loss of the season, sparked by six goals from Tyler Morris. FSU has beaten two other teams more decisively this season, posting 21-3 and 29-3 routs over Jacksonville and Ole Miss, respectively.

"They weren't feeling sorry for themselves (after losing to the Hokies)," McQuillan said. "They came in today and did what they needed to do, and credit to them. That was probably (the worst loss in program history), definitely at home. I haven't experienced what I felt today on the sideline here."

Before being blown out by the Golden Eagles in the Final Four, the worst setbacks Liberty had endured were eight-goal losses to two other former SELC foes: Georgia Tech — the team the Flames defeated for their first national title last May) in 2016 — and South Carolina in 2018. Liberty, ranked No. 5 at the time, upset then-No. 3 USC last Saturday at home to take the place of the Gamecocks, who slipped to No. 4.

As Liberty did most of last season, Florida State dominated in faceoffs, winning 25 out of 32 for the contest which jumpstarted the Seminoles' offense and gave them a decisive advantage in time of possession. As much as Flames senior Shane Supek and freshman Cheston Kim struggled at the faceoff dot, Liberty's goalies were handcuffed in the cage, with junior starter Ian Carvajal making eight saves while giving up 15 goals and Sam Hoffman stopping four shots and allowing seven scores.

Fellow sophomore Jacob Hanna relieved Hoffman midway through the fourth quarter and held the Seminoles scoreless down the stretch, making four saves with an offside penalty negating FSU's final goal.

"Statistically, we put all of our goalies in a really bad spot all four quarters," McQuillan said. "Guys were really upset and … top to bottom, it was just a really, really poor performance."
He said the Flames have a choice to make at this pivotal stage of the season.

"We can go in two directions," McQuillan said. "We can either say, 'OK, I guess this is what our limit is, and this is our ceiling,' and kind of resign ourselves to the fact that we're just not going to be a good team. Or we can use it as fuel. Our guys did a good job of that last year after losing the first game of the season (to Virginia Tech)."

"We're upset, I'm upset, but hopefully we will use this as an opportunity to challenge our guys to use this as motivation and use it as a tool," he added. "The ball is in our court, and I'm confident that they'll make the right decision."

Liberty has a week and a half before it travels to Knoxville, Tenn., for a challenging spring break road trip. It will play at No. 5-ranked Atlantic Lacrosse Conference rival Tennessee in a rematch of the past two ALC Tournament finals on March 18, followed by games against No. 2 BYU on March 20 and unranked Auburn, which dealt FSU its first setback, on March 21.

"We've got some time (but) we don't get any breaks here, so we've got to figure this out pretty quick," McQuillan said.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer