Men’s lacrosse takes giant leap toward ALC playoff bid with 21-11 rout at JMU

Sunday, April 12

Harrisonburg, VA

3:00 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

James Madison University

Flames freshman midfielder Jeff Pitcher drives past JMU defenders around a pick set by sophomore middie Will Morris (44) on Sunday in Harrisonburg, Va. (Photo by Anna Wheat)

Men’s lacrosse takes giant leap toward ALC playoff bid with 21-11 rout at JMU

4/12/2026 10:21:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Liberty can clinch the fourth and final spot in the conference tournament it will host from April 24-25 with a win at Kentucky on Saturday.

Liberty University's No. 20-ranked men's lacrosse team took a major step toward securing the fourth and final bid to the Atlantic Lacrosse Conference tournament set for April 24-25 at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields by dominating ALC opponent James Madison University 21-11 Sunday afternoon on the Dukes' home field.

"It was a good way to start heading toward the conclusion of our season," Flames Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. "Starting with today's game, they're all playoff games. We need to win today and next week to secure a spot in the playoffs. We haven't done a good job this season of playing with a lot of purpose, but we are playing with a sense of urgency now that all these games matter. The guys played well today and got a good win on the road, which was a good way to transition into our last game of the season at Kentucky."

The regular-season-ending contest against the Wildcats (2-8) will be played Saturday at noon in Lexington, Ky.

Against the Dukes (4-4), Liberty jumped out to a 4-1 lead after the first quarter and extended it to 10-4 by halftime and 15-8 at the end of the third quarter.

"It was probably one of our more consistent games of the season," McQuillan said. "There have been games where we've shut down (offensively) for a quarter or more. Today, we didn't fall into that trap, and we controlled all four quarters of today's game. We always want to be able to perform on the road, and the guys did a good job of coming out hot, getting a lead, and protecting it."

Four different Flames scored hat tricks — sophomore midfielder Will Morris (3 goals), freshman middie Jeff Pitcher (3G), and freshmen attackmen Taydan Williams (3G, 4 assists) and Branson Isaacs (3G, 2A). Senior attack Luke Branham (2G, 3A) and senior faceoff specialist Shane Supek (2G, 1A) also scored multiple goals and freshman middie Josiah Hoopman and junior attack Thomas Dyson, who recently recovered from an injury, both contributed one goal and one assist.

"We had great production from a lot of different players, and the good news was that we got good production from a lot of younger guys," McQuillan said. "Taydan Williams played his best game of the season so far, and a lot of guys are starting to play their best lacrosse."

He said the Flames' offense came in a variety of ways, with a balance of fast-break scores and goals out of their set offense.

"A lot of it was our ride being able to create turnovers and give our offense more possessions," McQuillan said. "Shane (Supek) looked great at the faceoff dot, winning 16 out of 22 faceoffs, while (freshman) Cheston Kim had 8 wins and 3 losses and Will Morris won both of his attempts. From our faceoffs, our goaltending, our ride, and our defense, this was our most consistent game of the season. If we're going to find our stride, and going to start playing our best lacrosse, this was a point in the right direction."

He said besides getting six saves from senior goalie Ian Carvajal (eight goals allowed) and three saves and three goals allowed by sophomore Sam Hoffman, the Flames were able to contain the Dukes' attack by winning the time of possession battle.

"We controlled the game by controlling the tempo," McQuillan said. "We got the lead early in the game and tried to make sure not to give JMU a lot of opportunities. In lacrosse, if a team gets back into a game, it's often because you are making mistakes, going to the penalty box too often, or giving up quick goals in transition. We tried to maintain longer offensive possessions. In previous weeks, we were not seeing much of our offense at all. We definitely made a step in the right direction today, and hopefully will continue to build on that going into Kentucky, which is another opportunity to build momentum and build confidence."

The only way the JMU (4-4) could overtake Liberty (6-6) for the fourth seed in the ALC playoffs is by winning its last four regular-season conference games — including staging upsets of No. 3 Tennessee, No. 5 Virginia Tech, and No. 8 Clemson — and for the Flames to be upset by Kentucky.

"Statistically speaking, (the Dukes) have got a tough uphill battle, but we'll still treat (the Kentucky season finale) like a playoff game," McQuillan said. "We are in playoff mode now. It's a 'win or go home' mentality."

After the Hokies upset the Volunteers on Friday in Knoxville, 12-11, they are in the driver's seat for the No. 1 seed in the ALC Tournament, which they can clinch by sweeping their last two games this week at JMU and West Virginia. That would mean the Flames would likely face off against Virginia Tech, a team that trounced them 17-5 on April 2 in Blacksburg, Va., in the ALC semifinals, set for Friday, April 24, at 7:30 p.m.

"We just need at ticket, need an invite," McQuillan said. "If we can get to the tournament, we just need a chance. Crazier things can happen. If we win our last game at Kentucky, it could be a year that we get to play (the Hokies) twice. Regardless of if whether it's Virginia Tech, Clemson, or Tennessee, we have obviously come up short against all three of them this season."

He considers the ALC, which only formed in 2021 — the year after COVID canceled the second half of the MCLA season in 2020 — one of the strongest conferences in the country.

"The ALC is one of the toughest conference tournaments in the MCLA to win right now in terms of its depth, with four teams in the top 20," McQuillen said. "Though we've fallen off as the No. 20 seed, it's still a wildly competitive conference."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer