Balanced scoring helps Flames clinch ALC Tournament bid with rout of Wildcats

Saturday, April 18

Lexington, KY

12:00 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

University of Kentucky

Senior faceoff specialist Shane Supek (shown playing against Clemson on March 29) won 11 of 15 faceoffs Saturday at Kentucky. (Photo by Cameron Desmarais)

Balanced scoring helps Flames clinch ALC Tournament bid with rout of Wildcats

4/18/2026 8:55:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Liberty (7-6) guaranteed it will not finish below .500 for the first time in program history, even against the strongest schedule in the MCLA.

Thirteen players scored goals for Liberty University's men's lacrosse team in Saturday afternoon's 17-8 regular season-ending triumph over the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky.

"One of things we have done a good job of this season is being really balanced with our scoring," Flames Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. "We got a lot of help from some of our defensive poles in transition, and (senior) Shane Supek, our faceoff specialist, scored a goal in transition, so we had really good balance on attack. That's one of the things we need to be happy about and build off and capitalize on as we head into the postseason."

The win clinches an Atlantic Lacrosse Conference tournament bid for No. 20 Liberty (7-6), which will most likely be seeded fourth and face top-seeded, No. 3-ranked Virginia Tech in Friday's second Division I semifinal, starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields.

No. 2-seeded Tennessee (11-3), the team that Liberty defeated in the past two ALC Championship finals before falling to 15-10 in the opener of the Tigers' home tournament over spring break, will meet No. 3 Clemson (9-3) in the first semifinal match at 5 p.m.

Since losing back-to-back games to Clemson on March 29 and Virginia Tech on April 2, "our goal and focus was to take care of what we could control, to win out against JMU and Kentucky to lock up a spot in the ALC tournament," McQuillan said. "All we needed was an invitation, and a chance to play. Virginia Tech (10-1) has had a fantastic season, and we know how our first matchup with them went (a 17-5 setback). We've got a lot of work to do between now and Friday. Fortunately, the tournament will be able to play the game on our home turf and hopefully, we will be able to take advantage of that opportunity."

The Flames avoided finishing at or below .500 for the first time since their inaugural season, when they went 4-4.

While Liberty's record pales in comparison to its 13-1 season last year — when it won 19 games in a row after a season-opening loss to Virginia Tech to capture its first MCLA Division I National Championship — they can take consolation in the fact that their strength of schedule ranked No. 1 in the league.

"That's not the only reason for our overall record, but we definitely had a difficult road and definitely challenged our guys along the way," McQuillan said. "Looking back on the season, there were some games we could have — and from our perspective, should have — had a different outcome in. But we put ourselves in position to be eligible for postseason play, and to earn an automatic qualifying bid to the (May 4-9 MCLA) National (Championships), which we would be happy to play in with that tournament being (near) Richmond," at the River City Sportsplex in Midlothian, Va.

After a 40-minute delay caused by nearby lightening sightings in Lexington, Ky., the Flames struck quickly and decisively against the host Wildcats, opening a 5-1 lead after the first quarter before stretching it to 10-2 by halftime.

"We played well early, coming out of the gate strong and setting the tone, and by the end of the first quarter, we were able to take control of the game," McQuillan said.

Supek won 11 of 15 faceoffs, picking up eight ground balls and adding a goal and an assist, to spark the attack. Senior attack Luke Branham paced the Flames with two goals and four assists while freshmen attackmen Branson Isaacs and Taydan Williams and senior midfielder Hunter Rockhill also netted two goals. Other single goal-scorers were junior middies Harris Shook (two assists) and Will Morris (one assist), freshman middie Jeff Pitcher, graduate middie Ezra Anderson, freshman LSM Derek Fay, junior LSM Peyton Park, and senior defender Brody Ashworth.

"Our offense is definitely more spread out than last season," McQuillan said. "Sometimes, that makes for a more challenging team to defend. Everybody can contribute to elevate their play and continue to develop, which makes our team that much more dangerous, instead of having to rely on one or two players as we contend for an ALC Championship. Having players up and down the lineup who can add production takes pressure off individual guys and creates opportunities to be a team-minded or team-focused group."

Defensively, senior goalie Ian Carvajal made four saves and allowed two goals in the first half before sophomore Sam Hoffman made six saves and gave up six goals in the second, when the Wildcats (2-9) outscored Liberty 5-4 in the third quarter to cut the lead in half, 14-7.

"To Kentucky's credit, they came out of the half not willing to go quietly in their last game of the season," McQuillan said. "Obviously, they made us continue to push and strive to get back on track."
For the most part, Liberty executed its game plan and played sound fundamental lacrosse.

"One of our primary goals today was to be really disciplined on the offensive side of the ball," McQuillan said. "We had some pretty clear expectations of what we wanted to accomplish and to see from the guys, and they were able to execute that in the first half, before we got away from it a bit in the second before we finished strong."

The Flames were playing without a few key players, senior attack Easton Cahill, who will miss the postseason, as well as sophomore midfielder Josiah Hoopman and junior long-stick midfielder Graham Lilley.

"We had a few guys banged up and wanted to rest them to put ourselves in the best possible position for the postseason," McQuillan said. "We slowed things down and controlled the pace in the fourth quarter, when we knew we had game in hand and wanted to get out of Lexington with a W and our health."

With six days to prepare for the tournament, the Flames will have to come out firing on all cylinders to have a chance to upset the Hokies and reach the final.

"We've got a short time to prepare, but at this time of the year, we know we've got to be ready to play a lot of lacrosse in a short period of time," McQuillan said. "This time of year, nobody's at 100 percent. We will let our guys get a few days' rest and be as healthy as we can for the Virginia Tech matchup. We get to play on our home field, and we hope that plays to our advantage. We have a chance to get back into the ALC tournament, and a chance to defend our title."

Though the Flames have won three of the five tournaments since McQuillan started the ALC in 2021, upsetting Clemson on Liberty's home field that first year, no team has three-peated as tournament champions. Virginia Tech won two in a row from 2022-23 before the Flames won the past two titles.

"We've definitely got to improve our resume considerably," McQuillan said of the Flames' chances of qualifying for the MCLA Championships. "We are hoping we get a W against Virginia Tech which would definitely help to boost our chances, and with that, advance to face the winner between Clemson and Tennessee, which are also both in the top 10. With us being in the top 20, the ALC will probably be the most competitive conference tournament in the country."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer