The Liberty Men’s Lacrosse team took a commanding victory over Texas A&M University 21-7 on Military Appreciation Night March 28 at the East Campus Field House.
Graduate faceoff specialist Caleb Hammett won the opening faceoff to begin the game. Both teams jockeyed with each other while trying to find the first goal. The Flames made some strong attacks on goal, but the Aggies’ goaltender stopped the incoming shots.
The Aggies found the first goal of the game midway through the first quarter, but that did not stop the Flames. They held the Aggies to one goal for the remainder of the quarter and landed a strike when graduate student attacker Braden Landry nabbed his first of five goals for the night, thanks to a behind-the-net pass from graduate student attacker Keaton Mohs.
The Aggies pressed hard in the dying minutes, but senior defender Ben Chun recovered a lost ball, allowing Liberty to hold the score to 1-1.
“In that first quarter, they came out in a zone, and it was giving us some trouble, and their goalie had some tremendous saves, and it really kept it close,” Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said.
In the second quarter, the Flames turned up the heat. Junior attacker Luke Branham secured a quick shot into the net with an assist from senior midfielder Will Geary. The Flames continued their scoring run with a goal by Mohs, and a few moments later, Branham found another goal, assisted by Mohs.
The Flames continued to weave in between traffic as they got more shots off. Amid all the chaos, Chun held the ball on the Aggies’ side, making a quick pass to sophomore midfielder Kason Brehm, who converted it for the fifth Liberty goal.
Another goal from Landry riled up Flames fans as Liberty continued to pull away from the Aggies with a 6-1 lead. Following a timeout, the Flames moved the ball to the Aggies’ side again. Assisted by Branham, senior midfielder Shane Supek fired a sidearm shot straight into the goal.
Flames Nation’s excitement grew as Liberty continued putting up more goals. Sophomore midfielder Harris Shook picked up the ball midfield and ran down into Aggie territory, dodging defenders left and right. Shook found a clear path when he faked left, only to spin past the defender and launch the ball into the net.
Photo by Anna Wheat | @annawheatphotography
The Aggies broke the offensive push for a moment, but the Flames continued unphased. After moving the ball back into enemy territory, sophomore midfielder Hunter Rockhill nailed one past Texas A&M defenders, scoring Liberty’s ninth goal of the night.
Mohs notched the final goal of the quarter with help from Landry to bring the score to 10-1 at halftime.
Sergeant George Winters was honored during the break. He served in the Virgina Army National Guard and was deployed in Iraq as a vehicle gunner. The fans cheered for him and for his service in the United States military.
“Liberty does a very good job of creating events like this just showing that Liberty is very pro-military and pro-military appreciation,” McQuillan said.
Returning to the field for more action, Texas A&M found a quick goal at the start of the third quarter and brought the ball back on Liberty’s side ready to score again. A poke check by Chun set the ball loose, and the Flames were able to recover it. Junior defensive midfielder Ty Broughton got the ball to Landry who put another point on the board for Liberty. Shortly after, Brehm scored his second goal of the game.
The Aggies received a penalty later on, giving Liberty a power play. Junior midfielder Gabriel Dymmel took advantage of this and notched another goal, his first of the season. Sophomore midfielder Easton Cahill scored next for the Flames. Landry then made another goal by an underhanded shot with help from senior midfielder Ryan Merbach. Liberty’s lead moved up to 15-2 with Landry’s fourth goal of the night.
The Aggies lost another player to the penalty box with five minutes left in the third quarter. Landry, on the power play, got around the goaltender to put the ball into the net. Freshman midfielder Josiah Hoopman scored with an assist from Mohs, bringing the score to 17-2. The Aggies scored again afterwards but could not close the gap.
Dymmel responded with an overhanded shot into the goal to end the quarter.
The final quarter saw the Aggies score two fast goals at the start. Merbach got another sidearm shot into the goal with an assist from Shook. Freshman midfielder William Morris followed that up with a goal from far away with Dymmel on the assist.
Hoopman made the final goal of the night for the Flames. The Aggies scored two more, but the Flames’ defense prevented them from coming back. Liberty took the win 21-7.
“What really broke the game open was our ability to push into transition,” McQuillan said. “The transition game’s a big part of who we are, and tonight showcased that, especially early in the second quarter.”
The Flames’ next home game will be Friday, April 4 at 11:59 p.m. as they face the University of Tennessee in a Midnight Mayhem game.
Warden is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion.