Men’s Lacrosse Beats University of Tennessee 18-10 During Midnight Mayhem Game April 4

The Liberty Men’s Lacrosse team took the field against the University of Tennessee April 4 for their only Midnight Mayhem game of the season, drawing a large crowd of visitors on campus for College for a Weekend (CFAW). The Flames dominated the Volunteers with an 18-10 final score.  

The men’s lacrosse program was the originator of Midnight Mayhem events when they took on Tennessee Wesleyan University back in 2013. Since then, the tradition has spread to a multitude of other Liberty Club Sports teams, mainly Division I Hockey, and is a popular event among Liberty students.   

Tennessee won the opening faceoff, but graduate student attacker Keaton Mohs was the first to put one on the board for Liberty. Senior midfielder Shane Supek assisted Mohs in taking the lead for the Flames.  

The Volunteers quickly retaliated with a goal of their own, evening out the score 1-1. Liberty extended its lead to 3-1 with two more goals coming from sophomore midfielder Easton Cahill, who was unassisted, and Supek, who was assisted by Mohs. 

Tennessee found the net to shorten Liberty’s lead to one. The Flames answered back with two more goals which fired up the late-night crowd. Students, friends, CFAW guests and family members lined the entire perimeter of the field beyond curfew to cheer on the Flames.  

Two more tallies on the board for the Flames came from graduate student attacker Braden Landry assisted by Mohs and junior attacker Luke Branham assisted by senior midfielder Ryan Merbach for a 5-2 score. 

The Volunteers slowly chipped away at the Flames’ lead, finding the back of the net to raise the score to 5-3. Liberty added two more to its total with a goal from Landry assisted by Branham followed by a goal from junior attacker Gabriel Dymmel assisted by Landry. To end the first quarter, Tennessee netted a goal to bring the score to 7-4.  

In the second quarter, with the result of a penalty on each team, the Volunteers were able to net two goals, tightening the Flames’ lead to 7-6. With Tennesse hot on their heels, the Flames managed to pull away with two more goals. The first came from the dynamic duo, Mohs and Landry, and the second came from Supek unassisted. The rest of the second quarter finished quietly with the Flames retaining a 9-6 advantage.  

As the third quarter began, tensions rose between the two teams. Each team came out hot, but Liberty was the first to score in the quarter with Cahill assisted by sophomore midfielder Hunter Rockhill. Landry extended the lead for the Flames again, with the help of sophomore long stick midfielder Peyton Park, to 11-6.  

The Flames and the Volunteers traded goals back and forth with three more for Liberty and two for Tennessee, bring the score to 14-8. Liberty continued to maintain its strong lead to end the third quarter.  

Entering the early hours of the morning to begin the fourth quarter, the Flames continued to pull away from the Volunteers. Cahill found the back of the net unassisted early in the quarter. A pass from Mohs allowed Supek to put one into the net himself 16-8.  

The Volunteers, refusing to let this game go without a fight, put another notch on the board 16-9. Freshman midfielder William Morris found the back of the net for his first goal of the night. Tennesse responded quickly with a goal of their own.  

On the next goal, Mohs netted his 300th career point with an assist from Branham, making him only the sixth Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) player of all time to reach the benchmark. The final goal came from Landry off of another assist from Branham.  

“I think the reason that Keaton (Mohs) has had a lot of the success he’s had is because of our ability to share the wealth and be able to supplement him with really talented players,” Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. “And Braden (Landry) is a phenomenal player as well. Those two guys are irreplaceable.” 

Landry was able to net five goals in the game against Tennessee along with two assists. 

 “He (Landry) doesn’t necessarily garner the same level of attention, but the two of those guys (Mohs and Landry) together, the fact that we’ve got both of those guys on our team on the same attack line, is a huge problem for defenses,” McQuillan said. 

Liberty took the 18-10 victory over Tennessee which resulted in a roar of cheers from the crowd. 

“We want to win our first back-to-back ALC Championships, and we want to win a national championship,” McQuillan said. “We’ve been too close for too long, and we’ve got to crest that hill.” 

The Flames advance to take on James Madison University April 11 at the Liberty Lacrosse Field at 7:00 p.m.  

Schlösser is the asst. sports editor for the Liberty Champion.