The Liberty Men’s Lacrosse team returned to the Liberty Lacrosse Field, March 27 to pull out a 13-8 win over West Virginia University (WVU) in a fiery Midnight Mayhem game.
Coming off a four-game losing streak, this victory against WVU not only turned a fresh page for the Flames’ momentum but marked the first time in program history that the team recovered from such a long losing streak.
“For us, just getting back in the win column is probably, obviously the most important thing,” Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said.
The opening faceoff took place at 11:59 p.m. with a large crowd braving the cold. Liberty won the faceoff and generated multiple shot attempts until sophomore midfielder Josiah Hoopman finally landed one with nine minutes left in the first quarter.
The Flames maintained offensive pressure throughout the first quarter and added three more goals from senior attacker Luke Branham, freshman attacker Jeffrey Pitcher and junior midfielder Hunter Rockhill.
The Mountaineers got on the board with one minute remaining in the opening quarter when senior midfielder Jackson Smith scored. The quarter ended with Liberty in the lead, 4-1.
Following an early goal from Branham in the second quarter, WVU rallied back into the game. Mountaineers Smith and senior midfielder Dominick Stingo found the back of the net to close the gap to 5-3.
The Flames answered in the final 30 seconds of the second quarter when sophomore midfielder William Morris drove his way into the offensive zone for an unassisted goal. WVU countered immediately with an over-the-shoulder shot from senior midfielder Graham Miller, sending the game to halftime with Liberty leading 6-4.
Strong play from both teams’ goalies kept the match tight during the first two quarters.
“Goaltending gave us fits today, and we were never able to really pull away or separate from West Virginia until later in the game,” McQuillan said.
Rockhill, who tied Hoopman with a game-high three goals, credited junior goalie Ian Carvajal’s nine saves as a highlight of the match.
“Our goalie, Ian Carvajal, had a great game,” Rockhill said. “He had some great saves when he needed to.”
Entering the second half of the game, senior midfielder Shane Supek was a force at the faceoff line, winning 17 of 20 faceoffs to give the Flames a leg up.
A delay-of-game penalty on WVU provided Liberty’s offense with an additional advantage. Rockhill scored off an assist by freshman attacker Taydan Williams during the man-up period.
The Flames and the Mountaineers traded goals for the rest of the quarter, ending the third with Liberty maintaining its lead, 10-7.
In the fourth quarter, the Flames extended their lead with a goal from junior midfielder Harris Shook.
“We asked our midfielders — all our offensive players — to be a little bit more aggressive in their dodging, and to draw more attention, draw more slides,” McQuillan said. “I thought we did a good job of it.”
After a WVU goal, Hoopman followed suit with his third score of the game.
In the final three minutes, a shot by freshman attacker Branson Isaacs was deflected by WVU senior defenseman Sutton Taylor into the Mountaineers’ own net, increasing Liberty’s lead, 13-8. The score remained the same as the clock expired, giving the Flames a much-needed win.
“It’s definitely nice to get back on track, but we definitely have a lot to work on,” Rockhill said. “We’re starting to play some really good competition. It’s a good start but definitely got a long way to go.”
Liberty had no time to rest after sealing their 13-8 victory at 2 a.m. They returned to the Liberty Lacrosse Field March 29, where they fell to Clemson University 17-12 during senior night.
Next, the Flames hit the road to take on Virginia Tech April 2, at 6 p.m.
Quam is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion.