Liberty Flames lacrosse defeats South Carolina 12-11

The men’s lacrosse team stunned the University of South Carolina Gamecocks with a last-gasp winner in the final 10 seconds of Saturday’s game, March 30, grinding out a 12-11 win after a tightly-contested clash between the two nationally-ranked heavyweights.

Though their one-goal margin of victory was their smallest of the season, No. 3 Liberty (10-0) remains undefeated as No. 6 USC (9-2) fell in a dramatic second defeat of the year. The game saw five lead changes in a frantic second half, but the Flames ultimately proved too hot for the Gamecocks to handle, with midfielder C.J. Nichols slamming home the decisive goal to send the fans into a frenzy. 

Having lost their previous two games against USC, including a playoff loss in the SELC tournament last year, Liberty started the game with a point to prove. Head Coach Kyle McQuillan knew coming into the game that USC would serve as a barometer for Liberty’s progress. 

“We definitely had confidence and we know we’re a good team, but to be fair, I thought this was our first really big test,” McQuillan said. “We know what type of team USC is – it was a team that beat us twice, both in the regular season, and that knocked us out of the playoffs last year.” 

Liberty started the game brightly, scoring three unanswered goals in the first quarter as USC struggled to transition out of defense. USC dominated much of the possession through faceoff specialist Derek Isaac’s control of the faceoff, but the first quarter ended with Liberty leading 3-0. 

Even with Isaac’s success, USC continued to waste possessions and attackman Caleb Britton soon capitalized, flicking in a backhanded shot to give Liberty a four-goal advantage. 

But less than a minute later, USC responded with its first goal of the game as midfielder Griffin Giles dragged in a shot with 7:52 left in the half. McQuillan knew USC’s possession advantage could easily shift the balance
of the game. 

“We got dominated at the faceoff – we kept giving them the ball back after goals, so probably the biggest weakness in today’s game was our effectiveness at the faceoff X,” McQuillan said. “We just continued to give them opportunities to get back into the game. I thought that if we could just split those faceoffs 50-50, I felt we would be able to pull away and create some distance, but (we kept) giving them the ball after every single goal.”

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Giles’s goal sparked a revival for the Gamecocks as they launched on a 5-1 run, tying the game at 5-5 before halftime as Liberty’s momentum collapsed. Nichols saw that the team needed to change its mentality to reimpose itself on the game. 

“We need to not be stagnant,” Nichols said. “The last three games we came out kind of feeling that we’re the big dog on top of the mountain, and what makes us lethal is being that dog at the bottom of the hill really fighting to get to the top – we need that mindset back to really push us through.”

The second half started slowly, with both teams trading ineffective possessions, but with 5:58 left in the third quarter, freshman attackman Cooper Branham finally broke the deadlock for Liberty with his second goal of the night. 

Liberty seemed to have found its rhythm, but 34 seconds later, Giles opened the floodgates for USC with an arrow into the top corner, before attackman Jono Durham scored two rapid-fire goals within 14 seconds, leaving Liberty reeling.

Suddenly down 8-6, the Flames needed an inspiration. That inspiration came in the form of midfielder Derrick Esh. Receiving the ball on the right side of the crease, Esh juked once, then twice, leaving his defender sprawled on the ground as he rifled a shot past the goalie to cut Liberty’s deficit to one.

With 20 seconds left in the third quarter, Britton added his second goal of the night to level the game at 8-8. Britton believes Liberty’s team ethic is what sets it apart in these dramatic moments. 

“(It’s) just confidence, trust in each other, knowing that even in these hard matchups, we’re going to be able to pull together and come out with the win,” Britton said. 

Liberty and USC continued to trade goals, but neither side could extend its lead, with the game poised at 11-11 entering the last three minutes. 

USC charged down the field and nearly slammed in a go-ahead goal, but Liberty goalie Brayden Harriman saved brilliantly, winning possession for Liberty to set up the game’s dramatic finish. With eight seconds left on the clock, Nichols sealed Liberty’s 12-11 win with the last shot of the game, sizing up his defender at the halfway line before powering past him to blast home the winner.

In a timeout before the goal, Nichols had already decided he would score, and his confidence reflects the spirit of this Liberty team as it moves toward the playoffs. 

“Before I stepped on the field, I said, ‘My knee hurts too bad – we’re not going to overtime, I’m just going to end it,’” Nichols said. “I went through there and got the matchup I wanted. They kind of pushed me to the side I wanted, and it opened up. I let it fly and just prayed to God that it’d go in.” 

After Saturday’s victory, the Flames next play at home against the University of Minnesota April 5 in this year’s Midnight Mayhem game.