Men’s lacrosse lights up Tennessee in fourth quarter, clinching second ALC Championship in four years

A day after eliminating No. 3-ranked, two-time defending ALC Tournament champion Virginia Tech in the semifinal round, Liberty University’s No. 6-ranked men’s lacrosse team capped off its second crown in the ALC’s four-year history by winning its duel with No. 10 Tennessee, 17-13.

After pulling away in the second half of last season’s ALC semifinal showdown to win by a 20-11 count, the Flames (12-4) got an 11-point game (5 goals, 6 assists) from ALC Tournament Offensive Most Valuable Player Keaton Mohs and improved to 10-0 all-time against the Volunteers (11-2), who were challenging for their first conference championship in 24 years.

The triumph came 11 years to the day after the Flames captured their first conference title, back when they were in Division II of the SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference (SELC). It clinched a bid to the May 6-11 National Championships in Round Rock, Texas, and moved Liberty ahead of Virginia Tech in the final MCLA Division I rankings.

“Last year was the first time we went into the tournament as a top-four team and we made it to the Final Four, so it’s a big factor,” Flames Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. “At the end of the day, we just wanted a seat at the table, but we don’t mind sitting at the head of the table, either.”

The Flames found out on Sunday night that they will be seeded fourth, behind only BYU (15-0), Texas (16-0), and Chapman (13-3) and ahead of the fifth-seeded Hokies (13-3). Liberty will face No. 13 Northeastern (13-4), the team that dealt the Flames their first loss this season on Feb. 18 at the Liberty Lacrosse Fields. The complete bracket is available on the MCLA website.

Mohs, who trails only Virginia Tech’s reigning MCLA DI Player of the Year and ALC Offensive Player of the Year Aidan Smith (90 points) with 82 points on the season, landed on the All-ALC First Team at attack while junior Will Geary earned first-team honors at midfield and junior Conor Guiltinan, the ALC Defensive Player of the Year, made the first team on defense.

“I am super proud of these guys and what they’ve accomplished,” McQuillan said. “We’re going to enjoy this probably a little bit longer than any of our other wins from this season, but we’ll probably quickly transition sometime mid-week to Texas and we’ll get to work. Coming off an ALC Championship and using that momentum, the goal’s (a national title). That’s the expectation, and it always has been.”

Read the complete story on Liberty’s men’s lacrosse Club Sports team page.