LYNCHBURG, Va. – Preparing for a loaded spring schedule in the SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference (SELC) and a potential first-time appearance in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) Division I national championships, Liberty University's men's lacrosse team will travel to two-time defending SELC D-I tournament champion Virginia Tech on Friday for a 6 p.m. exhibition game at Thompson Field in Blacksburg, Va.

The Flames lost last year’s regular season's finale on the Hokies' home field on April 17 in a duel for the SELC Northwest Division title after defeating Virginia Tech to claim the crown in their first season of Division I play in 2014. The Hokies exacted a measure of revenge in the SELC championship game that year.

"We're going down there for a full scrimmage and we're looking forward to it," said Liberty head coach Kyle McQuillan. "We typically try to get Virginia Tech on the schedule in the fall and both teams wanted to isolate our game because of the rivalry and the competitiveness. It's good we're getting a high-caliber team like Virginia Tech, which sets a pretty high standard for the level of play we expect."

Liberty went 3-0 in its fall tournament and enjoyed a decisive victory over a team of 35 former Flames during its alumni game played over Homecoming Weekend.

"Our fall tournament was successful and this is kind of the next step up, playing at a team we have to be competitive with in the spring," McQuillan said, noting Liberty will host the Hokies in their season finale on April 15. "We plan to test some of the things we've been working on in the fall and see how we stack up. It's a good opportunity all around and I think we're going to be very competitive."

The Flames recently finalized their spring schedule, now less than four months away.

"It still feels like the season's an awful long way away," McQuillan said. "Fall ball brings us one step closer to getting mentally and physically prepared for the spring, especially if we can go (into Blacksburg) and have success, building confidence."

McQuillan has arranged an extremely challenging spring schedule that starts with Feb. 20-21 contests against Boston College and Georgia Tech, respectively, in Atlanta — site of the April 22-24 SELC championships. The Yellow Jackets ended the Flames' postseason run in the SELC semifinals last spring.
Liberty will open SELC Northwest Region play at home against George Washington on Feb. 27 and West Virginia on March 5.

The 2016 slate includes three non-conference games against teams that finished first in their respective conferences last season — Boston College (Pioneer Collegiate Lacrosse League), Michigan State (Great Rivers Lacrosse League) March 9 at home, and Texas State (Lone Star Alliance) on March 15, the first game of a spring break road trip to Florida that concludes at Florida State (March 17) and South Florida (March 18).

"We'll be playing three games in four days on our spring break trip, which will give us good reps to prepare for an Atlanta (SELC) playoff run," McQuillan said. "That will be three games in three days, so it's a good test run for nationals (May 16-21 in Orange County, Calif.), which is four games in a six-day tournament."

The Flames boast a 3-1 record against FSU, which has emerged as another strong SELC D- I regional rival. Liberty defeated the Seminoles in the SELC semifinals in 2014 and the quarterfinals last spring.

Upon returning from their trip to Florida, the Flames will host Florida in their annual "Blackout Game," starting just before midnight on April 1. They will conclude SELC play with three games against Northwest opponents — Kentucky (April 5), at Tennessee (April 9), and Virginia Tech (April 15).

McQuillan was happy with the turnout for Friday's annual alumni game.

"We had over 35 alumni come out and participate and nobody got hurt, which was good," he said. "It was definitely the best alumni weekend we've had so far. We've seen the level of involvement increase over the last five years and the alumni team is getting much more competitive from year to year."
Recent graduates including Ethan Kamholtz, Kurt Tobias, and Derek Haywood helped the alumni stay in the game, as did a ruling by McQuillan that goals by players ages 35 and older counted as two.

In future years, with continued growth, he may turn the contest into an all-alumni affair. However, the current players, including 10 freshmen and transfers, also benefited from the experience, learning and receiving encouragement from former Flames.

"It's another big piece of fall ball, and another opportunity to boost camaraderie, as players are still getting used to their new teammates," McQuillan said.