BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Though it was only an exhibition game, which went five quarters and showcased both teams' attacks, Liberty demonstrated it has closed the gap on its main rival in the SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference's Northwest division by rallying for a 19-17 victory on Friday night.

"It was fall ball and it's just a scrimmage, but any time you can play a team like Virginia Tech, as talented as they are and as highly ranked as they are, it's a good thing, win or lose," said Flames head coach Kyle McQuillan. "We got to see what we need to focus on over the course of winter break and we've got to hit the ground running going into spring. We have a lot to work on, but, overall, we're in a much better place in the offseason than we were last year."

The primary objective of the contest was to give all of the Flames, especially his 11 newcomers, an opportunity to play in a competitive game situation on foreign soil. Seeing his charges come from behind to prevail in the extra period against the two-time SELC tournament champions was a bonus, giving them confidence that they can do the same next spring.

Liberty will end its regular season against the Hokies for the third year in a row, April 15 on the Liberty Lacrosse Field.

"It was the best chance we were going to get all fall to test our guys," McQuillan said. "At one point, we were down four or five goals and we showed the ability to continue to battle back and compete. Our offense was clicking on all cylinders and our defense took some time to settle down before we were able possess the ball a little better, which was one reason we were able to close the gap and overcome Virginia Tech in the end. I was pleased with the way our guys responded and to come away with a victory against Virginia Tech was definitely a nice confidence booster heading into the spring season."

Had it been a regulation game, the Flames would have forced overtime in dramatic fashion after scoring the tying goal on the final play of the fourth quarter.
Freshman goalie Brayden Harriman made a save with 10 seconds on the clock and threw the ball the length of the field to senior attack Ryan Miller, who was able to catch it and head to the net and score the equalizer with one second to play.

Miller, Liberty's all-time leading scorer. led the way for the Flames, including an assist to senior middie Bryce Mrakovich with a behind-the-back pass on the goal that tied it at 15 with two minutes to play. The Flames received balanced scoring from a variety of players, including sophomore attack Nick Lombardozzi. Freshman Sam Gregory and sophomore Nick Valentine got into the action and may give McQuillan reason to put them into the rotation in the spring.

"We have more than three attackmen who can come in and be productive, so we may go with four or five," McQuillan said. "We've got a lot of talent and want to utilize that as best as we can."

Similarly, he may consider platooning Harriman and fellow freshman Matt Nichols in the net.

"Matt started the first half for us and, unfortunately, we put him into a lot of man-down situations but he did well for us," McQuillan said. "In the second half, fortunately, we were able to correct a lot of those and Bradyen came in and played well, too. Our goalie position one of those spots that we haven't come to a firm conclusion on, We're not exactly sure who our starter's going to be. We may be in a situation similar to hockey where we go with whoever has the hot hand."