Hokies Win Back to Back ALC Championships

Blacksburg, VA - The Hokies battled from 3 goals down late in the fourth quarter to beat Liberty 14-13 in double overtime winning their second Atlantic Lacrosse Conference Championship in a row.  

The Hokies started the game trading goals with the Flames as the first quarter came to a 4-4 tie.  The second quarter would feature a lot more scoring, but Liberty pulled out to an 8-6 lead before the Hokies stung 3 unanswered to go into the halftime break with a 9-8 lead.

In the third quarter the Hokies struck first going up 10-8 but they would not score again in the quarter while giving up three tallies to the Flames.  In the fourth Liberty would stretch their lead to 13-10 with about 10 minutes to play. The Hokie defense would lock it up from there as they gave up 0 goals in the final 18 minutes.  Tyler Harper ('23) would bring the Hokies to within 2 with 8:24 left, scoring on a sweeping bouncer.  Jack Jenkins ('25) would pull to within one with a goal with 2:50 to play.  The Hokies forced a turnover with 27 second to play and Ryan Gaffney ('25) found Grayson Barker ('23) with 15 second left to tie the game.

In overtime the Hokies had multiple scoring chances but the Liberty netminder continued to turn away the Hokies.  However, in the end a rebound off a Kyle Dickson ('25) shot would come to Jared Cole ('24) who would bury the game winner for his first goal of the game.

"I am proud of the way in which our boys battled" stated Head Coach Panchito Ojeda. "This was a hard fought game against two great teams. Our boys relied on their culture and playing for each other to find their path to victory."

The Hokies will be back on the field on Monday May 8, 2023 in Round Rock, TX when they take on the #16 Michigan State Spartans.