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ASHLAND, Va. -- Aaron Chrzaszcz and Alex Barber each scored three goals, while John Thompson matched the single-game program record with six assists as the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team continued its strong start to the 2013 campaign with a 12-4 victory over Randolph-Macon on Wednesday evening at Day Field.

Chrzaszcz also chipped in with a pair of assists to round out his five-point day, which highlighted CNU's potent offensive attack. Overall, seven players found the back of the net for the Captains. Thompson was the chief facilitator, equaling Zach Hill's record of six assists set against Washington & Jefferson in 2010.

In a remarkable start to the year, Thompson currently has 11 assists after only three games, which already ranks sixth on CNU's all-time single-season list.

Along with Christopher Newport's offensive efforts, the defense was just as strong on Wednesday as Andy McGregor made six saves for Christopher Newport and Brenden Dwyer led the way with three caused turnovers. The Captains also dominated in faceoffs with Nick Mandros winning eight of his 10 battles. Ari Elgort also went 5-for-8, and Brett Keller added a win as well.

With the victory, the Captains moved to 2-1 on the season and recorded their first win over the Yellow Jackets in program history. The setback drops Randolph-Macon to 1-2 on the year.

Getting off on the right foot, the Christopher Newport attack exploded for six goals in the latter half of the first period. After a quiet start to the game, Parker Thompson got things rolling with his first goal of the season after scoring off a pass from Barber at 8:23. Just over 30 seconds later, after Mandros won the ensuing faceoff, Barber tacked on his own goal following a beautiful feed from John Thompson.

After a nice defensive stand, highlighted by the second caused turnover of the game by Zakary Burkhard, the offense went back to work. Chrzaszcz was at the forefront of the attack, scoring a pair of goals while adding an assist on a tally by Barber during an impressive two-minute stretch. With a 5-0 advantage, the Captains came back for one last goal after Adam Abbate fired a bullet into the back of the net on a man-up advantage to close out the opening period.

Clutching a six-goal lead after just 15-minutes of action, CNU showed off its defense in the early part of the second period. McGregor led the charge, posting three crucial saves during a 10-minute surge by the Yellow Jackets. With their goalie doing his job between the pipes, the Captains pieced together another onslaught to wrap up the first half.

Getting contributions from all over the field, Eric Skahn set up Barber's third goal of the game at 5:27 before Thompson assisted on a rocket by Devin Bushweller just one minute later to give the visitors an imposing 8-0 lead.

With four minutes remaining in the first half, the CNU defense locked down. Brenden Dwyer and Teddy Pekalski each caused a turnover to keep the hosts from even attempting a shot. Eventually, their efforts helped give the ball back to the offense, which wasted little time converting again. Just 10 seconds before halftime, Chrzaszcz dished to Kyle Pasta, who unloaded the team's last goal of the half to give Christopher Newport a 9-0 edge.

Without skipping a beat, the Captains went right back on the attack in the third period. A mere 39 seconds into the second half, Billy Crist took a pass from Thompson and buried it into the back of the net. Although Randolph-Macon finally lit up the scoreboard three minutes later, Christopher Newport quickly landed a counter punch as Chrzaszcz completed his hat-trick off a pass from Bushweller.

After the Yellow Jackets cut their deficit back within nine at 11-2, the CNU defense pieced together an impressive effort over the final six minutes of the period. Pekalski and Brad Picciolo each forced a turnover, while McGregor stoned a pair of shots to keep Christopher Newport's lead at nine heading into the final stanza.

Easing into the victory, McGregor slammed the door on Randolph-Macon's first shot of the fourth period before Tim Rowe found an opening at 7:23, which pulled the hosts within eight at 11-3. Unfazed by the opposition, Bushweller wrapped up CNU's scoring with his second goal of the game off of a helper from Thompson at 3:21.

Overall, CNU held a 41-30 advantage in shots and won 14 of the game's 21 faceoffs.

Christopher Newport will return to action on Saturday when the Captains make their home debut against Mary Washington at 1 p.m.

---CNU---