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ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. – After breaking into the national rankings for the first time in program history, the No. 19 Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team helped solidify its spot as one of the country's top teams on Wednesday as the Captains used a well-balanced attack to storm past St. Mary's, 15-7, during the squad's first road game of the season at Seahawk Stadium.

Ashton Marshall led the way with five goals and an assist for CNU, while Jessica Singer set a new career-high with three assists to go along with a pair of goals. Lauren King also scored once and chipped in with three helpers, while Elena Obregon tallied a hat-trick for the Captains.

With the victory, CNU improved to 2-1 on the season, while the Seahawks fell to 1-2.

Although St. Mary's jumped out to an early lead, collecting the first two goals in seven minutes of action, Christopher Newport shot right back. Just 19 seconds after the Seahawks grabbed a two-goal advantage, Marshall cut the lead in half after converting a free-position attempt. Two minutes later, Rachel Tomlinson evened the score with a bullet before Singer found her rhythm.

Less than a minute after knotting the score, Singer dished to Marshall, who drove home her second goal of the game at 19:50. Two minutes later, after Hanna Slough stoned a shot by St. Mary's, Singer came back for more. This time, the junior standout secured a feed from King and fired a dart into the back of the net to give the Captains a 4-2 advantage.

Following a St. Mary's tally that pulled the hosts back within one, the defenses dominated for a suffocating four-minute stretch. Kelly Lane led CNU's efforts, causing a pair of turnovers during that span. Unfortunately, the Seahawks were just as stingy, limiting Christopher Newport's opportunities before Michelle DiMenna made a nice save on a rocket by Singer.

Still clutching a one-goal lead, Obregon caught fire. The freshman phenom came through with a perfect trifecta at the 12-minute mark, forcing a turnover, collecting the loose ball, and launching a one-timer past the Seahawk defense for her first goal of the game. Still not satisfied, she tacked on another score just two minutes later after a beautiful assist by Singer.

Although St. Mary's was able to whittle its deficit down to two momentarily, Obregon came back again. After securing a pass from King, she capped off her scoring surge and completed her first career hat-trick with another goal at the 6:15 mark in the first half.

Trailing 7-4, the Seahawks responded again with 31 seconds left to pull back within two, but the Captains remained unfazed. Putting the perfect punctuation mark on the team's stellar first half, King set up Marshall, who ripped a shot through the SMC defense for her third goal of the game just before the horn sounded.

With an 8-4 advantage at the start of the second half, Christopher Newport refused to relax. Peppering the Seahawk defense from every angle, the Captains eventually ripped off three straight goals. Kylie Chaplin opened the onslaught at 27:11 before King found an opening less than two minutes later. Still in control, Singer topped off the surge with her second goal of the game at the 23-minute mark to give the visitors an imposing 11-5 edge.

Although St. Mary's eventually came back and scored the next two goals, CNU kept the opposition at arm's length. Becca Geist came through with a pair of big plays, setting up Marshall's fourth goal of the game before tacking on her own score with 8:36 remaining in regulation.

Back up by six, the Captains quickly put the game out of reach. After winning the draw control following Geist's goal, Christopher Newport went storming back on the attack. In a matter of seconds, Marshall fed the ball to Nina Stinson, who unloaded a rope that went screaming into the back of the net. Just under two minutes later, Marshall polished off her six-point game beautifully with her 15th goal of the season at 6:39 to give CNU a 15-7 lead.

With a little work left to do, the Captains' defense closed out the game in style. Clamping down on the attack, CNU limited St. Mary's opportunities before Slough did the rest. Setting aside the Seahawks' final two shots of the game, the freshman goalie iced the eight-goal victory.

Overall, Slough finished the contest with seven saves on the way to her second straight victory. The first-year standout was aided by several of her classmates as CNU's young guns were put on full display. In addition to Obregon's hat-trick, Stinson added her first career goal while Chaplin extended her scoring surge after driving home a pair against Washington & Lee on Saturday.

During the contest, CNU held a 24-14 edge in shots, while St. Mary's notched a 14-9 advantage in draw controls. The Seahawks were led by Shelby Newman, who had three goals for the hosts. DiMenna posted nine saves for SMC as well.

Christopher Newport will be back in action on Saturday when the squad continues its four-game road swing with a 4 p.m. match-up at Lynchburg.

---CNU---