NEWPORT NEWS, Va. --- In a dominant performance from start to finish, six Captains posted multi-goal efforts and four notched hat-tricks as the No. 19 Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team stormed past Virginia Wesleyan, 20-5, on a breezy Wednesday evening at Captains Turf Field.

As usual, Ashton Marshall led the way offensively, driving home five goals while adding an assist. Freshman Elena Obregon also came through with four goals and a helper, while Lauren King scored three times and chipped in with a team-high three assists. Kylie Chaplin rounded out the top scorers, collecting three goals and an assist.

With the victory, the Captains extended their winning streak to six games and moved to 6-1 on the season. Virginia Wesleyan is now 1-4.

From the outset, CNU took control. In less than 60 seconds, Marshall scored the first two goals before Obregon added a third at 28:01. Following the Marlins' first score, the Captains simply assaulted the back of the net. Posting 10 straight tallies to close out the half, Christopher Newport put the game out-of-reach quickly.

During the first-half onslaught, Kelly Lane made the play of the game to help lead the CNU attack. With just under 19-minutes remaining in the stanza, the senior midfielder made a knee-buckling spin-move on the nearside of the field to shake her defender. After coming free, she cleared the face of the goal and fired a dart into the back of the net for a 5-1 lead.

Later, Geist scored twice, while King and Lane each found an opening during a four-goal surge that lifted the team to a 9-1 edge with 15:45 remaining in the first. Looking for a little more breathing room, Obregon took control. The first-year phenom added back-to-back goals, including a hard bounce shot off the turf and a bullet following a spectacular cut at the top of the arc.

With an 11-1 lead and a running clock, CNU closed out the first half with two more scores. King added the first one with help from Chaplin before Obregon capped off her four-goal half after capitalizing on an assist from Nina Stinson.

Although the offense was the story of the first half, the defense did its part as well. Hanna Slough stoned four shots in the period, including a pair on free-position attempts. Rachel Tomlinson was also a force on the defensive end, causing three turnovers during the first half. The reigning USA South Defensive Player of the Week also added an assist to round out a solid stretch.

Following the break, the two teams engaged in a bit of a seesaw affair. At the start of the second half, a quick goal by Marshall was matched three minutes later by Virginia Wesleyan's Nikki Salyers. After King and Marshall scored again, the visitors shot back with their third goal to pull within 16-3 with just under 17 minutes remaining.

The back-and-forth battle continued as a pair of goals by Chaplin were mirrored by the Marlins. Despite the effort of Virginia Wesleyan, Christopher Newport never relented. Eventually, Rachel Wall took a perfect feed from Jessica Kelly to give the hosts a 19-5 lead with three minutes left before Chaplin made it an even 20 with another bullet to close out the scoring at 1:26.

Chaplin was a perfect 3-for-3 on her shot attempts during the game, while Lane and Geist each added a pair of goals as well. Geist also came up with a team-high six draw controls, while Lane and Marshall tied for the lead with four ground balls apiece. Overall, CNU also forced 11 turnovers, including three by Tomlinson and two by Emily Johnson.

During the contest, the Captains held a 32-14 advantage in shots and a 24-12 edge in ground balls. The squad was also exceptional at draw controls throughout the game, taking 18 of the 27 attempts. Slough finished with five saves for CNU, and Madison Carroll had a game-high eight for VWC.

Christopher Newport will return to action this weekend when the team faces a pair of USA South road tilts. CNU will kick off the stretch with a showdown at Ferrum on Saturday at 2 p.m. before heading to Greensboro for a 1 p.m. match-up on Sunday.

---CNU---