Box Score

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Ashton Marshall scored five times, including three during an huge eight-goal surge in the second half, as the No. 19 Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team extended its winning streak to three games with a 14-10 win over Lynchburg on Saturday evening at Shellenberger Field.

Marshall continued her scoring surge with her fourth straight hat-trick to start the year and now has a team-high 20 goals this season. Elena Obregon was nearly just as strong on the offensive end, driving home three goals, while fellow freshman Nina Stinson added a pair for Christopher Newport (3-1).

On the defensive end, Hanna Slough was stingy in goal again, posting 10 stops for her second double-digit save effort of the season. Lauren King and Kelly Lane also forced three turnovers apiece, while King led the way with six draw controls. Becca Geist was stellar all-around, collecting five draw controls to go along with two goals and an assist.

Early in the game, CNU came out strong. Although Lynchburg lit up the scoreboard first, the Captains responded with a vengeance. Jessica Singer evened the score at one before Marshall drove home her first goal and Kylie Chaplin added the team's third straight to secure a 3-1 lead. Unfortunately, Bri Slate found an opening on back-to-back shots for the Hornets to knot the game at three with 5:27 remaining in the first half.

Unfazed by the momentary surge, Geist and Stinson responded in-kind with two straight goals on the way to a 5-3 lead. Although the seesaw battle continued with the hosts retying the game at five, Marshall put a perfect punctuation mark on the first half with 25 seconds left to give the Captains a modest 6-5 advantage heading into the break.

After halftime, the Lynchburg attack found its rhythm. The hosts came through with three straight goals in the first seven minutes of action, including two more from Slate, to take an 8-6 lead at 23:17. Showing a steely resolve, Christopher Newport answered with one of the squad's most impressive runs of the season.

Obregon kicked off the streak with back-to-back rockets in a two-minute span, which tied the game at eight. Marshall quickly broke the deadlock with a tracer at 16:04 before Geist tacked on her second score of the game less than three minutes later to give CNU a little breathing room at 10-8.

After kicking off the streak, Obregon got back in on the action with her third goal in eight minutes before Marshall took off again. She added the squad's sixth straight goal on a free-position rocket before scoring off a gorgeous pass by Geist to give the Captains an imposing 13-8 lead with 5:34 left in regulation.

Still not finished, Stinson capped off the eight-goal onslaught with one last bullet at 3:07 to cap CNU's offensive efforts. Although the hosts tacked on two late goals to pull back within four, the Captains eased into the 14-10 victory.

During the game, CNU held a 36-24 advantage in ground balls and an impressive 19-7 edge in draw controls. Slate led the way for Lynchburg, posting four goals to go along with a pair of caused turnovers.

Christopher Newport will return to action on Wednesday when the squad continues its four-game road swing and opens up USA South action with a 4 p.m. contest against Agnes Scott.

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