ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. – Starting a crucial seven-game road trip this weekend, the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team will look to continue its postseason push away from Newport News as the Captains open their trip against St. Mary's on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Seahawk Stadium.

On Monday, CNU snapped its two-game skid with an 8-5 victory over Whittier at Captains Turf Field. Christopher Newport now sits at 5-4 on the season, while St. Mary's is an even 4-4. The Seahawks are on a two-game roll, including a victory in their Capital Athletic Conference opener against Marymount on Wednesday.

In four all-time meetings between the two programs, the Seahawks hold a perfect 4-0 record. The squads last faced off in 2010 with St. Mary's pulling out a 16-5 victory in Maryland.

The Captains have been led by John Thompson, who has a team-high 36 points and 24 assists. One of the nation's top facilitators, the sophomore sensation already holds the program's single-game, season, and career records for assists. He broke the latter two marks during his last appearance on Monday.

Bolstering the team's well-rounded attack, Alex Barber leads the Captains with 15 goals, while Aaron Chrzaszcz has 13. Overall, CNU has seven players with at least five goals, including Gregory Limon who has contributed five goals and three assists. Will Geise, Parker Thompson, and Joey Rolando have also been strong on the offensive end as well.

Equally adept on defense, Teddy Pekalski and Brenden Dwyer have each caused 13 turnovers, while Zakary Burkhard has nine to go along with 11 ground balls. Sturdy in goal, Andy McGregor also boasts 78 saves and a 6.42 goals-against-average.

Guiding the Seahawks this year, Patrick Mull ranks first on the squad with 18 assists and 26 points. Currently, his 2.29 assists-per-game average stands 35th in the country. He also ranks among the national leaders in points-per-game and shot percentage.

In eight games this season, Matt Tarrant also has 12 goals and 16 points, while Ben Love has scored 11 times as well. Rounding out the attack, Will Lerch and Conor Jordan each have nine goals for the Seahawks.

Not to be overlooked, Scott Marsh has 37 saves and a 6.23 goals-against-average. Joey Casey has also started six games between the pipes, piecing together an 11.54 goals-against-average and a team-high 55 saves. Albert Mitchell has also been successful during his faceoff attempts, winning 59 percent of his battles for St. Mary's.

Staying on the road for the remainder of the regular season, Christopher Newport will be back in action next Saturday when the squad takes a trip to York (Pa.) for a 3 p.m. showdown.

---CNU---