Box Score

ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. – Despite three points by John Thompson and 16 saves by Andy McGregor, the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team dropped a tough 12-6 decision to St. Mary's (Md.) at Seahawk Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

During the game, Thompson scored two and added an assist, while Parker Thompson also found the back of the net twice. On the defensive end, Zakary Burkhard forced a pair of turnovers and McGregor set a new season-high with 16 stops. With that effort, the senior stalwart became the first Captain in program history to eclipse the 500-save plateau for his career.

The setback drops the Captains to 5-5 on the season, while the win bumps St. Mary's to 5-4. The Seahawks have been on a roll lately, winning their last three contests.

Early in the game, the two teams traded blows throughout the first period. Parker Thompson answered St. Mary's first goal of the game before John Thompson retaliated against the Seahawks' next two scores to keep the game deadlocked at 3-3. McGregor also did fine work between the pipes for CNU, stoning five shots in the stanza, including back-to-back darts during a flurry at the 11-minute mark.

Entering the second period knotted at three, Christopher Newport hit a bit of a rough patch. Gordy Long broke the tie less than a minute into the quarter before Ben Love found his rhythm for the Seahawks. The junior midfielder added two straight goals to take a 6-3 advantage heading into halftime.

Unfortunately, the break did little to halt St. Mary's momentum as the hosts continued their scoring binge in the third. Unloading shots at a breakneck pace, the Seahawks scored four straight to open the second half on the way to a 10-3 edge. Despite the deficit, CNU kept battling. Kyle Pasta lit up the scoreboard following an assist by Alex Barber before Parker Thompson converted off of a pass by Will Geise to pull CNU back within five at 10-5.

After seizing a little of the momentum, Christopher Newport could not keep its roll going in the fourth. St. Mary's opened the scoring with just over 12 minutes remaining in regulation to secure an 11-5 edge. Following that goal, McGregor did all that he could to keep the Seahawk attack in check. Facing an unrelenting assault, the senior clamped down on five straight shots during a seven-minute surge. Sadly, the hosts eventually found an opening as Love came through with his third score of the game at 2:24.

Once again, CNU never relented. Facing a seven-goal deficit, the squad kept battling. Eventually, Ari Elgort won the ensuing faceoff, and with time winding down, John Thompson dished to Chris Young, who capitalized on the pass and capped off the scoring with just over a minute left in the game.

Overall, St. Mary's held a 50-18 lead in shots and won 16 of the 22 faceoffs. The Seahawks also posted a 34-20 advantage in ground balls during the game.

Christopher Newport will look to get back on track next week when the squad continues its road trip with a 3 p.m. bout against York (Pa.) on March 30.

---CNU---