Box Score

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Senior Jessica Singer and freshman Erin Callahan both posted a career-high seven points, while Kylie Chaplin also chipped in with four goals as the 16th-ranked Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team stormed past Randolph-Macon, 19-9, on a chilly Saturday afternoon at Captains Turf Field.

After dropping a pair of overtime decisions during their first two games, the Captains erupted in a big way against the Yellow Jackets. Singer paced the squad with five goals and two assists. Callahan also continued the torrid start to her collegiate career as the freshman collected her third-straight hat-trick before finishing with four goals and three helpers. She is the first Captain in program history to have at least three scores in each of her first three collegiate games.

Chaplin also scored four times, including the first two goals of the game, while Ashton Marshall and Meaghan Galvin converted a pair of shots as well.

With the victory, CNU improves to 1-2 on the season. The loss drops Randolph-Macon to 1-1.

From the outset, Chaplin set the tone for the Captains. The sophomore drove home the first goal of the game at the 28-minute mark before adding the second on a beautiful play. Chaplin and Callahan ran a little give-and-go at the top of the arc before the second-year standout blistered a dart through the R-MC defense to give the hosts a quick 2-0 lead.

Unfortunately, the tide turned during an eight-minute stretch in the middle of the half. The Yellow Jackets converted three straight goals to grab their first lead before a dart by Singer broke the streak. Shortly thereafter, a pair of Macon scores bookended a goal by Marshall to give the visitors a slim 5-4 edge with 15 minutes remaining in the first half.

After taking Randolph-Macon's best shot, the Captains retaliated with a suffocating surge. Callahan kicked off the run with her first goal at the 10-minute mark. Although she earned a tough-angled free-position attempt, the freshman made the best of the opportunity as she ran in from the near corner and found a sliver of daylight to knot the game at five.

Back on even ground, Christopher Newport broke the game open at the tail end of the period. Meaghan Galvin drilled a free-position goal to secure the lead at 6-5 before Chaplin gave the squad some cushion with her third score of the contest. Later, Hannah Herbert came through with her first collegiate goal after muscling through the Yellow Jacket defense before Singer added back-to-back bullets to extend the lead to 10-5.

Although Randolph-Macon added a goal just before the half ended, the CNU defense was outstanding throughout the first 30 minutes. Mariah Ginebra and Kirsten Mendelsohn both caused a pair of turnovers during the stanza, while Hanna Slough came through with five saves, including a pair of textbook stops on early free-position attempts.

After halftime, the defense continued to do work before the offense regained its footing. During the early part of the period, Slough stoned another Yellow Jacket shot before Emily Johnson forced a turnover five minutes into the half. Later, after Johnson controlled possession, she dished a perfect feed to Singer, who continued her run with her fourth goal of the contest.

Looking to open the floodgates, the Captains secured back-to-back draws before Callahan and Galvin tacked on a pair of rapid-fire goals to give the hosts a 13-6 edge. Following another nice defensive stand, which included a save by Slough and another caused turnover by Johnson, Rachel Wall joined the fun with her first goal of the year before Callahan capped off her third consecutive hat-trick at 21:24.

Already holding a nine-goal lead at 15-6, Marshall gave CNU a running clock following a perfect pass by Jessica Kelly. With nothing left to prove, Singer, Callahan, and Chaplin capped off their afternoons with late goals to help seal the 19-9 victory.

Overall, the Captains held a 32-23 edge in shots, while Randolph-Macon secured 20 of the 30 draws. On the defensive end, Slough finished with 12 saves, while Johnson had four caused turnovers.

Christopher Newport will return to action on Wednesday when the squad welcomes in the University of Redlands for a 1 p.m. showdown at Captains Turf Field.

---CNU---