Box Score

DOVER, Del. -- Competing in the program's first-ever Capital Athletic Conference game, the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team made an impressive statement as the Captains opened up their league slate with a 14-3 victory over Wesley on Saturday afternoon at Scott Miller Stadium.

During the contest, Jessica Singer paced the offense with five goals, while Meaghan Galvin scored three times and added three assists. Just as dominant on the defensive end, Morgan Smith caused five turnovers, marking the sixth-most in a single-game in CNU history. Hanna Slough also made nine saves to earn the victory.

With the win, CNU improves to 4-2 on the season. The setback drops Wesley to 2-2.

From the outset, the Captains imposed their will and pulled away quickly. Not surprisingly, Galvin and Singer got things rolling. Less than two minutes into the game, Galvin fired a bullet to the back of the net to open the scoring before Singer stung the Wolverines with back-to-back goals to push the lead to 3-0. Two minutes later, Singer set up Ashton Marshall for her first goal of the game before Marshall provided a helping hand on Emily Johnson's goal at the 16-minute mark for a huge 5-0 advantage.

Unflinching on the attack, Christopher Newport continued to land blows. Goals by Singer and Jessica Kelly pushed the lead to 7-0 midway through the first before Wesley finally broke through on the scoreboard. Despite the Wolverines' goal, the CNU defense was suffocating. Slough was a wall between the pipes, making three early saves. Galvin, Singer, Marshall, Erin Callahan and Mariah Ginebra also caused turnovers during the first 20 minutes of action to keep Wesley off-balance and on the ropes.

Fittingly, after excelling on the defense end, Galvin and Callahan also showed off their offensive chops towards the end of the half. Galvin kicked off the late surge with a laser following an assist by Marshall before Callahan dished to Kylie Chaplin, who drove home a rocket to grab a 9-1 edge entering halftime.

Although the break paid dividends for Wesley, who scored the first two goals of the second half, CNU remained unfazed. Despite seeing their lead whittled down to six, the visitors were focused and never relented. Shortly after the Wolverines scored their second goal of the half, Galvin captured the ensuing draw, stormed into the WC zone and fed the ball to Singer, who found some breathing room and drove home her fourth goal of the game.

Looking for more, Galvin completed her hat-trick at the 25-minute mark before assisting on Singer's fifth goal just eight seconds later. With a 12-3 edge, the squad eased into the victory. Rachel Wall added the final two nails with a pair of goals in the waning moments of regulation, and the defense continued to do its work with an incredible second-half effort.

Refusing to let the Wolverines even dream about a comeback, Slough and Smith slammed the door on the Wesley attack. Slough made six stops in the second half, including three during a rapid-fire assault after the Captains gained a 10-goal edge. Later, Smith forced three turnovers during an unbelievable two-minute stretch, while Kirsten Mendelsohn also caused a pair to help seal the 11-goal victory.

During the game, CNU held a 26-17 edge in shots and a 25-21 lead in ground balls. Wesley led the way on the draw by controlling 11 of the game's 19 attempts, but the Captains forced 16 turnovers to help control possession and pull out the win.

Christopher Newport will return to action tomorrow when the squad travels to Chestertown, Maryland for a 1 p.m. battle with Washington College.

---CNU---