Box Score

BRIDGEWATER, Va. -- Senior Ashton Marshall pieced together her finest effort of the season with eight points, including six goals, as the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team stormed past Bridgewater, 12-6, on Wednesday afternoon during a non-conference battle at the Jopson Athletic Complex.

Against the Eagles, Marshall scored six times and added two assists to pace the potent offensive attack. Meaghan Galvin, the reigning CAC Offensive Player of the Week, also added three goals and a pair of helpers, while Jessica Singer scored twice and chipped in with two assists.

The offense was supported by a suffocating defensive effort, which caused 14 turnovers during the game. Emily Johnson and Jessica Singer each forced three, while goalie Hanna Slough also caused three and made nine saves to secure the victory.

With the win, Christopher Newport improves to 5-3 on the season. The setback drops Bridgewater to 4-4.

In the first half, the two teams traded blows and battled back-and-forth during a seesaw affair. During the first 10 minutes of action, the defenses controlled the tempo and kept the game scoreless. Rachel Gruber made five quick saves for the Eagles, while Galvin, Marshall, and Kylie Chaplin all forced turnovers for CNU during the early action.

Eventually, both offenses found their rhythm in the middle of the period. After Bridgewater lit up the scoreboard first, Marshall responded with a goal following a solid feed by Chaplin. Continuing to do work on the offensive end, Marshall assisted on Galvin's first goal before depositing her second score at the 18-minute mark to give the Captains their first lead at 3-2.

Unable to pull away, the two teams eventually found themselves deadlocked again at 5-5. Marshall and Singer did the damage for Christopher Newport with a pair of unassisted tallies, while the Eagles continued to respond and added three goals of their own to keep the game knotted with just 3:21 remaining in the first half.

With halftime quickly approaching, the Captains had enough of the back-and-forth battle. Following a clutch save by Slough on the defensive end, the offense closed out the half in style. After a foul on the Eagles, Galvin buried a bullet on a free-position attempt to give the visitors a one-goal advantage. Just over a minute later, Singer caused a turnover and dished the ball to Marshall, who capped off the stanza with her fourth goal to give CNU a 7-5 lead.

Although Bridgewater struck first in the second half to pull back within one, Christopher Newport never relinquished its lead and put on a solid show over the final 27 minutes. Fittingly, Marshall kicked off the surge with an assist on Chaplin's first score of the contest. One minute later, Singer forced another Eagle miscue before scooping up the loose ball and chucking a dart to the back of the net for her second goal at 25:34.

Clutching a 9-6 lead, the CNU defense did its job to keep the three-goal edge. Slough made two saves, including a sensational stop on a free-position attempt. Later, Johnson caused a turnover to disrupt another Bridgewater run before the offense put the game out of reach.

With 11 minutes remaining in regulation, Galvin capped off her fourth hat-trick of the season after unloading a tracer on the far side of the field. Now leading by four, Galvin showed off her stick skills with a pair of textbook assists on back-to-back goals by Marshall to ice the 12-6 victory.

Overall, CNU held a 31-18 lead in shots and a 14-9 edge in ground balls. The two squads also split the game's 20 draws.

Christopher Newport will be back in action on Saturday when the Captains return home for a CAC showdown with St. Mary's at 1 p.m.

---CNU---