Box Score

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Making the squad's first appearance at home in nearly two weeks, the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team could not quite overcome a strong start by St. Mary's as CNU dropped a 10-7 decision to the Seahawks in a Capital Athletic Conference bout at Captains Turf Field on a warm Saturday afternoon.

During the contest, Ashton Marshall contributed her second straight hat-trick, while Jessica Singer and Kylie Chaplin chipped in with three points as well. On the defensive end, Morgan Smith and Kirsten Mendelsohn each caused a pair of turnovers and Hanna Slough made 10 saves, but the Seahawks were able to prevail in the end.

With the victory, St. Mary's improves to 4-4 overall and 1-0 in the CAC. Christopher Newport now stands at 5-4 with a 1-1 mark in league action.

In the early going, the two teams were evenly matched and traded blows. Just over two minutes into the game, Singer opened the scoring off a gorgeous feed by Chaplin. Seven seconds later, St. Mary's responded following an assist by Brynn Miller, who won the ensuing draw and floated a rainbow to Christy Bishop.

Later, after another SMC goal, CNU pieced together a nice run. At the 20-minute mark, Marshall scooted free and beat the defense with a bullet to knot the game at two. Following a suffocating defensive stand, which included a caused turnover by Mendelsohn and a stellar save by Slough off a free-position attempt, the Captains struck again. This time, Chaplin found some wiggle room and unleashed a one-timer that gave the hosts a 3-2 advantage at 12:48.

Unfortunately, St. Mary's answered with a three-goal surge over the next seven minutes to retake the lead. Needing to steal back some momentum before halftime, Smith caused a turnover before Emily Johnson secured the loose ball. On a bit of a break, Johnson stormed into the offensive zone and passed to Erin Callahan, who dropped in her 17th goal of the season to pull CNU back within one at 5-4 entering halftime.

Following intermission, the ball just did not bounce right for the Captains. St. Mary's extended its lead to three following a pair of goals by Bishop. Shortly thereafter, following Marshall's second goal of the game, SMC landed the toughest blow. With 20 minutes left, Tori Poffenberger found a sliver of daylight and banged a shot off the post. Incredibly, the ball ricocheted right back to her, and in a flash, she capitalized on the second chance to give the visitors an 8-5 edge.

Despite the bad break, CNU refused to back down. Benefitting from a relentless defensive effort, Johnson broke up a play and forced a turnover before the Captains earned a free-position attempt. With a tough angle, Singer wisely passed up the shot and sent a perfect feed to Chaplin, who settled in alongside the near post and unloaded a laser to pull Christopher Newport back within two.

Still doing work on the defensive end, Slough made another outstanding stop off a point-blank attempt, while Mendelsohn and Marshall each forced turnovers to help the hosts control possession. Unfortunately, St. Mary's eventually discovered some daylight and pushed the lead back to three before Marshall found an opening with three minutes left to give CNU some hope of a last-minute comeback.

Refusing to let the Captains continue their rally, the Seahawks struck one last time with two minutes left to wrap up the 10-7 victory.

Overall, SMC held a 24-17 edge in shots and a slim 17-16 lead in ground balls. The visitors also controlled 10 of the 19 draws.

Christopher Newport will return to action on March 29 when the squad heads to Frostburg State for another CAC contest at 1 p.m.

---CNU---