Box Score

ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. -- Facing the reigning Capital Athletic Conference champions, the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team held the lead entering the fourth quarter, but St. Mary's stormed back with a late rally to grab a 10-9 decision against the Captains during a CAC showdown on Saturday afternoon at Seahawk Stadium.

Once again, the Captains used a huge third-quarter surge to overcome a halftime deficit and grab a late lead, but St. Mary's withstood the onslaught and battled back to earn the victory. During the contest, John Thompson notched four points for CNU, while Brooks Billings and Chris Young each scored a pair of goals. Matt Hayden also made 14 saves to help pace the squad's defensive efforts.

With the setback, CNU falls to 9-4 overall and 3-3 in the CAC. St. Mary's now sits at 6-7 with a 2-2 mark in league action.

After finding themselves trailing at halftime for the ninth time this season, the Captains quickly erased the 4-3 deficit with a tremendous run in the third period. During the stanza, Aaron Chrzaszcz evened the score at the 11-minute mark with his team-leading 22nd goal of the year. Shortly thereafter, Billings capitalized on a well-placed feed by Randy Foster to give the visitors their first lead at 5-4 with 8:32 left in the third.

With the momentum squarely on CNU's side, the Captains struck again eight seconds later. On the play, Nick Kirschke won his second straight faceoff and grabbed the loose ball. With some room to work, the freshman stormed into the SMC zone before dishing to Thompson, who unleashed a screaming one-timer to the back of the net for a 6-4 advantage.

Still rolling, the defense stepped up as well. Chrzaszcz and Michael Mabry both forced turnovers, while Hayden was a wall between the pipes and withstood a rapid-fire assault to keep the two-goal lead. Finally, after the Captains cleared the zone, Adam Abbate added the squad's fourth straight goal at 4:04 with some help from Billy Crist to nail down a 7-4 lead.

Unfortunately, things began to go awry after Abbate's tally. Although Young collected Christopher Newport's eighth score off another assist by Crist, St. Mary's notched three of the final four tallies in the third to steal back some momentum and pull within one entering the final frame.

With their lead down to 8-7, the Captains peppered the SMC goalie early in the fourth, but Zack Blewett made a pair of saves to stymie the run. Later, following the defensive stand, St. Mary's came through with two goals during a back-breaking one-minute window in the middle of the frame to steal a 9-8 edge.

Showing poise, Christopher Newport never flinched. Despite seeing their lead evaporate, the visitors kept pushing. Eventually, the work paid off as Hayden made another stop before Parker Thompson unleashed a barrage on the offensive end, which ended in his eighth goal of the season that knotted the game at eight with six minutes left in regulation.

Unfortunately, the comeback fell short. Following a penalty on the Captains, the Seahawks came through with a man-up goal with 4:31 remaining to retake the lead. Although Kirschke and Brenden Dwyer both forced turnovers during a last-ditch effort, the offense was unable to find an opening as CNU dropped the one-goal decision.

Overall, SMU held a 37-35 edge in shots and a 31-26 lead in ground balls. The Seahawks also won 15 of the game's 22 faceoffs to control possession and earn the victory.

Just as close in the beginning of the contest, the two teams engaged in a back-and-forth affair during the first half. Young got the visitors on the board first less than five minutes into the game before SMC stung the squad with back-to-back goals at the tail end of the period. Later, the two squads split four goals in the second as Thompson and Billings both scored for CNU, while the Seahawks picked up tallies from Conor Jordan and Ben Love to enter halftime with a 4-3 edge.

Although the Captains were able to erase the deficit quickly in the second half, the hosts hung on and used the late run to pull away at the end.

Christopher Newport will be back in action on Wednesday when the team heads to Southern Virginia for a 3 p.m. contest.

---CNU---