Box Score

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Ashton Marshall continued to rewrite the record books as the senior set the program's career goals record to help lead the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team past Lynchburg, 13-11, during a non-conference battle on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Captains Turf Field.

Entering the game just two goals shy of setting the all-time scoring mark, Marshall cruised past the record with four scores to go along with an assist. With that performance, she bumped her career total to 225, which passed Kaitlin Quigley's previous mark of 222 set from 2008-11.

Along with the record-breaker, Meaghan Galvin also scored three times and added three assists, while Erin Callahan, Jessica Singer, and Kylie Chaplin all posted a pair of goals. On the defensive end, Emily Johnson caused three turnovers and Hanna Slough made 12 saves to help slow down the Lynchburg attack.

With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 7-5 on the season. The setback drops the Hornets to 5-7.

At the start of the game, Lynchburg actually struck first before Galvin immediately responded with a goal to knot the score at one. Later, after a defensive struggle kept the game tied, the Captains pieced together a beautiful run in the middle of the period to grab control.

After Morgan Smith forced a turnover and Slough made a pair of saves, the offense went to work. Chaplin kicked off the run with a bullet at 11:37 to give the hosts their first lead. Looking for more, Galvin controlled possession on the draw before Singer converted back-to-back free-position attempts to grab a 4-1 lead with nine minutes remaining in the half.

Unfortunately, Lynchburg refused to back down and picked up four of the next five goals during a six-minute window to pull even at five. Unflinching on the attack, the Captains kept calm and continued to poke at the LC defense. Following a man-up goal earlier in the period, Callahan took advantage of another Hornet yellow card with some last-second heroics.

Looking to break the deadlock, Callahan stormed into the LC zone and was fouled in front of the net. With just one second remaining in the first half, the freshman made the most of the moment as she blistered a rope into the back of the net from the eight-meter line to give the hosts a 6-5 edge entering halftime.

Following the break, Marshall took control. After being held quiet in the first half, the senior exploded early in the second. She quickly gave CNU a two-goal lead with an early strike before tacking on the record-breaker less than one minute later. On the play, she took the ball on the far side of the field and rolled along the top of the arc. After breaking free, she buried a dagger in the top corner of the net to set the scoring mark and give the Captains an 8-5 lead.

Although the visitors made a concerted effort in the middle of the second half to whittle their deficit back down to one, they could never overcome their deficit. During Lynchburg's offensive rally, Marshall continued to pick apart the LC defense. She sent a perfectly-placed feed to Chaplin at 24:18, which the sophomore quickly deposited in the net. Nine minutes later, playing shorthanded, Marshall completed her hat-trick off a pass from Galvin to give the squad a 10-8 lead.

With time becoming an issue for Lynchburg, the Captains added three straight goals to put the game out-of-reach. Galvin was the star at the end as the freshman posted a pair of tallies and assisted on Marshall's fourth goal to give the hosts a 13-9 advantage with just under nine minutes remaining.

Although Lynchburg made a push at the end with a pair of late goals, the CNU defense clamped down to end the rally. Slough made a pair of saves, while Kirsten Mendelsohn did some fine work eluding the Hornets along the near side to run crucial time off the clock and ice the two-goal victory.

Overall, CNU held a 33-29 edge in shots and a 20-15 advantage in ground balls. The Captains also controlled 13 of the game's 25 draws, including a game-high six by Galvin.

Christopher Newport will return to action on Tuesday when the squad hosts No. 1 Salisbury in a big Capital Athletic Conference battle at 5 p.m.

---CNU---