ASHLAND, Va. -- Dave Magdeburger came through with a career-high seven points, including four goals, while Joey Rolando added a hat-trick of his own to lead the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team past Randolph-Macon, 17-5, during a non-conference battle on Wednesday evening at Day Field.

During the game, Magdeburger pieced together an exceptional effort with four goals and three assists. Joey Rolando also contributed three goals for the Captains, while Hunter King added four points. Alex Barber and Garrison Ernst also scored twice for CNU.

While the offense did its job, the rest of the team looked sharp as well. Matt Hayden earned the victory after registering 11 saves, and Tony Cruz was an unstoppable force on faceoffs. The freshman won 15 of his 21 attempts and also collected 12 ground balls, which ranks second on the program's all-time single-game list.

With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 2-0 on the season. The setback drops Randolph-Macon to 1-3.

At the start of the game, the Yellow Jackets managed to rip the first two shots, but Hayden stood tall in the cage and made a pair of quick saves. After withstanding the early R-MC run, Barber got the offense started with a dart just over three minutes into regulation. Although the hosts tied the game six minutes later, the Captains shot back with a tremendous run.

With Cruz simply dominating on faceoffs, CNU continued to control possession. Following the Yellow Jackets' first goal, Cruz won the ensuing faceoff before Magdeburger broke the deadlock with a quick strike. Just over a minute later, Brooks Billings added his first score of the game to snatch a 3-1 lead to close out the scoring in the first quarter.

The second period mirrored the first as the two squads traded early goals before the Captains extended their advantage with a late surge. This time, Macon scored first to cut its deficit down to one, but CNU immediately answered. Once again, Cruz won the ensuing faceoff cleanly and ran straight into the R-MC zone. Shortly thereafter, Randy Foster took control of the ball and spun another rocket to the back of the net for a 4-2 advantage.

Looking for some additional breathing room, CNU had to hold up against a minor run by the Yellow Jackets. Hayden made another big stop and the defense withstood a man-down situation to sustain a two-goal edge. Later, after silencing the Randolph-Macon attack, Christopher Newport closed out the half in style.

With a minute left in the second stanza, Foster found Rolando, who quickly deposited his first goal of the game. Just over 30 seconds later, following another faceoff victory by Cruz, Gregory Limon added the final punctuation mark to the first half with a laser to seal a 6-2 advantage.

Following the break, Magdeburger simply torched the Macon defense. The third-year standout scored a pair of goals and assisted on a strike by King during a four-goal surge that lifted CNU to a 10-2 lead. Although the hosts shot back and scored three of the next four goals to whittle their deficit down to six, the Captains shrugged off the resurgence and went right back to work.

Looking to steal back a little momentum at the tail end of the third period, Billings found Barber, who drove home his second goal of the game to snatch a 12-5 lead.

Staring at a huge deficit entering the fourth, the Yellow Jackets tried to piece together a response. Attacking the Captains at a breakneck pace, the hosts had a few opportunities early in the stanza, but the CNU defense held tough. Magdeburger and Patrick Miller both forced turnovers, while Hayden made a pair of saves to silence the R-MC comeback bid.

Already holding a seven-goal lead, the Captains responded to the Macon run with a surge of their own. Rolando opened up the late push with a goal off a feed from Casey Cook with 10 minutes remaining in regulation. Four minutes later, he added another strike during a man-up situation off a feed from King to push the lead to nine at 14-5.

With more than enough cushion, CNU eased into the victory. Magdeburger put the perfect ending on the evening as he came through with a goal and an assist during the final minute of action, while King and Nick Kirschke also added late scores to seal the 17-5 triumph.

During the contest, 11 Captains notched at least one point against the Yellow Jackets. The squad also forced seven turnovers on the defensive end. Fittingly, Magdeburger caused one of those R-MC miscues and picked up a ground ball to round out his historic performance.

Overall, CNU held a 46-29 advantage in shots and a 36-24 lead in ground balls. The Captains also won 19 of the game's 26 faceoffs.

Christopher Newport will return to action on Saturday at 2 p.m. for a non-conference battle at Hampden-Sydney.

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