NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Behind his third consecutive hat-trick, senior John Thompson established a new program record for career points as he helped lead the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team to a resounding 26-5 victory over Coast Guard on a soggy Friday evening at Captains Turf Field.

During the contest, Thompson ripped three goals against the Bears to bump his career point total to 119, which eclipsed the previous mark of 118 set by John Glaser from 2009-12. Thompson, who already holds the all-time program record with 54 career assists, now sits fourth on the career goals list with 65.

Along with the record-setter, CNU received five goals from Brooks Billings and three apiece from Alex Barber, Will Geise, and Ryan Mills. Matthew Crist and Dave Magdeburger added four points as well to pace a well-balanced offensive attack.

Overall, Christopher Newport's 26 goals set a new single-game scoring record. Incredibly, the Captains established the old mark of 23 just nine days ago at Methodist. CNU's 15 assists and 55 shots also sit third on the program's all-time list.

With the victory, the Captains improve to 5-1 on the season. The setback drops Coast Guard to 0-3.

From the outset, Christopher Newport peppered the Bears with a blazing assault. Billings opened the scoring with a goal from the far side before Thompson sniped in a pair of strikes after capitalizing on extra-man opportunities during the first five minutes of action. With the offense clicking on all cylinders, Barber drove home back to-to-back strikes, including a gorgeous goal off a fast-break feed from Billings.

Holding a 5-0 lead with the clock winding down in the first period, Billings added the last tally of the quarter with an impressive solo effort. The sophomore found himself on the near side of the field matched up one-on-one. With a quick cut, he spun his defender, ran free, and smoked a low shot to wrap up the first.

Already holding a seven-goal advantage, the hosts continued to roll in the second stanza. Barber capped off his hat-trick after hammering home a clean look off of a broken clear attempt by the Bears. Three minutes later, Randy Foster found nothing but open spaces on a one-man break down the far sideline. Following a clean clear, he stormed into the zone and drilled a shot on the run to give the Captains an 8-0 lead.

Still rolling, Crist had a phenomenal stretch as the freshman played a role in three straight goals. On the first, Harrison Drier battled through several Bears before swatting the ball off the ground to Crist. Showing quick hands, the first-year standout picked up the roller and fed it to Mills, who snapped off a goal. Later, Crist drove home his first score of the game before assisting on a tally by Geise with a long-range, pinpoint pass from the sideline.

Leading by 11 in the final minutes of the first period, Thompson came back to make history. With another man-advantage, the senior grabbed a pass from Hunter King and blistered the back of the net with a screaming one-timer to secure the all-time points record.

Although Coast Guard was able to crack the CNU defense just before halftime, the Captains simply went back to work after the break. In a one-sided affair, the hosts tossed eight unanswered goals on the scoreboard during a flawless third period. In a sign of things to come, Foster grabbed the ground ball off the opening faceoff and sent a quick pass to Billings, who opening the onslaught just 11 seconds into the period.

Less than a minute later, Billings added his fourth goal after shaking the goalie with a textbook fake before unloading a point-blank dart. Shortly thereafter, Gregory Limon chipped in with a man-down strike before Wade Browning punished the Coast Guard attack with a bruising caused turnover that led to another rocket by Crist. Just seconds later, after Brandon Moloney won the ensuing faceoff, Limon found a wide-open Mills along the far post to grab a 17-1 lead with seven minutes left in the third.

Looking to cap off a perfect period, Billings added his final goal of the game during a man-up situation before Mason Barry did phenomenal work to secure a loose ball, which eventually led to Christopher Albright's first career goal. Two minutes later, Jacob O'Connell got into the action with his first strike after pulling off a pretty shake in the middle of the offensive zone, which opened up space and led to an athletic tally.

Holding a 20-1 advantage entering the final stanza, Christopher Newport settled into the victory. Geise led the final push as he assisted on back-to-back strikes by Magdeburger and Andrew Ashley. Later, after Drew Magnusson added a goal, Geise found the back of the net for his first score to snare a 24-4 lead entering the final six minutes of play.

With rain starting to fall harder on the field, the Captains gave their loyal fans a pair of highlight-reel goals to cap off the evening. First, Shane McKenna made the play of the year as he sent a behind-the-back feed to Ashley, who settled on the near side of the cage. After taking control of the ball, Ashley sent a quick pass to Mills, who deposited the man-down goal to grab a 25-4 lead.

Following Coast Guard's last tally, CNU tossed one more on the board. Facing a cluttered zone, Magdeburger sailed a perfect pass through the tight defense. On the other end, Geise hammered the feed out of the air to cap off the record-setting contest.

Overall, CNU held a 55-25 edge in shots and a 41-28 lead in ground balls. The two teams split the game's 34 faceoffs, while the Captains capitalized on seven of their 11 extra-man opportunities.

Defensively, Michael Mabry anchored the back line and caused four turnovers, while Drier added two and picked up four ground balls. Tony Cruz also won nine of his 12 faceoffs and Matt Hayden posted five saves to earn the victory. Ryan Long and CJ Buechner also combined for three stops during 18 minutes between the pipes.

Christopher Newport will return to action on March 18 when the team heads to Eastern for a 3:30 p.m. contest.

---CNU---