NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- John Thompson continued his electric senior campaign as he posted a career-high six goals to help lead the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team to an impressive 17-6 victory over Marymount during the Capital Athletic Conference opener on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Captains Turf Field.

Showing off his potent scoring touch, Thompson erupted for three goals in the first half before tacking on three more in the fourth quarter to pace the CNU assault. With that performance, Thompson collected his fifth straight hat-trick and sixth of the season. His six goals also rank second on the program's all-time single-game list.

Along with Thompson's highlight-reel afternoon, Alex Barber recorded five points for the Captains, while Joey Rolando and Will Geise also notched hat-tricks. Helping balance out the attack, Casey Cook dished out three assists.

On the defensive end, Matt Hayden stepped up with nine saves, while Patrick Miller and Brandon Moloney both forced a pair of turnovers. Tony Cruz also did well on faceoffs as the freshman won 10 of his 18 battles.

With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 6-2 on the season, including 1-0 in the CAC. The setback drops Marymount to 3-5 with an 0-2 mark in league action.

Although the Saints were able to open the scoring with a quick goal just over a minute into regulation, the Captains flashed their offensive touch with an impressive response. Rolando cranked some heat from the top of the zone off a nice feed from Cook to knot the game at one. Two minutes later, Thompson kicked off his eventful afternoon.

First, the senior found himself isolated one-on-one on the near side of the field. Taking advantage of the situation, he drove his defender back, spun, and found a shred of daylight between the goalie and the near post to give CNU a 2-1 lead. Later, in the waning moments of the period, Harrison Drier had an outstanding run on a clear attempt before dishing to Barber. After securing the feed, Barber gave the ball to Thompson, who unloaded a one-timer to snare a 3-1 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

The second stanza opened with an amazing defensive effort. After Marymount held up against an offensive surge by the Captains, the Saints attempted to clear the zone. Although the visitors got across midfield, Randy Foster made a leaping, out-stretched interception to steal the ball back and return it to CNU's side of the field.

Shortly thereafter, the hosts extended their lead. Capitalizing on a man-up opportunity, Barber sniped a shot through the MU defense to grab a 4-1 lead with 10 minutes left in the second stanza. Later, after the Saints answered with their second goal, Barber ripped home another strike following a nice fast-break clear by Foster.

Holding a 5-2 advantage, the Captains continued to surge with an unbelievable score. With five minutes remaining in the first half, Thompson unleashed the goal of the year. Although the Captains had flashier scores during the season, nothing topped the brute strength of Thompson's tally. After collecting a pass from Cook, Thompson sailed a screaming dart that cut through the defense and blew a clean hole in the back of the net, which forced a short delay in the game as the referees restrung the cage.

Once play resumed, both teams traded goals to cap off the first half. Christopher Newport opened the late scoring after Foster pieced together another quick clear and hit Gregory Limon on the run. With some momentum, he dished to Geise, who slung home his first strike in the final minute. Later, Marymount notched a goal to pull back within four at 7-3 just before the final horn sounded.

Following halftime, Rolando opened the third quarter by tucking some high heat just under the crossbar to push the lead to five. Although Marymount had a solid response and shot back with two straight scores, CNU retaliated with one of the team's finest runs of the season.

First, the offense had an answer as Barber capitalized on an assist by Limon to grab a 9-5 lead. Later, the defense asserted itself with an imposing performance. Moloney kicked things off with a bruising assault on the near sideline to a force a turnover. Later, after the Saints regained possession, Hayden made a great save on a pointblank shot to keep the four-goal cushion.

With time winding down in the third, CNU added one last goal. Showing off textbook ball movement, Cook sent a pass to Limon, who sailed a perfect feed to Geise. With some space, the junior notched his second goal to push the lead to 10-5 at the end of the third.

Looking to put the game out-of-reach quickly, the Captains turned back to Thompson. Showing off his strength yet again, the senior sensation whistled a dart that hit Marymount's goalie and still had enough momentum to spin into the net. Two minutes later, after some heads-up hustle by Rolando to save a loose ball from rolling out-of-bounds, Ryan Mills found Thompson again, who fired a quick hitter to grab a 12-5 lead.

Still cooking, Thompson capped off his day with one final goal. Rolling around the back of the zone, he curled around the far post and uncorked another rocket for his sixth score of the game.

Holding an eight-goal lead with 11 minutes remaining, the Captains eased into the victory. Ernst kept the offense going with a goal off a quick toss by Moloney before the Saints added their final score. Looking to make one last statement, the hosts fired three more goals on the board in the final minute of action.

Shane McKenna opened up the late push with his first goal after beating a defender on the far side of the field. Later, Geise battled through a high-stick to the face and continued to drive through contact before capping off his hat-trick. Finally, following a pair of Marymount penalties, Rolando made the opposition pay with a man-up strike off a pass from Brooks Billings to wrap up the 17-6 victory.

Overall, the Captains held a 46-23 lead in shots and a 33-28 edge in ground balls. Marymount held a slim 12-11 advantage in faceoffs, but CNU capitalized on two of its four extra-man opportunities to help seal the win.

Christopher Newport will return to action on March 28 when the squad heads to Frostburg State for a 1 p.m. showdown with the Bobcats.

---CNU---