ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. -- Three Captains posted hat-tricks and seven notched at least one goal, but the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team dropped a high-scoring 18-14 decision to St. Mary's during a Capital Athletic Conference clash on Saturday afternoon at Seahawk Stadium.

During the contest, Meaghan Galvin posted a team-high four points, including three goals. Kylie Chaplin and Catie Chess also notched hat-tricks for the Captains, while Carly Wilson scored twice. Galvin and Lindsay Weaver also secured four draw controls for CNU.

The setback drops Christopher Newport to 4-5 on the season, including 1-1 in conference action. The victory bumps St. Mary's to 6-1 overall and 1-0 in the league.

In a sign of things to come, both teams erupted for a pair of goals during the first six minutes of play. Wilson got things rolling after capitalizing on an assist by Erin Callahan, while Chaplin buried a bullet off a free-position attempt on the way to the 2-2 draw.

With little interest in continuing the seesaw affair, St. Mary's took control after that point. The hosts broke loose as the team strung together an impressive offensive assault, which gave the Seahawks a 6-2 lead midway through the first half. Showing resiliency, the Captains shook off the rough patch and pieced together a response.

Chaplin kicked off the retaliation with another free-position strike before Callahan slammed home a dart off a pass from Wilson to cut the deficit down to two at 6-4. Although St. Mary's eventually pulled back up by three, Chaplin responded again with another goal off an eight-meter shot to keep the hosts within striking distance at 7-5.

From there, the two teams traded blows over the final nine minutes of the first period. Wilson and Galvin both struck for the Captains, while the Seahawks managed to score three times, including a man-down tally, to enter halftime with a 10-7 lead.

After the break, both teams continued to land shots. In the first minute of the second stanza, St. Mary's extended the lead to four before Kedron Walsh secured the ensuing draw and Galvin took advantage with her third score to trim the deficit back down to three at 11-8.

Unfortunately, the Seahawks strung together another big surge to grab a commanding advantage. Using a rapid-fire assault, St. Mary's scored four straight goals during a four-minute window to steal a 15-8 edge with 21 minutes left in regulation.

Following the final goal of the surge, Christopher Newport whistled for a timeout and regrouped. Needing a quick response, Chess was up to the challenge. The freshman blistered back-to-back goals in less than two minutes to give the Captains new life at 15-10. Unfortunately, as they continued to do all day, the Seahawks found an answer with two straight scores to retake a seven-goal lead.

Although Chess struck again with a free-position goal and Sam Puglisi caused a crucial turnover to give the offense another chance, time became too much of a factor. Eventually, the hosts threw one more goal on the board to snatch an 18-11 advantage with four minutes remaining. Continuing to battle, Weaver and Jen Doering both came through with late tallies, while Galvin and Caitlin King teamed up on a gorgeous strike of their own to pull within four before the final horn sounded.

Overall, both teams uncorked 27 shots, while CNU held a slim 17-16 lead on the draw. St. Mary's held a 10-7 advantage in ground balls, while Hanna Slough contributed three saves for the Captains.

Christopher Newport will return to action on March 28 when the team hosts Frostburg State in another Capital Athletic Conference contest at 1 p.m.

---CNU---