FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- Seven Captains scored at least one goal and three posted hat-tricks as the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team used a well-balanced attack to storm past Mary Washington, 14-11, during a Capital Athletic Conference showdown on Wednesday afternoon at the Battleground Athletic Complex.

During the game, Randy Foster led the attack with four points, including three goals. John Thompson and Dave Magdeburger also contributed hat-tricks, while Will Geise added a pair of tallies. Joey Rolando posted three points as well, while Brooks Billings and Brenden Dwyer also found the back of the net.

On the defensive end, Matt Hayden came through with nine saves during a strong performance between the pipes. Tony Cruz also controlled possession throughout the contest with a sensational effort on faceoffs. The freshman won 20 of his 26 attempts and scooped up a game-high eight ground balls.

With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 7-3 on the season and 2-1 in league action. The setback drops Mary Washington to 4-5 overall and 1-3 in the CAC.

Although the Eagles were able to open the scoring in the fourth minute of action, CNU quickly set the tone with a three-goal outburst at the tail end of the opening period. First, Thompson lit up the scoreboard with a bullet off a feed from Rolando. Later, Geise gave the visitors their first lead with some help from Foster before Dwyer rumbled in and unleashed his first career strike just before the horn sounded to secure a 3-1 edge.

Despite another early goal by UMW to start the second quarter, Christopher Newport retaliated again. This time, Magdeburger and Thompson each drove home goals, while Foster lit up the Eagles with a pair of strikes to snatch a 7-2 lead with three minutes left in the first half. Later, following Mary Washington's third goal, the defense settled in and blanked the hosts over the final two minutes of the half, including a huge save by Hayden, to enter the break with a four-goal advantage.

As they continued to do all day, the Eagles kicked off the third with a goal before the Captains shot back. Following another save by Hayden and a ground ball by Casey Cook, which helped clear the defensive end, Geise sailed a bullet to the back of the net to take an 8-4 lead. From there, the two teams traded blows as the hosts tossed two late goals on the board and Magdeburger collected one for CNU to give the visitors a 9-6 lead entering the fourth quarter.

For the first time, Christopher Newport landed the opening punch in the fourth as Magdeburger continued his hot streak with another dagger to push the lead to four. Unfortunately, the momentum quickly turned. Mary Washington strung together three straight goals during a three-minute surge to pull back within one at 10-9.

Refusing to let their lead slip away, the Captains regrouped. With Cruz continuing to dominate possession on faceoffs, Rolando and Billings capitalized with back-to-back strikes to gain a little breathing room. Later, after the hosts trimmed their deficit back down to three, Cruz won three straight faceoffs and Brandon Moloney continued to collect the ground balls as Christopher Newport inched closer to the victory.

During the final push, Foster completed his hat-trick with a crucial goal with four minutes remaining in regulation to retake a three-goal lead. Later, following one last UMW tally, Thompson hammered home the final nail as the senior standout snapped off another one-timer in the waning moments of regulation to seal the 14-11 victory.

Overall, CNU held a 40-28 lead in shots and a 34-18 advantage in ground balls.

Christopher Newport will be back in action on Saturday when the squad returns home for a 1 p.m. battle with Southern Virginia at Captains Turf Field.

---CNU---