NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Behind another explosive offensive performance and a suffocating defensive effort, the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team locked up a berth in the Capital Athletic Conference playoffs with a 20-4 victory over Wesley on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Captains Turf Field.

During the contest, Will Geise and Brooks Billings both pieced together five-point efforts, while John Thompson had a solid Senior Day with his eighth hat-trick of the season. Randy Foster also scored twice and dished out an assist to help balance out a well-rounded attack.

On the defensive end, the Captains limited the Wolverines to just four goals as Matt Hayden, Ryan Long, and CJ Buechner combined for 11 saves during a strong performance between the pipes. Causing havoc all over the field, Brandon Moloney also forced two turnovers and collected four ground balls. Brenden Dwyer, Mason Barry, and Harrison Drier all caused two miscues a piece as well.

With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 9-4 on the season, including 4-2 in league action. The Captains also locked up a playoff berth with two games remaining in the regular season. The setback drops Wesley to 5-7, including 0-6 in the CAC.

During the game, the Wolverines actually opened the scoring with an early goal before the Captains fired back with a breathtaking assault. Shortly after Wesley lit up the scoreboard, Alex Barber knotted the game after slipping free along the crease before driving home a well-placed pass by Geise. Less than two minutes later, CNU took the lead off an unusual play. Garrison Ernst ripped a rocket from the top of the zone, which WC's goalie momentarily stopped. However, the ball eventually slipped through a hole in the pocket of his stick and found its way to the back of the net.

Although CNU benefitted from an oddity to grab the lead, the hosts needed no such luck to take a commanding advantage late in the first quarter. Foster kept the offense rolling with a bullet that he tucked just under the bar before Drier intercepted a Wesley clear attempt and Billings capitalized on a pass from Matthew Crist to snare a 4-1 lead.

With less than a minute left in the first period, the Captains put together a quick-strike attack to increase their lead. Ryan Mills jumpstarted the late surge after sniping a shot from the far side to push the advantage to four with 13 seconds left. Incredibly, Nick Kirschke won the ensuing faceoff cleanly, grabbed the ground ball, and bolted straight towards the cage before unleashing a dart just before the final horn sounded.

With a 6-1 edge entering the second stanza, Christopher Newport wasted little time extending the lead. Geise found an opening on a fast-break to start the surge before Rolando skipped a hot shot off the turf to push the lead to 8-1.

While the CNU attack continued to make quick work of the Wolverines, the defense also showed its teeth. Dwyer intercepted a pointblank feed after working his way into a passing lane before Hayden snared a shot to keep Wesley off the board.

Following the defensive stand, Thompson found himself one-on-one on the far side of the field. Taking advantage of the situation, the senior standout shook his defender with a gorgeous split dodge before unleashing a rocket from the doorstep. Shortly thereafter, the Wolverines came unhinged and were slammed with five penalties during a 30-second window. With numbers on their side, Dave Magdeburger found Geise, who deposited his second goal of the quarter. Less than a minute later, after Dwyer disrupted another play on the defensive end, Billings found Foster with a long transition feed before the sophomore punched in another goal to snatch an 11-1 lead.

With just over a minute left in the half, Wesley was able to scratch together the squad's second goal, but Gregory Limon immediately responded with a blast off another Billings' assist to take a 12-2 advantage into halftime.

Following the break, the Captains continued their relentless attack. Thompson tacked on his second goal of the game before Billings added a man-down tally after slipping free on a nice break along with Foster. Although the Wolverines managed a modest response with their third goal, Kirschke won another faceoff cleanly before Mills took control and dished to Drier, who ripped home his second strike of the year.

Continuing a bit of a seesaw affair in the third, Wesley shot back with the team's fourth score before Thompson added another spectacular goal to his ever-growing highlight reel. On the play, he bulled into a scrum along midfield and eventually came away with the ground ball. With nothing but open spaces, the senior sensation drove straight towards the goal and cut at the very last second before snapping off a behind-the-back strike to snare a 16-4 lead.

Geise eventually capped off the third with a man-up tally to take a 13-goal advantage heading into the fourth. Looking for just a little more cushion, Christopher Newport tossed two more goals on the board early in the final quarter. First, Shane McKenna went low and blistered a one-timer through the legs of Wesley's goalie. Later, Long made a phenomenal play on the defensive end as the fourth-year man made a huge stop on a clean run by the Wolverines before tossing a rainbow to Billings, who settled at midfield. Jumpstarting a fast break, Billings scampered into the offensive zone and sailed a pass to Andrew Ashley, who collected his seventh goal of the season.

Leading 19-4, the Captains eased into the victory. On the defensive end, Buechner came through with three saves, while William Gingerich and Jacob O'Connell each caused turnovers to stifle the Wesley attack. Later, the offense added the final nail as Magdeburger sent a nice bounce pass to Crist, who found some space high in the cage to cap off the 20-4 victory.

Overall, CNU held a 52-21 advantage in shots and a 46-23 lead in ground balls. Kirschke also looked strong on faceoffs after winning 15 of his 24 attempts to go along with six ground balls. Crist also added four ground balls for the Captains, while Drew Magnusson collected three.

Christopher Newport will return to action on Wednesday when the squad caps off its regular season home slate with a 4 p.m. battle against St. Mary's at Captains Turf Field.

---CNU---