NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Five Captains posted hat-tricks and nine notched at least one point as the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team punched its ticket to the Capital Athletic Conference playoffs with a commanding 18-5 victory over Marymount on a sun-soaked Saturday afternoon at Captains Turf Field.

Showing off its well-balanced attack, CNU received big contributions from a host of players. Erin Callahan led the way with six points, including a team-high three assists. Carly Wilson also contributed five points, while Kylie Chaplin, Meaghan Galvin, and Catie Chess registered hat-tricks as well.

On the defensive end, Christopher Newport forced seven turnovers, including three by Mariah Ginebra. Sam Puglisi caused a pair of miscues as well, and Lindsay Weaver added a team-high four ground balls. Anchoring the squad between the pipes, Hanna Slough and Savanah Cummings combined to make six saves. With her performance, Slough earned her 36th career victory, which moves her into a tie with Gayle Robinson for the most in program history.

With the win, Christopher Newport now stands at 8-6 on the season, including 4-2 in the conference. The squad also ensured its second straight trip to the CAC playoffs with two games still remaining in the regular season. The setback drops Marymount to 4-9 overall and 2-4 in league action.

From the outset, the two teams traded blows as Chess opened the scoring off a feed from Galvin before the Saints immediately responded. Having little interest in a seesaw affair, CNU began to pull away with a lethal assault. Galvin kicked things off as she bullied her way through the defense before whipping in a submarine shot to grab the lead. Shortly thereafter, Ginebra clamped down on a Marymount response before the floodgates opened.

In just over two minutes of action, the hosts tossed four goals on the board. Weaver and Callahan kicked things off with back-to-back darts before Chess circled around her defender and snapped off a rope to grab a 5-1 lead. Just over a minute later, Galvin found herself toeing the crease before driving home a low strike after a textbook fake got Marymount's goalie off her feet.

Holding a 6-1 lead, the Captains settled in on the defensive end. Slough stoned a hot-shot by the Saints off a free-position attempt before Tess D'Arcy stepped up and stole the ball to clamp down on another run. Later, Caitlin Osbourne pieced together a great ride and never gave her attacker an inch of space as she drove her around the back of the zone to put Marymount on its heels.

Following the defensive stand, the CNU attack went back to work. During a four-minute onslaught, the hosts scored three times to extend their lead. Callahan was at the forefront of the attack as she assisted on goals by Galvin and Jen Doering. Chess came through with a sensational strike as well. Although an initial entry pass was momentarily broken up by the Saints, Chess remained calm in the heart of the MU defense. Eventually, the freshman grabbed the roller and blistered a dart to the back of the net for a 9-2 lead.

Fittingly, after putting her passing skills on display during the three-goal surge, Callahan showed off her scoring touch to cap off the first half. After taking possession following a ground ball pickup by Weaver, Callahan simply bulled in from the top of the zone and drove home her second goal of the half.

Although the visitors managed to break through right before halftime, the Captains regrouped and put the game away with another rapid-fire assault early in the second stanza. In less than 40 seconds, Wilson scored twice and Callahan completed her hat-trick to grab a double-digit advantage at 13-3. Two minutes later, Weaver showed great hustle as she saved a ball from rolling out-of-bounds before assisting on Wilson's third goal of the half.

Serving as a one-person wrecking crew, Wilson continued her incredible run as she showed off her passing skills with a solid assist on a dart by Chaplin to secure a 15-3 lead. Later, Chaplin added another goal off a pass from Colleen Bourgal midway through the half, while Puglisi and Kedron Walsh both forced turnovers to keep the Saints in-check.

Although Marymount was able to post a pair of goals in the middle of the stanza, the Captains never lost their footing. Eventually, Chaplin capped off her hat-trick with eight minutes remaining after bursting past a pair of defenders before crashing through a second wave of Saints to push the lead back to 12. Three minutes later, Katie Hollern snapped off a rocket on the run for her first career goal, which wrapped up the scoring.

Overall, CNU held a 30-15 edge in shots and a 22-14 lead in ground balls. The Captains also controlled 16 of the game's 24 draws, including eight by Galvin.

Christopher Newport will be back in action on Wednesday with a 4 p.m. battle at Southern Virginia.

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