NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team scored the first six goals of the game and held on for a wire-to-wire win against St. Mary's as CNU pulled out a 13-10 victory during a crucial Capital Athletic Conference match-up on a cloud-covered Wednesday afternoon at Captains Turf Field.

Setting the tone early, CNU jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Overall, Brooks Billings and Garrison Ernst both contributed hat-tricks for the Captains, while Nick Kirschke was masterful on faceoffs. The sophomore standout won 21 of his 25 battles while adding nine ground balls. He also came through with three points on the offensive end.

Defensively, Matt Hayden pieced together a solid effort between the pipes with 16 saves, including 10 in the first half. Brenden Dwyer and Thomas St. John also forced two turnovers apiece, while Harrison Drier chipped in with six ground balls.

With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 10-4 on the season, including 5-2 in the CAC. The setback drops St. Mary's to 5-6 overall and 4-3 in league action.

In a game with major playoff implications, the Captains got off on the right foot and put the Seahawks in a tough hole. Right from the start, Kirschke won the opening faceoff cleanly and quickly fed the ball to Billings, who capped off the play with a gorgeous, diving strike from the doorstep to snatch a lead just six seconds into the game.

Two minutes later, CNU struck again. This time, Gregory Limon opened things up as he charged towards the cage. With the defense collapsing, he sent a feed back to Joey Rolando, who settled at the top of the zone and unleashed a rope to push the lead to 2-0.

With the offense doing its job, the defense also settled in with an exceptional series. Casey Cook pieced together a solid ride around the zone, which forced an initial pass. Later, Dave Magdeburger picked off a feed before Michael Mabry caused another miscue following a save by Hayden to keep the Seahawks off the board.

After surviving St. Mary's first surge of the game, Christopher Newport went back to work on the offensive end. Ernst kicked off his day with a bullet from the far side of the field. Less than a minute later, Limon dodged his defender and burned the rest of the defense with a great run before slamming home his eighth tally of the season.

Staring at a four-goal deficit, the Seahawks tried to battle back. Needing to score, the visitors tested Hayden with a rapid-fire assault. Fortunately for the Captains, their sophomore goalie stood tall in the cage. Hayden put together a suffocating effort to blank St. Mary's with four straight saves to sustain the lead.

Following Hayden's heroics, the offense added one last strike with time running down in the first period. With less than a minute remaining, Randy Foster dodged to his left and opened up some space at the top of the zone. Showing great instincts, he fed the ball to Dave Magdeburger, who cut back and spun his defender before uncorking a rocket to grab a 5-0 lead.

After chasing St. Mary's starting goalie from the game with their first-quarter performance, the Captains quickly went to work on SMC's backup in the second. Once again, Foster played a key role in the squad's sixth goal as the second-year star dished the ball to Ernst, who snuck free on the inside. With some space, Ernst snapped off his second goal to push the lead to six.

Although the Seahawks were able to respond with their first goal of the game, Kirschke immediately answered. Winning the subsequent faceoff, he grabbed the roller and stormed right towards the cage before unleashing his fourth goal of the season just six seconds after SMC's strike.

Trading blows, St. Mary's shot back with two straight goals to pull within four at 7-3. However, St. John momentarily halted the Seahawks' comeback bid with a great play as the junior broke up a pass and hustled to the sideline to save the ground ball and gain possession. Later, Ernst capitalized on the offensive end with a low shot off a pass from Limon to retake a five-goal lead with five minutes left in the stanza.

Once again, the Seahawks retaliated with another goal before the Captains fought back. After the visitors' tally, Dwyer picked up the ground ball following a scrum off the ensuing faceoff. After taking control, he sent an arcing pass into the offensive zone, which Billings chased down just before it crept across the end line. With the defense attempting to regroup, Billings slipped right through the Seahawks and deposited his second goal to snatch a 9-4 lead.

Continuing to show off a quick-strike attack, CNU hit double-digits just seven seconds later. Once again, Kirschke collected the faceoff and ran right into the offensive end. With the defense closing in, he fed back to John Thompson, who curled around his defender at the top of the zone and fired his team-leading 35th goal of the year to take a 10-4 edge.

Although St. Mary's was able to add another goal in the final seconds of the first half, the Captains shook off the misstep after halftime. Showing off brute force, St. John caused a huge turnover after clubbing the stick right out of his attacker's hands. Shortly thereafter, Will Geise showed off great vision on the offensive end as he used pinpoint precision to sneak a pass through a cluttered zone to Billings, who capped off the play with a goal just under the crossbar.

Later, after the visitors pulled back within five, the CNU attack inched away again. First, Matthew Crist drove his defender around the near side of the cage, and with a body still in his face, the freshman wrapped a rocket into the back of the net. Three minutes later, Ryan Mills found himself in a tight spot after the Seahawks double-teamed him in the corner. Remaining calm, he burst through the pack and split his defenders before rolling in from the near side for his eighth goal of the year.

Staring at a 13-6 hole, the Seahawks began to make things interesting. In the final minute of the third, the visitors tossed a goal on the board to pull back within six. Then, in the fourth, St. Mary's added two quick strikes in the first five minutes to cut CNU's lead down to 13-9.

Needing to settle down on the defensive end, the Captains regrouped. Hayden stoned a clean shot by SMC before Dwyer de-sticked an attacker with a huge check to force another turnover. Later, after St. Mary's pulled within three with six minutes remaining, the defense closed out the victory.

Brandon Moloney caused a key turnover with just over a minute left to end another SMC run. Drier also added a solid punctuation mark as the junior lowered his shoulder and dropped a Seahawk with a vicious blow to help run crucial seconds off the clock and seal the three-goal victory.

Overall, CNU held a 43-35 lead in ground balls and won 21 of the game's 26 faceoffs. St. Mary's had a slim 39-38 edge in shots.

Christopher Newport will return to action on Saturday with the regular season finale at York beginning at 3 p.m.

---CNU---