NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Meaghan Galvin established a new single-season program record for draw controls and added a team-high four goals against Mary Washington, but the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team dropped an 11-10 decision to the Eagles in the first round of the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament on a warm Tuesday afternoon at Captains Turf Field.

CNU held a three-goal lead with just under 14 minutes left in regulation, but Mary Washington was able to chip away at the deficit and eventually came through with four straight goals, including the clincher with 81 seconds left in regulation, to steal the win. With the victory, the Eagles advance to the semifinals of the CAC playoffs with a 10-7 record. The setback drops Christopher Newport to 9-8.

Despite the loss, Galvin pieced together a tremendous performance to cap off her record-setting sophomore campaign. Against the Eagles, she contributed four goals, which marked her 11th hat-trick of the year. She also added four draw controls, which bumped her season total to 73. That established a new single-season program record, eclipsing Lauren King's mark of 72 set in 2013.

Along with Galvin, Erin Callahan and Caitlin King both tallied a pair of goals, while Kylie Chaplin dished out two assists. On the defensive end, Hanna Slough was a force between the pipes. The junior goalie came through with a career-high 19 saves. That total stands as the highest by a Captain since 2005.

After falling to Christopher Newport during their regular season match-up earlier this month, Mary Washington got off to a solid start on Tuesday. In less than four minutes of action, the Eagles tossed three straight goals on the board to take an early lead and put the Captains on their heels. Refusing to back down, the hosts responded.

First, Catie Chess put CNU on the board with a highlight-reel goal. Finding herself isolated one-on-one at the top of the zone, the freshman dropped her defender with an ankle-breaking cut before driving home her 41st goal of the year. Five minutes later, following a solid defensive stand, the Christopher Newport attack struck again.

Off a restart after a foul by the visitors, Chaplin used a precise touch to thread a pass through a mass of people. On the receiving end, Jen Doering took the feed and drilled a shot past UMW's goalie. Less than two minutes later, Galvin evened things at three as the second-year standout dipped under her defender and unleashed a side-winder to the back of the net in the 10th minute of action.

Back on even ground, the two teams locked down defensively. Slough stoned four shots, including a pair of free-position attempts. Kirsten Mendelsohn also had a nice ride on an Eagle attacker, which led to an off-balance shot that Slough easily snagged. Although Mary Washington's defense also held the CNU attack in check during an eight-minute window, the Captains eventually broke through.

Looking for their first lead of the game, the hosts turned back to Galvin. The sophomore continued to show her lethal touch from the eight-meter arc as she blistered back-to-back goals during a breathtaking 30-second surge, which gave CNU a 5-3 edge with 10 minutes left in the first half.

Although Mary Washington was able to chip its deficit back down to one, the Captains hunkered down on the back end. Continuing her stellar performance, Slough made three late saves and intercepted a centering feed, while Tess D'Arcy also broke up a play to keep the one-goal lead entering halftime.

After the break, Christopher Newport quickly extended its lead back to two. Despite being down a player following a yellow card, Callahan still found an opening. Off a free-position attempt, she rifled a low bullet into the far corner to give the squad a 6-4 lead.

Once again, Mary Washington was able to answer shortly thereafter, but the Captains continued their unrelenting assault. Galvin and King ripped back-to-back rockets to push the lead to 8-5. Similarly effective on the defensive end, D'Arcy and Mariah Ginebra both forced miscues, Caitlin Osbourne picked up a ground ball, and Slough added three saves, including a key stop on a near breakaway to shut the door on a UMW run.

Following the defensive stand, the two squads began to trade punches in the middle of the period. First, the Eagles cut their deficit back down to two before Galvin intercepted a clear attempt, which led to King's second strike of the half. Continuing the back-and-forth battle, UMW retaliated before Callahan buried a dagger under the crossbar to push CNU's lead to 10-7 with 14 minutes remaining.

Unfortunately, things began to go awry after that point. The visitors pulled within two with 12 minutes left before calling a timeout. Although Slough made two straight saves and D'Arcy won a great battle for a ground ball, the Eagles continued to surge. With time winding down, Mary Washington scored two straight tallies to knot the game at 10 with five minutes left.

After a timeout by CNU, Sam Puglisi scooped up the ensuing draw to gain possession. However, the Eagles were able to battle back and retake control. Entering the final two minutes of regulation, the visitors stormed into the offensive end and settled in. Eventually, after looking for an opening, Corinne Wiederkehr drove home a pass from Emily Mott to grab an 11-10 lead with 81 seconds left.

Although UMW was awarded possession following the goal, Christopher Newport never stopped battling. Needing to force a turnover, Puglisi and Lindsay Weaver crashed down on an Eagle midfielder and played airtight defense before causing a miscue and giving the Captains one last hope. Unfortunately, in the waning seconds of regulation, Mary Washington's defense was able to hang on as the team forced a turnover to seal the one-goal victory.

Overall, the Eagles held a 35-18 edge in shots, while both squads came away with 22 ground balls and 11 draw controls. In addition to her 19 saves, Slough also added a team-high six ground balls, while Ginebra and Galvin chipped in with three apiece. Ginebra, D'Arcy, and Weaver all forced two turnovers as well.

---CNU---