NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Behind a six-goal eruption in the fourth quarter, including three strikes in less than a minute of action, the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team picked up its first victory of the season as CNU toppled Ferrum, 12-8, during a non-conference battle on a windswept Saturday afternoon at Captains Turf Field.
 
Giving head coach Mikey Thompson his first career victory, Christopher Newport used an electric run late in the game to pull away for the win. Overall, Dave Magdeburger led the Captains with four points, including a pair of goals. Will Geise, Randy Foster, and Shane McKenna also struck twice to round out a well-balanced attack.
 
Meanwhile, on the defensive end, Brandon Moloney was a bruising force as the senior long-stick forced three turnovers and corralled seven ground balls. Matt Hayden also made 12 saves between the pipes, including several point-blank stops to keep the Ferrum attack in-check. Tony Cruz continued his impressive play on faceoffs as well, winning 15 of his 21 battles.
 
With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 1-1 on the season. The setback drops Ferrum to 2-1.
 
Holding a one-goal halftime advantage, the Captains surrendered an early score to the Panthers, which knotted the game at five in the third quarter. Buckling down, the hosts shot back quickly. Just over a minute after Ferrum tied the game, Geise broke the deadlock. Magdeburger used pinpoint precision to feed a long pass across the zone to Geise, who took control and fired a rocket that gave CNU a 6-5 edge.
 
Clutching a slim lead, the Captains stepped up on the defensive end. First, the hosts killed a penalty, including a huge end-to-end clear by Jake O'Connell. Later, Hayden sacrificed his body to make a save with his chest to stymie a dart by the Panthers before tacking on a great stick save a few minutes later to keep the one-goal advantage entering the fourth.
 
Looking for a little breathing room, the offense stepped up in a huge way. First, with a defender in his face, Rolando simply rolled around the zone and fired a one-timer into the top of the net to give the hosts a 7-5 edge. Although the visitors whittled the lead back down to one, the Captains erupted with a breathtaking assault to grab control of the game.
 
Continuing to show off his passing skills, Magdeburger slipped another feed to Geise, who quickly converted for his second score of the game. Just 11 seconds later, after a faceoff violation by the Panthers, Harrison Drier made Ferrum pay with a screaming tracer that gave the squad a 9-6 lead with just over seven minutes remaining in regulation.
 
Still not done, following a penalty on the visitors, Rolando found Foster, who drove home a man-up strike to push the advantage to four.
 
Looking for one final knockout blow, Drew Magnusson came through with a pair. First, the second-year standout dished to McKenna, who quickly nailed down his second score of the game. Less than two minutes later, Magnusson returned to the scene. Running around the zone, he circled the defense before unleashing a crushing blow to the back of the net to snatch a 12-6 lead with five minutes remaining.
 
Although Ferrum was able to tack on a pair of man-up tallies in the final few minutes, the Captains eventually cruised to the four-goal victory.
 
Overall, Christopher Newport held a commanding 59-29 advantage in shots and a 34-26 lead in ground balls. The Captains also won 16 of the game's 24 faceoffs and went 18-for-20 on clear attempts.
 
Although the game ended well for the Captains, the Panthers were aggressive at the outset. The visitors strung together three straight goals in the first eight minutes to grab a fast 3-0 edge. Unfazed by the early stumble, Christopher Newport began chipping away at the deficit.
 
First, Drier connected with Magdebuger, who sniped a bullet to put CNU on the board with seven minutes left in the first quarter. Later, after Christopher Newport was hit with a three-minute, non-releasable penalty, the man-down defense settled in. Killing the clock, Hayden made a spectacular save before O'Connell cleared the zone with a great run up the near sideline. Later, Foster ran around the zone to cut off more time before Hayden made one last stop to complete the successful kill.
 
Buoyed by the defensive effort, the CNU attack went back to work. After helping kill the penalty, Foster flashed some muscle in the offensive zone as he fired a laser to the back of the net, which pulled the hosts within one. Shortly thereafter, following another faceoff victory by Cruz, Magnusson found Jacob Hale, who snapped off his second goal of the year to pull the Captains even at three.
 
In the second stanza, Hayden refused to let Ferrum pull ahead again as the junior goalie made three early saves, including two during a man-down situation. Later, after a penalty on the Panthers, Magdeburger gave the hosts their first lead of the game off a feed from Rolando.
 
Withstanding a surge by Ferrum, Hayden came through with another stop, while Foster and O'Connell both cleared the zone with tough runs through the Panther midfield. Eventually, the CNU attack capitalized as McKenna delivered off a feed from Ryan Mills to give Christopher Newport a 5-3 edge.
 
Although the Panthers were able to add a late strike in the second quarter and an early goal in the third to even the action at five, CNU retaliated with a relentless run to lock up the victory.
 
Along with Moloney, Mills, Foster, and Michael Mabry all forced a pair of turnovers for the Captains. Drier also contributed four ground balls to go along with his two points.
 
Christopher Newport will return to action on Wednesday when the squad hosts Randolph-Macon at 7 p.m.
 
---CNU---