SALEM, Va. -- Catie Chess and Sarah Culver combined for 12 goals and a pair of assists as the two standouts carried the 17th-ranked Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team to its ninth straight victory with a 19-10 triumph over Roanoke during a non-conference showdown on Friday afternoon at Donald J. Kerr Stadium.
 
Against the Maroons, Chess drove home a career-high seven goals, which equaled the fourth-highest single-game total in program history. Equally electric on the offensive end, Culver also contributed five goals and two assists. Meaghan Galvin chipped in with six points, including four helpers, as well.
 
Meanwhile, on the defensive end, Emma Walsh earned the victory after making seven saves, including three on free-position attempts. Walsh also collected a team-high four ground balls, while Maria Gianelle and Tess D'Arcy each picked up a pair.
 
With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 10-1 on the season, including a pristine 5-0 on the road. The setback drops Roanoke to 3-6 on the year.
 
At the start, the Captains put their youth on display as the squad's phenomenal freshmen got the squad off on the right foot. Walsh made two quick saves on the defensive end, while Culver scored three of the team's first four goals, including a pair of eight-meter rockets. Later, after Chess dropped in her first two strikes, Culver put a solid punctuation mark on her early surge with a man-up missile off a feed from Galvin to push CNU's lead to 6-2 with 12 minutes left in the first half.
 
Looking for a little more breathing room, Chess erupted with a tremendous offensive surge. In the span of four minutes, the second-year sensation tossed three goals on the board, while Galvin added her first tally to push the lead to 10-3.
 
Continuing the onslaught, Galvin and Chaplin joined forces on a pair of goals. First, Galvin grabbed a roller off the draw, battled through contact, and threaded a beautiful pass to Chaplin, who slipped free on the interior. One minute later, Galvin lined another feed across the crease to Chaplin, who settled along the far post and quickly hammered home another nail to snatch a 12-5 lead.
 
With the offense carrying the weight early in the first half, the defense stepped up with a great stand at the end of the period. After a Maroon broke free with four minutes left, Walsh came through with a terrific one-on-one save to close off the run. Later, Corbyn Hale helped break up a free-position attempt before Culver used a huge check to force a turnover after a draw to help close out the half.
 
Following the break, the CNU attack continued to pour it on early in the second stanza. Gianelle took possession and drew a defender out of position, which freed up Culver along the far post for her fifth goal of the contest. Shortly thereafter, Chess whistled a rocket from the near side for her sixth goal before weaving through three defenders on the way to her seventh strike in the 38th minute of action.
 
Staring at a 15-7 deficit, Roanoke pieced together a response. The hosts used a rapid-fire assault to score three straight goals, which helped the Maroons inch back within five with 17 minutes remaining in regulation.
 
Needing to stem the tide, Gianelle gained possession off the ensuing draw before the Captains settled in. Methodically working the ball around the zone, the visitors cut crucial time off the clock to slow down RC's comeback attempt. Eventually, after running nearly four minutes off the scoreboard, Lindsay Weaver found herself one-on-one with a defender. Liking those odds, she stepped to her left before bolting back to her right, which shook her defender and opened up a clean run on the way to her 13th goal of the season.
 
Less than a minute later, after Hale controlled the next draw, Colleen Bourgal secured a feed from Gianelle before unleashing a dart from the doorstep to nail down a 17-10 lead with 13 minutes left in regulation.
 
After regaining a comfortable lead, the Captains settled in and chewed up more time. Following another save by Walsh, CNU ran two more minutes off the clock before Sam Puglisi broke down a Maroon with a great rollback before sprinting through two more defenders on the way to the squad's 18th goal. Five minutes later, Galvin added the final blow as the junior snapped off one of her patented free-position bullets to lock up the 19-10 victory.
 
Overall, Christopher Newport held a 33-30 advantage in shots and converted 15 of its 17 clear attempts. Both teams collected 16 ground balls, while Roanoke held a 16-13 edge on draws.
 
The Captains will return to action on April 5 when they hosts the fifth-ranked Salisbury Sea Gulls at 5 p.m.
 
---CNU---