Live Stats // Video Stream
BUENA VISTA, Va. -- On a three-game roll, the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team will look to continue its winning ways on Saturday at 3 p.m. when the Captains travel to Southern Virginia for a Capital Athletic Conference showdown at the SVU Fields.
Entering the weekend, CNU sits at 9-2 overall with a 3-0 record in league action. Southern Virginia is 5-6 with a 2-3 mark in the CAC.
For those fans unable to make it to Saturday's game, Southern Virginia will provide live stats and a video stream of the action at Athletics.SVU.edu. Direct links to both features can be found at the top of this release and on the CNU schedule page.
A LOOK AT THE CAPTAINS So far this season, Christopher Newport has boasted an outstanding man-up attack. The Captains have converted 42 percent of their extra-man opportunities, which ranks second in the league. Even stronger during conference action, the squad has converted 55 percent of its opportunities against CAC opponents, which leads the league. On an individual level,
Matthew Crist leads CNU with five man-up goals, while
Randy Foster ranks second with four.
Christopher Newport also features a talented defensive midfield unit.
Brandon Moloney, the two-time reigning CAC Defensive Player of the Week, boasts a league-high 31 caused turnovers to go along with 64 ground balls.
Harrison Drier has also forced 15 miscues this season, while
Jake O'Connell has 12 ground balls and six caused turnovers. The second-year standout also added his first goal of the season on Wednesday against Mary Washington.
Also among the league leaders,
Will Geise and
Joey Rolando sit seventh in the CAC with 13 assists apiece, while
Michael Mabry is sixth with 21 caused turnovers.
Matt Hayden also ranks third in the conference with a .576 save percentage and 114 total stops.
LAST TIME OUT On Wednesday, the Captains extended their winning streak to three straight games with a 16-6 triumph over Mary Washington. Against the Eagles, Crist erupted for a team-high seven points, which equals the third-highest single-game total in program history. Rolando also matched his career-high with five assists, while Geise and
Ryan Mills each added hat-tricks as well.
On the defensive end, Drier led CNU with four caused turnovers and six ground balls. Four goalies also saw action, while Hayden earned the win after making three saves.
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS Southern Virginia pieced together a three-game winning streak in the middle of the month before dropping its last two outings. On Wednesday, the Knights fell to Virginia Wesleyan, 19-11. Against the Marlins, Casey Rich scored five times, while Zach Danneman chipped in with four points. Ian Arave also contributed 15 saves on the back end.
Overall this season, Rich leads the CAC with 36 goals and is third in the conference with 48 points. Meanwhile, Arave is second in the league with 116 total saves, while Derek Marks has a team-high 13 caused turnovers. As a unit, SVU is third in the league with a 12.45 goals-per-game average and a .559 faceoff winning percentage. Logan Lund has won 183 of his 323 faceoff attempts as well.
SERIES HISTORY CNU and Southern Virginia have met twice before with the Captains holding a 2-0 record in the all-time series. Last season, Christopher Newport registered a 29-5 victory. During that contest, the team established new single-game program records for goals (29), assists (19), ground balls (65), and faceoff victories (31).
UP NEXT Following Saturday's battle, Christopher Newport will return home for a match-up with the top-ranked Salisbury Sea Gulls on April 6 at 5 p.m.
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