ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. -- Establishing a new benchmark for success, the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team won its 12th game of the year on Wednesday as the Captains took down St. Mary's (Md.), 18-10, during a Capital Athletic Conference matchup at Seahawk Stadium.
 
With their 12th win, the Captains topped the previous single-season program record of 11 victories, which was established last year. CNU has now won at least 10 games in each of its three seasons since joining the CAC.
 
Leading the team on Wednesday, Ryan Mills registered seven points, including five assists. Matthew Crist also scored five times for the Captains, while Randy Foster chipped in with four tallies. Meanwhile, Will Geise made some history of his own after collecting four points against the Seahawks. With that performance, he became the fifth member of CNU's 100-point club. His 102 career points now place him fourth on the program's all-time list.
 
On the defensive end, Matt Hayden notched seven saves to earn the victory. Thomas Courtney also forced three turnovers for CNU, while Tony Cruz added eight ground balls and won 14 faceoffs.
 
With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 12-3 on the season and 6-1 in the CAC. The Captains sit in a tie for second-place in the league standings with York (Pa.), who travels to Newport News for the regular season finale on Saturday. The winner of this weekend's contest will lock up the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the playoffs.
 
St. Mary's (Md.) now sits at 4-8 overall and 2-5 in the CAC.
 
Although the Seahawks were able to slip in the game's first goal on Wednesday, the Captains retaliated with a ruthless run at the end of the opening quarter. Crist kicked things off with back-to-back goals before assisting on a strike by Geise. Moments later, with mere seconds remaining in the first period, Foster added the final blow with another bullet, which locked up a 4-1 edge.
 
Continuing to roll, Crist kept things going in the second with his third rocket off a pass from Mills to push the lead to four. Unfortunately, the Seahawks stormed back. In just over four minutes, the hosts slammed home five straight goals, including a pair of man-up tallies, to grab a 6-5 lead midway through the second stanza.
 
Staring at a deficit, Christopher Newport shot back. After Drew Cornell forced a turnover on the defensive end, the CNU attack settled in. Whistling a barrage of shots, the Captains eventually evened the score at six following a missile by Foster. Later, after the two teams traded goals, Jake O'Connell used a hustle play to grab a lead just before halftime.
 
With only a few ticks left on the first-half clock, O'Connell pounced on a ground ball after battling through a scrum. Needing to go the length of the field, he burned through the midfield, split a pair of defenders on the SMC side, and unleashed a laser from the doorstep to secure an 8-7 lead just before the horn sounded.
 
Following the break, the two teams traded goals, including a bullet by Joey Rolando, before CNU began to inch away. First, Crist bodied up a midfielder and helped force a turnover to prevent a clear. Foster quickly capitalized on the gritty play with his fourth goal before Crist continued his dominance with another screamer to push the lead to 11-8.
 
Although the Seahawks answered with their ninth goal, the Captains continued to poke and prod at the SMC defense. Geise shook a defender and slipped a feed to Crist, who hammered home his fifth goal. Later, after Hayden went down to his knees to make a spectacular save on a low liner, Geise capitalized on an assist by Shane McKenna to snatch a 13-9 lead entering the final quarter.
 
Fostering a four-goal lead, Christopher Newport added a little more breathing room early in the fourth. Dave Magdeburger stung the Sea Gulls with an early goal before Mills added his first strike to lock up a 15-9 edge midway through the period. Although SMC was able to pull back within five, CNU countered with a relentless assault to wrap up the contest.
 
Rolando kicked off the final push with his second goal before Nick Auger scored just 20 seconds later. With more than enough cushion, Mills added the final nail with a man-up tally to ice the 18-10 triumph.
 
Overall, CNU held a 55-38 edge in shots and a 39-38 lead in ground balls. In addition to the eight ground balls by Cruz, Foster chipped in with five, while Brandon Moloney and Harrison Drier each contributed four. Cornell also posted three to go along with two caused turnovers.
 
Christopher Newport will wrap up the regular season on Saturday when the Captains host No. 7 York (Pa.) at 4 p.m.
 
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