Live Stats // Video Stream
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- After securing the No. 3 seed in the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament, the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team will kick off postseason action on Tuesday at 7 p.m. when CNU hosts Southern Virginia at Captains Turf Field.
Entering the playoffs, Christopher Newport stands at 12-4 on the season, including 6-2 in league action. Southern Virginia comes into the postseason as the No. 6 seed after registering a 6-9 record with a 2-6 mark in conference play.
For those fans unable to make it to the game, live stats will be available at CNUsports.com. The Captains will also provide a video broadcast of the action with Andy McGregor and Jake Myers on the call. Links to both features can be found at the top of this release and on the CNU schedule page.
Tickets for Tuesday's game are $5 for adults and $3 for children and high school students. CNU students will be admitted free of charge.
A LOOK AT THE CAPTAINS Entering the playoffs,
Brandon Moloney ranks first in the CAC with 43 caused turnovers, while his 90 ground balls lead all non-faceoff specialists. Meanwhile,
Michael Mabry stands 10th in the conference with 24 caused turnovers, and
Harrison Drier is 12th with 21. As a team, the Captains have forced 186 miscues this season, which is the second-highest total in the league.
On the offensive side,
Randy Foster and
Matthew Crist rank in the top-10 in goals. Foster boasts a team-high 35 strikes, while Crist has 33. Crist also boasts a 3.54 points-per-game average this year, which currently ranks as the highest single-season mark in program history. Equally impressive,
Will Geise is just one point shy of becoming the second player in CNU history to register at least 50 total points in a single year. He currently ranks ninth in the CAC with 49 points.
CNU also features a solid man-up unit, which has converted 42 percent of its opportunities this season. That is the second-highest rate in the conference. Crist ranks fifth in the league with six man-up goals, while Foster,
Ryan Mills, and
Dave Magdeburger all have four. Christopher Newport's three man-down goals also stand as the highest in the CAC this season.
LAST TIME OUT On Saturday, the Captains dropped an 11-6 decision to No. 7 York (Pa.) in the regular season finale. During the contest, CNU held a 5-4 lead at halftime before the Spartans fired back in the second half. Overall, Foster led the squad with three goals, while Moloney forced four turnovers and collected seven ground balls.
Tony Cruz also won 12 of his 20 faceoffs, and
Matt Hayden added 13 saves.
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS Southern Virginia earned the program's first playoff berth by virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker with St. Mary's (Md.). The Knights topped the Seahawks earlier this season behind an epic comeback, which included a game-tying goal from midfield by Casey Rich as the horn sounded at the end of regulation before he added the clincher in the first overtime period.
Overall this season, Rich leads the conference with 48 goals, while his 64 points place him third in the league. Zach Danneman has also scored 38 times this year, which ranks seventh in the CAC. Logan Lund also stands second in the conference with 102 ground balls and has won 228 of his 399 faceoff attempts, while Ian Arave has a .429 save percentage and a 14.56 goals-against-average.
SERIES HISTORY CNU and Southern Virginia have met three times with the Captains holding a 3-0 record in the all-time series. Earlier this year, Christopher Newport posted a 20-10 victory in Buena Vista. During that game, the Knights pulled within one late in the third quarter before CNU scored the last nine goals of the game. Geise, Foster, and Crist all collected four goals for the Captains, while Danneman had six for SVU.
UP NEXT The winner of Tuesday's battle will advance to the CAC semifinals for a match-up at No. 2 seed York (Pa.) on Saturday.
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