NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team overcame a three-goal halftime deficit and pulled even in the second half, but Washington & Lee struck twice in the last five minutes to squeak out a 7-5 victory on a wet Wednesday afternoon at Captains Turf Field.
 
During the opener, Catie Chess scored twice and added an assist for the Captains, while Meaghan Galvin contributed three points as well. Meanwhile, on the defensive end, Emma Walsh made 11 saves during a solid performance between the pipes. Tess D'Arcy also forced two turnovers to help anchor the back line.
 
With the setback, Christopher Newport falls to 0-1 on the season, while Washington & Lee improves to 2-0.
 
After the Generals climbed out to a 5-2 lead at halftime, the Captains began to chip away at the deficit early in the second period. First, the CNU defense killed off an extra-man opportunity behind a suffocating performance. Mackenzie Regen rode a W&L attacker around the zone before forcing a turnover. Later, after Walsh jumped on the ground ball and the hosts cleared the defensive zone, Christopher Newport settled in on the other side.
 
In the 35th minute, Chess was fouled and earned a free-position attempt. After the W&L defense crashed down on the play, she pulled back and fed across the zone to Galvin, who fired a screamer into the back of the net to cut Washington & Lee's advantage down to 5-3.
 
Later, following a terrific defensive stand, which included five saves by Walsh, Chess found herself with another eight-meter opportunity. This time, the third-year star took it herself and buried her second goal of the contest to pull the Captains back within one with 12 minutes remaining in regulation.
 
Still on the short side of the ledger, Christopher Newport finally pulled even in the 54th minute. Carly Wilson found herself on the far side of the field with the W&L defense pursuing. After slipping free for a brief moment, she lofted a pass to Lindsay Weaver, who cut hard towards the cage. Wiggling open, she unleashed a one-timer on the run to even the score at five.
 
Unfortunately, Washington & Lee had a little more left in the tank. Facing a tie game for the first time since midway through the first half, the Generals quickly broke the deadlock. Just over a minute after Weaver's equalizer, Sarah Holland struck for the visitors. Shortly thereafter, Hayley Soutter added some breathing room before the squad went to work on the clock to run out the final two minutes.
 
Overall, the Generals held a 23-15 advantage in shots and controlled 12 of the game's 14 draws. Meanwhile, Christopher Newport held a slim 12-11 edge in ground balls.
 
Similar to the second half, the opening period was a seesaw affair. The Generals posted the game's first two goals in the opening 10 minutes before CNU fired back. Galvin was at the center of the response as she assisted on two straight tallies. First, she found Samantha Wettengel, who kicked off her collegiate career in fine fashion as the freshman found an opening with a rocket to put Christopher Newport on the board.
 
Eight minutes later, Galvin and Chess joined forces on a highlight-reel goal. Showcasing perfect timing, Galvin settled in behind the goal as Chess broke free on a sprint towards the cage. Connecting in-stride, Galvin sent a feed to Chess, who caught it in motion and fired a dart on the run to even the score at two.
 
Sadly, in a sign of things to come, Washington & Lee had an answer. The visitors strung together three straight strikes at the end of the half to steal a 5-2 advantage entering the break. Although Christopher Newport had enough to pull even again, the Generals came through with the final push to secure the victory.
 
Along with Walsh and D'Arcy, Mariah Ginebra also forced a turnover and grabbed a team-high four ground balls on the defensive side, while Katie Gaskin pieced together several great rides to frustrate the W&L attack. Jordan Hayes also added a draw control during the contest.
 
Christopher Newport will look to bounce back on Friday when the Captains kick off a road swing at Washington (Md.) at 4 p.m.
 
---CNU---