NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Will Geise and Ryan Mills both posted hat-tricks, while Randy Foster recorded the 100th point of his career as the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team capitalized on a relentless offensive assault to storm past Virginia Wesleyan, 20-3, on a wet Wednesday evening at Captains Turf Field.
 
After shortening pregame warm-ups and starting the game early in the hopes of avoiding an impending downpour, the Captains showered the Marlins with an impressive onslaught of their own. Geise posted six points, including four goals, while Mills added three tallies. Balancing out the volume scorers, Matthew Crist and Lucas Barry both registered four points apiece, and Foster scored the game's first two goals.
 
With his two strikes, Foster became the seventh Captain in program history to register 100 career points. The reigning All-American now sits at an even 100 during his decorated tenure at CNU.
 
Showcasing impressive talent all over the field, 14 Captains eventually collected at least one point during the contest. Meanwhile, on the defensive side, Drew Magnusson and Trevor Royce both forced a pair of turnovers, and Matt Hayden made 11 saves to earn the victory. CNU also won 19 of the game's 26 faceoffs, including a 7-for-9 performance by Nick Kirschke.
 
With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 2-2 on the season. The setback drops Virginia Wesleyan to 1-2.
 
Right from the start, Foster set the tone as the senior torched the back of the net twice in the first four minutes to snatch an early lead. Later, Geise used a nice skip pass to set up a strike by Crist before Mills dodged a defender on the far side of the field on the way to his first goal and a fast 4-0 lead. Moments later, on the ensuing faceoff, Jake O'Connell grabbed the ground ball, deked four Marlins, and battled across midfield while having a stick snapped across his body to keep the attack rolling.
 
Following O'Connell's run, Barry capitalized as he landed the team's fifth blow off a feed from Crist to secure a 5-0 lead entering the second quarter.
 
Refusing to slow down, the Captains remained just as hot in the second stanza. Shane McKenna continued the assault off a feed from Magnusson before Barry converted a man-up goal to push the lead to 7-0. Equally devastating in all facets of the game, Conor James tracked down a midfielder after the ensuing faceoff and brought the hammer down to force a turnover before Max Fitzgerald clubbed a separate Marlin to cause another miscue and control possession.
 
After brushing aside the VWC attack, Geise came back with another goal and Crist added a bullet off a feed from Barry to push the lead to 9-0 with three minutes left in the half.
 
After Virginia Wesleyan called for a timeout, the Marlins attempted a little trickery, but the Captains were up to the challenge. Watching the visitors attempt a hidden ball trick at the top of the zone, the defense read it perfectly before Lee Parkhill jumped into the passing lane to break up a centering feed. Moments later, a VWC attacker slipped free on a breakaway, but Hayden stood tall against the one-on-one opportunity to force an errant shot before James pounced on the ground ball.
 
Following the defensive stand, Geise made some history while closing out the first half. First, the senior scored off a feed from Barry. Seconds later, after Kirschke won the ensuing faceoff cleanly, he dished to Crist, who found Geise on the doorstep. Just seven seconds after his previous strike, he added another tally for the fastest consecutive goals by a single player in program history, breaking John Thompson's record-setting 10-second eruption against Virginia Wesleyan in 2014.
 
Fittingly, after capping off the first half, Geise went right back to work in the third quarter as the senior laced a man-up goal less than a minute into the second half to snatch a 12-0 lead. Although Virginia Wesleyan managed to toss back-to-back goals on the board to pull back within 10, Christopher Newport shrugged off the momentary resurgence and responded.
 
Continuing to showcase their passing skills, McKenna hit Mills on the move for the 13th goal before Pat Matsko showed quick hands to notch the 14th. After Nate Cho had a shot blocked by the VWC defense, Matsko corralled the loose ball and fired his first career goal in one fluid motion to push the lead back to a dozen.
 
After Mills capped off the third quarter with one final goal, CNU eased towards the victory in the final stanza. Getting the fourth period off right, Cho secured a feed from Clay Miller and capitalized with his first career goal. Later, Andrew Ashley pressured the goalie and picked off a clear attempt right along the crease before dropping in a dart from the doorstep.
 
Moments later, the Captains showed off their quick strike capabilities once again. Continuing to dominate at the "X," Kirschke won the faceoff cleanly and cruised towards the cage. Taking it by himself, the senior lined his first goal since 2015. His strike came just five seconds after Ashley's tally, equaling the fastest back-to-back goals by CNU in program history.
 
Following a goal by Miller to push the lead to 19-2, Christopher Newport pieced together one final defensive stand to lock down the Marlins. Taking over in goal, Matt Scott was a wall along the back line. First, he bodied up an attacker near the crease to help force a turnover and kill off a penalty before adding saves on back-to-back VWC shots. Later, Royce intercepted a pass deep in the zone to flip the field one last time.
 
With little left to prove, Brett Clark added the final nail off a pass from Glenn Doering to help seal the 20-3 victory.
 
Overall, Christopher Newport held a 60-24 advantage in shots and a 44-18 lead in ground balls. Joining Kirschke on faceoffs, Tony Cruz won eight of his 12 battles, while Corey Hart was perfect on his four attempts. Kirschke also led the team with five ground balls, while Cruz and Christopher Albright contributed four apiece.
 
Christopher Newport will return to action on Saturday at 3 p.m. when the Captains host Guilford in a non-conference affair.
 
---CNU---