NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Randy Foster and Will Geise combined for 11 goals during another offensive explosion by the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team as CNU raced past Southern Virginia, 19-12, to cap off a perfect six-game homestand on a windy Wednesday afternoon at Captains Turf Field.
 
Piecing together a performance that has almost become routine for the fourth-year star, Geise continued his torrid stretch with a team-high nine points, including six goals. His nine points equaled the single-game program record, which was established by Andrew Evans against Tri-State in 2013 and matched by Geise just 11 days ago against Messiah.
 
Geise's sixth goal on Wednesday also marked the 100th of his career, allowing him to become the first Captain to reach that milestone.
 
Along with Geise, Foster was just as dominant on the offensive side as he chipped in with five goals and a pair of assists. With his performance, he moved into a tie with John Thompson and Ryan Merrell for second-place on the program's all-time goals list. The reigning All-American now has 86 tallies in his decorated career.
 
In addition to the high-scoring veterans, six other Captains also found the back of the net, including a six-point outing by Ryan Mills. Meanwhile, Will Cogan bruised a few Knights while forcing three turnovers, and Matt Hayden chipped in with six saves to earn the victory.
 
With the win, Christopher Newport improves to 7-2 on the season, including 2-0 in league action. It also caps off a pristine six-game run during the longest homestand in program history. On the other side, the setback drops Southern Virginia to 4-4 with a 2-1 mark in conference play.
 
Although the Knights managed to open the scoring less than three minutes into the first quarter, the Captains retaliated with a devastating surge. First, the hosts stepped up on the defensive end and forced a pair of failed clears after Matthew Crist elevated to disrupt a pass on SVU's first attempt before Cogan rode a midfielder right out of bounds to stop the second.
 
Meanwhile, the attack capitalized on both turnovers. Shane McKenna opened the scoring after grabbing a feed from Foster before cutting back around a defender on the way to a 1-1 tie. One minute later, Foster did some damage of his own after snagging a pass from Geise before sniping his first strike of the contest.
 
Holding a modest 2-1 lead, the Captains closed out the opening quarter in style. Mills snapped off back-to-back bullets before Foster converted from long-range to grab a 5-1 edge entering the second stanza.
 
Once again, Southern Virginia opened up the new quarter with a quick goal before Christopher Newport pounded away at the SVU defense. Continuing to flash his fastball, Foster uncorked another deep dart that whistled through a pair of defenders on the way to a 6-2 advantage. Minutes later, after Geise added the squad's seventh score off a pinpoint pass from Crist, Foster came back for more.
 
First, after an initial shot was brushed aside by the visitors, Foster showed off his lightning fast reflexes as he gobbled up the ground ball and spun a dagger from the doorstep in one smooth motion to push the lead to six. Minutes later, he plowed his way through a scrum at midfield, grabbed another loose roller, and forced an unsettled situation that ended with Mills finding Geise, who punched home CNU's ninth goal of the contest.
 
Although the Knights responded with a goal of their own, the CNU defense continued to keep Southern Virginia in-check. Hayden led the charge as he made a nice save off an SVU bullet before helping kill off a man-down situation. Following a penalty on the Captains, Hayden pressured an attacker behind the crease before flying around the pipes to get back in position to force an errant shot. Later, Christopher Albright won a sprint for the sidelines to gain possession and help kill off the penalty.
 
Looking to add the final punctuation mark to the first half in the final moments of the period, McKenna connected with Geise, who wrapped around the zone and torched the back of the net for his third goal of the game on the way to a 10-3 halftime lead.
 
Following the break, CNU kept its foot on the gas and continued to attack. Mills assisted on a pair of goals by Foster and Crist, while Geise brushed off a late hit on the far side of the field for his fourth goal. Later, he put his passing skills on display as he fired a skip pass through some tight defense to Nate Cho, who corralled the ball and quickly converted to steal a double-digit advantage at 14-4.
 
Still battling, Geise tossed two more goals on the board during a two-minute surge in the middle of the third. First, he capitalized on a penalty for his team-leading fifth man-up goal of the season before taking advantage of Globetrotter-level passing to cap off his afternoon.
 
During an SVU clear attempt, Foster chased down a midfielder and disrupted the play just enough to force a loose ball, which Cogan jumped on. Kicking things off, the long-pole defender fed to Crist, who dished to Mills on the doorstep. With one final pass, he flipped the ball over to Geise on the other side of the crease as the senior sank his sixth strike before the Knights could catch up to the play.
 
With six minutes still remaining in the third quarter, Christopher Newport capped off an eight-goal period with two more tallies as Crist slammed home a man-up missile before China Moon split three defenders with a pass to Jacob Hale, who blistered the net with CNU's 18th goal of the contest.
 
Leading 18-5, the Captains eased into the victory during the final 15 minutes of action. Although the Knights managed to string together a run in the fourth quarter to pull back within single digits, the lead was never in doubt. Eventually, Pat Matsko scored off a pass from Andrew Ashley to close out CNU's efforts during the 19-12 triumph.
 
Overall, Christopher Newport held a 51-36 advantage in shots and a 40-29 lead in ground balls. Tony Cruz and Conor James added five ground balls apiece to pace CNU. Meanwhile, Cruz won 14 of his 24 faceoff attempts, while Shane Palmateer went 4-for-6 as well. Additionally on the defensive end, Scott McAneney made three saves during 12 minutes of work in the crease, while Matt Scott added a pair of stops during his nine minutes.
 
Christopher Newport will return to action next Wednesday when the Captains head to Mary Washington for a CAC battle at 4 p.m.
 
---CNU---