ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. -- The Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team will kick off postseason play on Tuesday at 4 p.m. when the Captains head to St. Mary's (Md.) for a first-round showdown in the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament at Seahawk Stadium.
Entering the playoffs, CNU sits at 10-7 on the season and earned the No. 5 seed in the tournament after posting a 4-4 record in league action. Meanwhile, St. Mary's (Md.) is the No. 4 seed after finishing the regular season with a 9-8 mark, including a 5-3 ledger in CAC play.
The winner of Tuesday's contest will advance to the CAC semifinals for a date with York (Pa.) on Saturday.
A LOOK AT THE CAPTAINS
Coming into the postseason, Christopher Newport features one of the most electric attacks in the conference. CNU leads the CAC with a 13.24 goals-per-game average, while the squad's .501 shooting percentage is the second-highest in the league. Meanwhile, on a national level, the Captains are 14th in the country with a .521 free-position percentage after converting 49 of their 94 eight-meter shots during the regular season.
On an individual level,
Meaghan Galvin is third in the nation with 100 draw controls, seventh with 84 points, and eighth with 42 assists.
Sarah Culver is also 36th nationally and second in the conference with 45 goals. Along with the nationally-ranked standouts,
Catie Chess has scored at least twice in each of her last eight outings, while
Colleen Bourgal has seven points in her previous two appearances.
Defensively, Chess has a team-high 16 caused turnovers, while
Mariah Ginebra and
Mackenzie Regen have forced 14 apiece. Chess and Ginebra are also tied for the team-lead with 26 ground balls, and
Kaitlyn Ready has a .422 save percentage and a 9.79 goals-against-average. The freshman goalie also has three double-digit save efforts this season, including 12 in her last outing against No. 7 York (Pa.) on Saturday.
SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
St. Mary's enters the postseason riding a three-game winning streak, which helped the squad lock up a first-round home game. So far this year, SMC has been especially strong at Seahawk Stadium, winning five of the squad's seven home bouts. Their only two losses at home came against No. 4 Gettsyburg and No. 16 Mary Washington.
Overall this season, Lacey Brown leads St. Mary's and ranks 10th in the conference with 33 goals, while Erika Kopf has a team-high 46 points. Defensively, Emma Brown has started all 17 games in goal and leads the conference with 956 minutes of work. During that time, she has compiled a .414 save percentage and an 11.11 goals-against-average. Mackenzie Rayburn also has 19 caused turnovers and 39 ground balls, which places her in the top-10 in the league in both categories.
SERIES HISTORY
Christopher Newport and St. Mary's (Md.) have met 12 times with the Seahawks holding a 7-5 edge in the series. The squads last met on April 12 when SMC captured a 16-15 victory in Maryland. During that contest, Galvin erupted for 10 points for CNU, while
Carly Wilson dished out four assists. The Seahawks were led by Lacey Brown, who notched six points, including four goals. Abbey Harrison also scored the game-winner with 17 seconds left in regulation.
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