ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. -- Scoring twice in the last minute of regulation, the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team erased a late deficit and grabbed an 8-7 victory over St. Mary's (Md.) during an edge-of-your-seat thriller in the first round of the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament on Tuesday afternoon at Seahawk Stadium.
 
Trailing by one with less than 60 seconds left in regulation, Samantha Wettengel drove home the equalizer before Carly Wilson added the final nail to seal the win. Overall, Wilson came through with two goals for the Captains, while Catie Chess and Meaghan Galvin both contributed a pair of strikes as well.
 
Along with her two goals, Galvin assisted on a pair of tallies, including Wettengel's game-tying bullet. With her four points, Galvin bumped her season total to 88, matching the seventh-highest single-season mark in program history. It also stands as the highest total since the Captains joined the CAC.
 
With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 11-7 on the season and advances to the CAC semifinals for a date at top-seeded York (Pa.) on Saturday at noon. The setback drops St. Mary's (Md.) to 9-9 on the year.
 
Although the last-minute heroics capped off the victory, they were preceded by a much lengthier second-half rally. After entering halftime even at four, St. Mary's tossed three quick goals on the board in the first 10 minutes of the second stanza to snatch a 7-4 lead. Needing to stem the tide and steal back some momentum, the Captains stepped up on the defensive end.
 
Pushing back against the potent Seahawk attack, Lindsay Weaver chopped down on an attacker from behind before grabbing the ground ball and clearing the zone to end an SMC surge. Minutes later, Julia Golden cut off another lengthy offensive stand by the Seahawks before Kaitlyn Ready snared a pair of shots to keep the deficit at three with 12 minutes remaining.
 
Following her second stop, Ready helped clear the zone and eventually got the ball to Mariah Ginebra. Showing off some fancy footwork, the senior defender split three Seahawks while pressed up against the near sideline to push the ball into the offensive zone. Needing a quick strike, Weaver delivered after bouncing a dagger off a free-position attempt to pull the visitors back within two at 7-5.
 
Continuing to battle on the ensuing draw, Ginebra blazed past several midfielders and scooped the roller off the field before motoring into the offensive zone once again. Showing off the squad's fast-paced attack, Galvin quickly capitalized as she unleashed a rope along the right pipe while toeing the crease to inch back within one with nine minutes left in regulation.
 
Still holding a lead, St. Mary's went to work on the clock. After wiping away a shot by Jordan Hayes on the defensive end, the Seahawks showed no urgency and began to chip away at the remaining minutes. Eventually, after slowing the pace, the hosts attempted to add a little cushion to their one-goal lead but ran headfirst into Ready.
 
Stepping up with a tremendous run, the freshman goalie stymied the Seahawks. First, after a shot sailed high, she burst out of the crease and won a race to the end line to gain possession. Moments later, after SMC thwarted CNU's offensive run, Ready came back with a game-saving stop on a low liner before the Captains called for a timeout with two minutes remaining.
 
Following the defensive work, the CNU offense closed things out. After poking at the Seahawks for nearly a minute, Christopher Newport found an opening. Cutting through the defense, Wettengel secured a feed from Galvin before shaking off a hit while burying the equalizer with 52 seconds left in the contest.
 
Needing one more, Galvin forced a turnover immediately after the ensuing draw before pouncing on the loose ball. With one last opportunity, Wilson earned a free-position attempt with 28 seconds left. Having no interest in overtime, the junior laced a screamer under the crossbar to snatch the squad's first lead of the second half.
 
With a little more work to do, Galvin elevated on the draw and plucked the floater out of the air to regain possession. Fittingly, after helping jumpstart the second-half rally, Ginebra came back to add the final punctuation mark as she grabbed control and scooted up the sideline before the Captains worked the ball around the zone to run out the final few seconds.
 
Overall, St. Mary's held a 27-20 advantage in shots during the game and controlled nine of the 17 draws. However, CNU led the way in ground balls, 15-12, and capitalized on nine saves by Ready to help orchestrate the comeback bid.
 
An hour before the game's exciting conclusion, the Captains got off to an equally impressive start. Although St. Mary's opened the scoring, Christopher Newport responded with a furious assault. Chess kicked off the surge by landing an eight-meter shot just inside the right pipe to even the score at one. Moments later, Galvin joined the fun and continued the rally.
 
Slicing through three Seahawks, the senior drew a foul inside the zone, earned a free-position opportunity of her own, and darted one past the keeper to gain a one-goal lead. Later, she helped set up a pair of strikes on the way to a 4-1 advantage. On the squad's third tally, Galvin used a quick jab step to draw the defense's attention before sliding a pass over to Chess. With the defense over pursuing, SMC fouled the junior, which led to her second eight-meter goal of the contest.
 
Two minutes later, Galvin settled along the left pipe and connected with Wilson, who caught the feed in-stride while storming across the zone on the way to her first tally of the game.
 
Holding a 4-1 lead, the defense also looked sharp in the early going. Ready came through with two saves, including a great stop off a free-position attempt. Mackenzie Regen also ended an SMC run after swatting the ball away from an attacker on the far side of the field, while Chess swallowed up a rollback attempt and dropped another hammer before Tess D'Arcy jumped on the roller to gain possession.
 
Unfortunately, the Seahawks were relentless and continued to attack the CNU defense. Eventually, the hosts tossed three straight goals on the board to knot the score at four entering halftime. Then, St. Mary's continued its assault with three more tallies early in the second period, but Christopher Newport showed off its resiliency and battled back for the gritty 8-7 victory.
 
Ginebra finished the game with a team-high three ground balls, while Galvin added a pair to go along with her four points and three draw controls. Weaver and Galvin also forced two turnovers apiece to help frustrate the Seahawks.
 
---CNU---