NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- On a day honoring the most accomplished senior class in program history, the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team celebrated its veterans in fitting fashion as the squad raced past Wesley, 19-4, during a Capital Athletic Conference battle on a breezy Saturday afternoon at Captains Turf Field.
 
After being celebrated during the pregame festivities, senior Will Geise came out on fire and added another program record to his list of accomplishments. Against the Wolverines, he paced CNU with seven points, including five goals. With that performance, he established a new single-season standard for points with 63, topping the previous mark of 58 set by Matthew Crist last year.
 
Fellow senior Randy Foster also struck four times for the Captains, while Ryan Mills added a goal of his own. Meanwhile, on the other side, the team's fourth-year members anchored the defense as well. John McAndrew forced a pair of turnovers, while Trevor Royce and Shane Palmateer each caused one apiece. Palmateer and Nick Kirschke also won faceoffs for CNU, and Matt Hayden collected his 42nd career victory after notching six saves during his time in the crease.
 
While Geise was erasing his points record, Crist was unfazed and simply put together an incredible effort of his own. Leading the non-seniors, the junior standout contributed five points, including four assists. With his final helper, he joined former great John Thompson as the only players in program history to register at least 30 assists in a season. He also joined Geise as the only two Captains with a pair of 50-point campaigns after reaching that benchmark again with his efforts against Wesley.
 
With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 9-4 on the season, including 4-2 in league action. The setback drops Wesley to 4-10 with an 0-6 ledger in CAC play.
 
From the very beginning of the game, the Captains went to work on the Wesley defense. Torching the opposition with a relentless assault, Christopher Newport tossed four goals on the board before the Wolverines could find their footing. Geise led the early surge with two quick strikes and an assist on a Foster fastball. Jacob Hale also got into the action after catching a flip from Crist before unleashing a man-up rocket on the way to a 4-0 edge.
 
Although the visitors managed to respond with back-to-back goals to cut their deficit in half, CNU brushed off the momentary setback. Closing in on the end of the opening quarter, Thomas Courtney swarmed a Wesley attacker to force a turnover before the hosts put together a quick clear. Looking to capitalize, Shane McKenna dished off to Foster, who unleashed one of his patented long-range daggers straight through the defense to snatch a 5-1 edge at the end of the first period.
 
Still rolling with a fresh 15 on the clock, Geise opened the second with an incredible series. After the Wolverines managed to force a turnover on CNU's initial rally, Geise clamped down on the clear attempt as he quickly stole the ball back right in front of the crease after intercepting a long feed. One-on-one with the goalie, he took it himself, but the WC keeper made the save of the season with an acrobatic stop to stone the shot.
 
Unimpressed by the highlight-reel play, Geise pounced on the rebound, regained control, and snapped off another pointblank shot, which spun into the back of the net and gave the hosts a 6-2 lead.
 
Just over a minute later, Geise came back with his fourth goal during a man-up situation before the CNU defense and midfield continued the onslaught. Shortly after the squad's seventh strike, Royce bodied up a Wesley attacker along the crease as the senior bruised his mark with a vicious hit to dislodge the ball. After Hayden plucked the spinner out of the air, he quickly fed it to Jake O'Connell.
 
Flashing his wheels, the junior midfielder burst down the far sideline. Blowing right past the Wolverines, he nearly went coast-to-coast before launching a shot on the move for his first goal of the season.
 
Continuing to show off the team's speed, Nate Cho kept the streak going as the freshman circled around the entire offensive zone before bouncing one past the WC goalie. Moments later, Max Fitzgerald elevated with a leaping stop at midfield to force a turnover, which Mills eventually converted into the squad's 10th goal. Shortly thereafter, McKenna capped off the first half with a little hitch to clear his defender before sniping on the run to steal an 11-2 edge.
 
Holding a nine-goal lead, CNU quickly extended it to double-digits early in the third quarter. Putting their precision timing on full display, Foster set up an early goal by Geise before Geise returned the favor on a skip pass back to Foster moments later for a 13-2 advantage.
 
Still flying around the field on both sides of the ball, Crist chased down a defender and forced a turnover to prevent a Wesley clear. Minutes later, after the Wolverines finally managed to get the ball into their offensive end, McAndrew caused another turnover to end the modest threat before Palmateer kept the ball on the CNU side with a great defensive play of his own. Taking advantage of the work by the squad's long poles, Cho added his second goal of the game off a feed from Spencer Shipman before Foster capped off his afternoon by rolling around his defender on the way to his fourth strike.
 
Although Wesley managed to tack on a late goal in the third period, Christopher Newport entered the fourth frame with a comfortable 15-3 lead. With the 12-goal edge, some younger Captains took advantage of extra playing time and came alive in the fourth. Clay Miller kicked off the final push with a goal off a feed from Glenn Doering before Crist added the squad's fifth man-up tally to push the lead to 17-3.
 
Meanwhile, on the defensive side, Matt Scott pieced together a tremendous run between the pipes, swallowing four early shots, including two during unsettled situations and a third to kill off a man-down rally. Josh Wagner also forced a pair of miscues during the middle of the stanza before the CNU attack added the final punctuation mark.
 
With two minutes left, Doering blistered his first collegiate goal before Miller came through with the game's final highlight. Making the most of his time on the field, the sophomore backed up an errant shot by the Captains and kept possession after hustling to the sidelines before launching into a sprawling headfirst dive to beat a Wolverine to the line. Fittingly, seconds after his Superman impression, he benefited from his own hustle after lining a screamer into the back of the net for the game's final goal.
 
Overall, Christopher Newport held a 67-21 advantage in shots and a 41-22 lead in ground balls. The Captains also dominated faceoffs, winning 21 of the game's 24 battles. Tony Cruz was nearly perfect at the "X," capitalizing on 13 of his 14 attempts. Corey Hart also went 6-for-8 late in the contest.
 
CNU will return to action on Wednesday when the squad caps off its regular season home slate against St. Mary's (Md.) at 4 p.m.
 
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