CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Shane McKenna scored a pair of fourth-quarter goals and the defense pieced together a last-minute stand to lift the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team over Berry, 10-9, during a neutral-site battle at Charlotte Christian High School on a perfect Friday evening.
 
McKenna finished with a hat-trick for the Captains, while Matthew Crist contributed six points, including four assists. Freshmen Jackson Deal and Dylan Rice both scored twice as well. Meanwhile, on the defensive end, Conor James led the way with three caused turnovers, including the final stop that clinched the victory. Scott McAneney also contributed eight saves to earn the win.
 
With the triumph, Christopher Newport improves to 2-0 on the season. The setback drops Berry to 1-1.
 
Entering the fourth quarter deadlocked at eight, CNU found its groove. With 13 minutes left, McKenna dodged a defender at the top of the zone, cut back, and whistled a shot into the back of the net to snatch a lead. Although Berry responded three minutes later, the Captains stepped up on the defensive side.
 
Will Cogan forced a turnover to end one Berry rally before Jake O'Connell helped put a stop to a second one. With six minutes remaining, the senior rode a Viking around the crease without giving an inch of space. With their offensive plan thwarted for the moment, Berry settled for an errant shot that spun high before an unforced error handed the ball back to the Captains.
 
After regaining possession, CNU settled in on the other end. Methodically working the ball around the zone, the Captains faced a stall warning before capitalizing with three minutes left. Crist rolled around the top of the zone, while McKenna cut underneath. Eventually connecting on the interior, McKenna secured the pass and jammed home his third goal to grab the 10-9 advantage.
 
With work left to do, the Captains needed one final stop on the defensive side. In the final minute of action, McAneney made a tremendous save to stone a pointblank attempt. Although Berry managed to secure the loose ball, James was a beast over the final 10 seconds. The sophomore deflected an initial pass, and after the Vikings chased it down, he snatched a last-ditch heave out of the air to lock up the victory.
 
Christopher Newport held a 28-23 advantage in ground balls, but the rest of the stats were even. Berry held a slim 29-28 lead in shots, and both teams won 11 faceoffs.
 
Early in the game, the Captains struck quickly. Just over a minute into the contest, McKenna unleashed a shot that was saved, but Crist bolted in, grabbed the ground ball, and immediately drove home his first strike of the year. Six seconds later, the squad landed another blow.
 
After Tony Cruz won the ensuing faceoff and pushed the ball forward, he connected with Crist, who flipped it over to Rice. Stationed along the left pipe, the freshman landed a dart to grab a fast 2-0 edge.
 
Although the Vikings fired back and recorded two straight goals of their own, Christopher Newport retaliated. With seven minutes left in the opening period, McAneney made a tremendous save on a high-to-low bullet before grabbing the roller and jump-starting a clear.
 
After the offense took over, Pat Matsko lowered his shoulder, drew contact, and battled through a slash to earn the squad's first man-up opportunity. With an advantage, Rice struck again as the first-year phenom showed off an acrobatic touch. Catching a pass from McKenna, he tried to shake a defender while stumbling to the ground. Just before hitting the turf, he unleashed a rocket that snuck in under the crossbar for his second goal of the game.
 
Trailing by one entering the second quarter, Berry answered. The Vikings strung together three straight goals to steal a 5-3 lead with 10 minutes left in the first half. Unfazed, the Captains battled back.
 
First, on the defensive side, James dislodged the ball from an attacker with a great trail check. Moments later, Deal converted a long-range missile off a feed from Crist before adding an assist on a strike by Lucas Barry to knot the score at five.
 
Back on even ground, Berry broke the deadlock with a goal just before halftime. Trailing again, Christopher Newport stormed back in the third quarter. Following the break, Crist headlined the attack. The senior assisted on a man-up tally by McKenna before landing a goal of his own off a perfect pass by Spencer Shipman to snatch a 7-6 lead.
 
Continuing to trade blows, Berry evened the score again before the CNU defense stepped up. After the Vikings regained possession following their seventh goal, Christopher Albright batted a pass out of the air. After O'Connell gained control, he bolted up the field before finding Deal along the post to nail down an 8-7 lead.
 
Unrelenting on the other side, Berry struck again with five minutes left in the third but could never pull ahead. Eventually, McKenna took control in the final stanza before James capped off the festivities with his late-game defensive heroics to lock up the win.
 
Along with James, Drew Cornell and Max Wayne both forced a pair of turnovers for CNU. Wayne, James, and Phoenix Hines also collected three ground balls for the Captains, while Cruz added six to go along with his 11 faceoff victories.
 
Christopher Newport will return to action on February 21 when the squad hosts Randolph-Macon at 7 p.m.
 
---CNU---