FROSTBURG, Md. -- After the start time for its Capital Athletic Conference opener was pushed back 22 hours due to wintry conditions in Northern Maryland, the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team came out well-rested and scored a goal for every hour of the delay as the Captains stormed past Frostburg State, 22-8, on Sunday afternoon at Bobcat Stadium.

Playing on a field surrounded by mounds of snow, CNU brought the heat and erupted with a fiery offensive attack. The squad's 22 goals marked the most by the program since the Captains snapped off 23 strikes against Sewanee in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on May 8, 2013.

On an individual level, eight Captains registered multi-goal efforts. Sarah Culver led the way with five tallies, while Carly Wilson contributed seven points, including five assists. With her five helpers, she moved into the program's top-10 all-time in career assists. The senior now stands 10th with 53.

Also making history on Sunday, Catherine Leighty contributed six points, including three goals. She also helped the team dominate possession with a game-high 12 draw controls. That now stands as a new freshman record at CNU, eclipsing Meaghan Galvin's previous mark of 10 set against Mary Washington on April 2, 2014. It also equals the second-highest single-game total in program history.

With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 4-5 on the season, including 1-0 in league action. The setback drops Frostburg State to 3-5-1 with an 0-1 ledger in CAC play.

In the early going, the two teams traded blows during a short-lived back-and-forth affair. Leighty led the way for the Captains as she assisted on the first two strikes, including a beautiful stutter step on the second goal, which drew a pair of defenders and allowed Colleen Bourgal to slip free on the back side. Less than two minutes later, the freshman continued her offensive heroics and flashed some long-range firepower as she unloaded from the eight-meter arc on a free-position attempt to steal a 3-2 edge.

Looking to extend the lead, Bourgal pieced together a tremendous effort on both sides of the ball. After the Bobcats cut off an initial shot by the Captains, the hosts attempted to clear the zone, but Bourgal intercepted the pass. Shortly thereafter, she capitalized on her own defensive efforts after taking advantage of a feed from Wilson to push the lead to 4-2.

After Frostburg State whittled its deficit back down to one, the CNU defense put together its finest stand of the game. Over the course of 10 minutes, the Captains blanketed the field. Kaitlyn Ready stoned a pointblank bullet before Corbyn Hale broke up a run along the interior. Later, Ready plucked a free-position shot, Gracie Sanders disrupted a rally at the top of the arc, and Alexa Hladick pounced on a roller after another save by Ready to clear the defensive end.

Looking to end the defensive battle, Culver broke up the scoreless drought with an impressive rally. In the 19th minute, she took advantage of a free-position attempt for her second goal of the game. Following an FSU timeout, she came back and controlled the ensuing draw, bolted straight through the Bobcats, and unloaded her third goal just nine seconds after her previous tally.

Her nine-second assault marked the fastest back-to-back goals by a Captain since Meaghan Galvin also struck twice in nine seconds against Frostburg State on March 29, 2014.

Although the hosts eventually ended Culver's rally and inched back within two at 6-4, Christopher Newport retaliated with an epic attack. Fittingly, Culver kicked off the run with her fourth goal before Caitlin King landed two straight blows in the span of 20 seconds. Moments later, Wilson put on a clinic. First, the senior turned the corner on a dead sprint around the left pipe before rolling back around a defender and unleashing a bounce shot for the squad's 10th goal. Then, she flashed her passing skills with a perfect feed to King, who capped off her hat-trick with five minutes left in the opening half.

Staring at an 11-4 deficit, Frostburg State scored a pair of goals before Christopher Newport ended the half in style. With two minutes left, Leighty cut through the zone before capitalizing on a feed from Wilson. Later, on the other side, Sanders dropped a Bobcat in the center of the arc before Mackenzie Regen grabbed the ground ball and cleared the defensive end with less than a minute remaining in the period.

Fighting until the very end, Culver dodged to her left, cut back hard, circled a defender, and laced her fifth goal of the half. With seconds still left on the clock, Leighty snagged the draw and fed ahead to Wilson, who slipped free behind the defense and found herself one-on-one with the keeper. Putting the perfect punctuation mark on the stanza, the senior jammed home the squad's 14th strike to take a 14-6 lead into the break.

Following halftime, the Captains picked up right where they left off. Less than a minute into the new period, Culver earned a free-position attempt. Uninterested in her angle, she pulled the ball back and fed to Julia Golden, who was playing deep behind the arc. With some space to work, she dished inside to Leighty, who smashed one from the doorstep. Minutes later, the visitors earned a running clock after Samantha Wettengel joined the fun with her first strike to push the lead to 16-6.

Still rolling, Leighty jump-started a jailbreak off of the ensuing draw. After grabbing control of the ball, the freshman found Sanders, who connected with Katie Orrison. Already a step behind the defense, the sophomore roped another goal to stretch the edge to 11.

Although the offense stole the show, the defense was equally strong. Looking to chip away at its deficit, FSU had a clean look at the cage in the 36th minute, but Ready snuffed out a pointblank attempt. Following the stop, Tess D'Arcy cruised up the field on a fast break before Wettengel added a tracer in transition to snatch an 18-6 lead.

Following a Bobcat strike, Orrison tormented the hosts. With 17 minutes left, she pounded the ball out of the stick of a Frostburg State defender, grabbed the bouncer, and punched in her second goal on a breakaway attempt. Shortly thereafter, she found a streaking Wettengel, who wiggled past three Bobcats to snap off her third goal of the half to take a 20-7 advantage.

With little left to prove, Madison Callan came through with the final two nails. First, she slipped free off a screen by Olivia Aumais before capitalizing on a pass by Anna Bowers to push the lead to 21-7. Later, she came back with the last strike off another pinpoint pass from Bowers to seal the lopsided victory.

Overall, Christopher Newport held a 33-23 advantage in shots and a 14-12 lead in ground balls. Regen finished with a team-high three rollers, while Bourgal, Ready, and King added two apiece. Ready also contributed 10 saves, marking her seventh straight double-digit effort. 

CNU will return to action on Wednesday evening when the squad hosts Randolph-Macon at 7:30 p.m.

---CNU---