ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. -- The 15th-ranked Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team will look to bounce back from its first loss of the season as the Captains head to St. Mary's (Md.) for a Capital Athletic Conference showdown beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Seahawk Stadium.
After the squad's nine-game winning streak was snapped on Wednesday, CNU now stands at 9-1 overall and 2-0 in league action. St. Mary's (Md.) is 3-7 with an 0-1 mark in CAC play.
For those fans unable to attend the game, live stats and a video stream of the action will be available at SMCMathletics.com. Direct links to both features can be found at the top of this release and on the CNU schedule page.
Riding a program-record nine-game winning streak, the Captains stumbled at No. 18 Roanoke on Wednesday. CNU held a two-goal lead early in the third quarter, but the Maroons stormed back and scored four straight tallies before wrapping up a 9-8 triumph. Despite the setback,
Matthew Crist posted six points during the game, including the 186th of his career. That established a new program record.
Along with Crist's historic efforts,
Tony Cruz starred on faceoffs against Roanoke while winning 16 of his 19 battles to go along with nine ground balls.
Drew Cornell and
Christopher Albright also collected four ground balls apiece, while
Dylan Rice added three points, including two goals.
Overall this season, Rice currently leads the CAC with 30 goals, while Crist is second with 28 strikes. The two standouts also sit in the top-five in total points, while
Jackson Deal is fourth with 18 assists. Defensively, freshman
Max Wayne is fifth in the league with 18 caused turnovers. Cornell and
Will Cogan are also tied for 10th in the conference with 13 caused turnovers apiece.
On the other side, St. Mary's (Md.) enters the weekend on a three-game skid. On Wednesday, the Seahawks dropped a 10-5 decision against Eastern. After the Eagles stormed out to an 8-1 lead, SMC made a late push, including a pair of goals in the fourth quarter, but the comeback bid eventually fell short. Ray LaPlaca led St. Mary's with four points, including three goals against Eastern.
So far this season, LaPlaca has a team-high 26 points, and Max Groen has 23. On faceoffs, Michael Bucci and Luke McWright have split time while combining for a .407 winning percentage. Between the pipes, Ross Snodderly has started all 10 games and compiled a .481 save percentage and a 10.07 goals-against-average.
In nine previous meetings between the two programs, St. Mary's holds a 6-3 advantage. However, CNU won last year's game, 15-11, behind a nine-point explosion by Crist.
Following the weekend tilt, Christopher Newport will return home on Wednesday at 7 p.m. for a bout with No. 11 Salisbury.
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