NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Grinding out the squad's sixth straight victory, the 20th-ranked Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team capitalized on a strong defensive performance and a pair of hat-tricks by Drew Magnusson and Matthew Crist to outlast Elizabethtown, 8-7, on a chilly Friday evening at Captains Turf Field.
 
Magnusson scored all three of CNU's goals in the first half before Crist took over after the break. The senior carved up the Blue Jays with three tallies, including the final two goals of the contest, to seal the victory. Shane McKenna and Jackson Deal also contributed two assists apiece to help balance out the timely attack.
 
On the other side, Drew Cornell and Josh Puterbaugh both forced three turnovers for the Captains, while Deal caused a pair. Jake O'Connell also contributed a game-high seven ground balls, and Scott McAneney made five crucial saves to earn the victory.
 
With the win, CNU improves to 6-0 on the season and increases its home winning streak to 14 straight games dating back to 2016. Meanwhile, the setback drops Elizabethtown to 3-1 on the year.
 
In the first half, Magnusson played a starring role. The fourth-year standout had no trouble with the vaunted ETown defense. After the visitors jumped out to a fast 2-0 lead, Magnusson retaliated late in the first quarter. Rolling over top of the defense, he settled on the near side and blasted the back of the net to cut the squad's deficit in half.
 
In the second stanza, after the Blue Jays regained a two-goal edge, Magnusson responded again. After the ball was jostled loose, Deal scrambled over and secured it. With an unsettled situation, he flipped across the field to McKenna, who quickly dished to Magnusson. Looking at a clean seam, he ripped his second strike to pull back within one at 3-2.
 
Continuing to trade blows, Elizabethtown struck again before CNU capitalized on more hustle. Once again, the ball found its way to the turf in the offensive zone, but Lucas Barry battled through a pile of humanity scattered across the field to secure the roller. After grabbing possession near the top of the zone, Magnusson took a hit but still buried his third goal to cut the visitors' deficit down to 4-3.
 
Although Elizabethtown came back with a last-minute goal in the first half, Christopher Newport found its rhythm early in the third quarter. Crist kicked things off with a fantastic run. He circled the entire field, rolled back around a defender, and wiggled free before pumping his first goal of the game to inch within one at 5-4.
 
Needing a defensive stand, the Captains stepped up with a nice stretch in the middle of the period. Following a timeout, Magnusson drilled the ball out of an attacker's stick before Puterbaugh grabbed the bouncer. Moments later, on a clear attempt by the Blue Jays, Jordan Lee and Max Wayne bullied a midfielder along the sideline before Spencer Shipman came storming in and laid the boom with a bruising hit to dislodge the ball and regain possession.
 
Following the defensive stand, the offense took advantage. Deal skipped a pass back to Griffin Hanes, who burst into open spaces before sniping on the run to knot the game at five.
 
Despite a late goal by Elizabethtown at the end of the third quarter, CNU responded early in the fourth. After a penalty on the visitors, McKenna found Dylan Rice, who tucked a man-up goal just inside the top corner of the cage to even things again at 6-6.
 
Following another ETown goal, the Christopher Newport defense dug in. Conor James badgered an attacker around the crease before a shot ricocheted off the post. Grabbing the rebound, O'Connell went coast-to-coast to clear the zone. Later, Cornell stripped another Blue Jay before Christopher Albright secured the ball to keep the visitors on their heels.
 
Still trailing by one, the attack went to work. With seven minutes remaining, the Captains unleashed a rapid-fire assault. Although the squad's first three attempts sailed high, Hanes took control behind the cage. Settling things down, he dished over to Crist, who curled around the far pipe and wrapped his second goal just inside the post to knot the score at seven.
 
Less than two minutes later, after another Elizabethtown penalty, the man-up unit struck again. With possession at the top of the zone, Deal used pinpoint precision to find Crist along the near pipe. After securing the pass, the senior used a quick pump fake before pounding home another pointblank dart, which gave CNU its first lead at 8-7.
 
Holding an advantage, the defense came through in the waning moments of regulation. McAneney made the save of the game with one minute left as he stoned an absolute rocket before pouncing on the rebound before it trickled across the goal line. Later, Miles Collins took possession and put on a show. Torching the Blue Jays, he split a pair of double-teams and ran circles around a slew of defenders along the far sideline to help cut off the final few seconds of the game.
 
Overall, CNU held a 38-20 advantage in shots and a 31-20 lead in ground balls. Tony Cruz also won 10 of the game's 18 faceoffs and collected six rollers.
 
Christopher Newport will return to action on Wednesday when the squad hosts Illinois Wesleyan at 4 p.m.
 
---CNU---