NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Katie Orrison collected a career-high five points, while Catherine Leighty also registered a hat-trick as the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team rolled past Wesley, 18-4, during a Capital Athletic Conference showdown on a sun-soaked Saturday afternoon at Captains Turf Field.
                                                            
Leading a well-balanced attack, Orrison tallied three goals and two assists. Meanwhile, Leighty contributed her sixth hat-trick of the season, and Colleen Bourgal chipped in with four points. Overall, 12 different players recorded a point and 10 Captains contributed at least two during the regular season finale.
 
With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 9-8 on the season, including 5-3 in league action. The win also guarantees the Captains will host a first-round game in the CAC Tournament next Saturday. The squad will enter the postseason as the No. 4 seed.
 
On the other side of the field, the setback drops Wesley to 6-9 overall and 1-7 in CAC play.
 
From the very beginning, the Captains pushed the pace and rolled out to a commanding lead. Sarah Culver bookended the opening surge with a pair of strikes, including a rocket on the run after corralling the game's fourth draw. In between Culver's tallies, Leighty and Caitlin King chipped in with darts of their own on the way to a 4-0 lead just four minutes into the contest.
 
After Kaitlyn Ready plucked Wesley's first shot out of the air, the CNU attack went right back to work. Kicking off the onslaught, Culver picked the pocket of a Wolverine midfielder to force a turnover and generate a jailbreak going the other way. Taking advantage, Carly Wilson connected with Bourgal, who carved up the defense for her first goal on the way to a 5-0 lead.
 
Remaining vigilant on the defensive end, Julia Golden forced two straight turnovers, while Ready contributed three saves during a four-minute window to keep the Wolverines off the scoreboard. Meanwhile, Orrison began to find her rhythm. The sophomore landed her first goal of the game in the 19th minute before Wesley whistled for a timeout. Immediately after the break, Orrison continued to torment the opposition with a beautiful assist on a laser by Golden to push the lead to 8-0.
 
Although Wesley finally found an opening two minutes later, the Captains regrouped and unloaded while putting the perfect punctuation mark on the first half. Leighty burned a defender on the far side of the field on the way to her second goal before Bourgal helped set-up back-to-back strikes. First, the senior connected with a cutting Orrison for the squad's 10th goal before using a shifty shake to free up some space, which helped Olivia Aumais slip free on the way to an 11-1 edge.
 
Already holding a 10-goal lead, Christopher Newport turned back to Orrison, who completed her hat-trick. With a minute remaining, Anna Bowers slipped a lengthy pinpoint pass over the Wesley defense, and Orrison did the rest to close out an electric first half with her third tally, which gave CNU a 12-1 lead.
 
In the second half, CNU continued to impose its will on the Wolverines. Less than a minute into the new period, Tess D'Arcy used a little shimmy to clear a defender before snapping off a goal. Later, Aumais slipped through two defenders on the far side of the field before adding her second tally on a pointblank bullet to push the lead to 14-2.
 
Although the Captains were hit with a pair of yellow cards in the middle of the second half, the squad remained relentless on both sides of the field. Playing shorthanded, Wilson ran right through a Wesley midfielder to force a turnover along the sideline before coming back with a sweet assist on a man-down dart by Savannah Callan. Four minutes later, Aumais and Golden connected on another shorthanded strike to stretch the lead to 16-2.
 
Remaining hot on the offensive side, Madison Callan ducked inside the right shoulder of a defender at the top of the zone before finding Bourgal, who ripped a rocket from the interior. Minutes later, Orrison dished to Wilson, who drove home the final nail with minutes remaining in regulation.
 
Although CNU held an imposing 18-4 lead, the players never stopped hustling. With just over a minute remaining in regulation, Gracie Sanders bolted over to the sideline to save an errant pass from slipping out of bounds. Later, on the defensive side, Hannah Curry blanketed a pair of Wolverines, Corbyn Hale prevented a rollback attempt, and Jessica Ross came through with a late save to lock up the 14-goal victory.
 
Overall, Christopher Newport held a 37-11 advantage in shots and a 24-16 lead in ground balls. The hosts also controlled 17 of the game's 24 draws, including seven by Golden and three by Culver. Wilson also contributed four ground balls and four caused turnovers to go along with her three points, while Golden and Mackenzie Regen each forced a pair of miscues as well.
 
---CNU---