NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Continuing its record-setting campaign, the 16th-ranked Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team established a new program standard with its 14th victory of the year as CNU cruised past Mary Washington, 14-7, during the first round of the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament on a sweltering Saturday afternoon at Captains Turf Field.
 
Helping lead the Captains to their record-setting victory, Dylan Rice erupted for six points, including five goals. Drew Magnusson also contributed a hat-trick, while Will Stockhausen dished out a team-high three assists. Matthew Crist also drained the 121st goal of his career, matching former teammate Will Geise for the all-time program record.
 
Also making individual history on Saturday, Tony Cruz continued his domination by winning 18 of his 23 faceoff attempts. The senior star now has 215 faceoff victories this year, topping his own single-season standard of 208 set in 2016.
 
With the win, Christopher Newport improves to 14-3 and earns a trip to the CAC semifinals for a date at No. 7 Salisbury on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Meanwhile, the setback drops Mary Washington to 7-10 on the year.
 
Setting the tone early, the Captains made sure the Eagles knew what they were in for right out of the gate. Less than four minutes into the game, Miles Collins absolutely buried an attacker with a bruising hit, driving him into the turf before collecting the loose ball. Although UMW was eventually able to regain possession and toss the game's first goal on the board, the CNU attack quickly found its rhythm.
 
Over the final seven minutes of the first quarter, the Captains struck three times. Fittingly, Crist was at the forefront of the assault. After Mary Washington was hit with a penalty, Crist took possession in the center of the defense before connecting with Lucas Barry, who snatched the feed and drilled a bullet inside the right pipe. Minutes later, Crist stripped an Eagle defender on a failed clear attempt before Shane McKenna capitalized with a screamer to grab a 2-1 lead.
 
Still threatening with just over a minute remaining in the first period, Griffin Hanes burned a midfielder with a shake and a sprint up the near sideline to get the ball into the offensive zone. After Barry took possession, he fed inside to Rice, who blistered a dart from the doorstep to snatch a 3-1 edge.
 
In the second quarter, the Captains continued to stretch their lead after earning another man-up opportunity. Jackson Deal slipped a pass inside to McKenna, who showed great hands to grab the feed before landing a quick flip in the back of the net for the squad's fourth goal.
 
Although the Eagles clawed back into the game with two late tallies at the end of the second period, Christopher Newport regrouped at halftime. With a fresh 15 minutes on the clock, CNU erupted in the third quarter.
 
Kicking things off, Magnusson used a lengthy skip pass to find Rice, who snuck a shot inside the far post. Moments later, after Scott McAneney made a tough save on a UMW shot, the sophomore goalie fed up the field to Spencer Shipman. After completing a quick clear, he dished to Barry, who punched one home along the near pipe.
 
Capping off the breakneck assault, Stockhausen flipped to Magnusson, who blasted a shot from long range to push the lead to 7-3.
 
While the CNU attack was stretching the lead, the Captains hustled all across the field to keep the Eagles at bay. Shipman saved an errant pass from slipping out of bounds after shoveling a no-look pass back into play to keep possession during a long offensive stand. Magnusson also intercepted a low liner in the middle of the period to close down a UMW rally before McAneney made another terrific save and Phoenix Hines burst through a double team to clear the defensive zone.
 
Continuing the solid work on the defensive end, McAneney pushed a high bullet over the crossbar to thwart another surge, while Max Wayne de-sticked an attacker and flipped the field with five minutes remaining in the period.
 
Looking to cap off the third with one final strike, the Captains completed another quick clear before Rice found Magnusson, who drove a rope right through Mary Washington's defense to grab an 8-4 edge entering the final quarter.
 
Retaliating in the fourth, Mary Washington tossed a pair of goals on the board to pull back within two, but CNU had an emphatic response. Kicking things off, Crist came through with a highlight-reel assist. Sprinting away from the cage with his back to the crease, he somehow sensed Rice was cutting around the far pipe and flipped a near no-look pass to the freshman, who capitalized on the doorstep.
 
Remaining hot, Rice added another dart off a feed from Stockhausen before Deal threaded a pass to Magnusson, who pushed the lead to 11-7 midway through the quarter.
 
Shortly thereafter, McAneney walled off the net with another save before launching a pass to midfield for Jake O'Connell. Taking control, the senior bolted up the field and caught the defense on its heels. In transition, he found Crist, who snapped off a close-range rocket for his 121st career tally.
 
Never relenting, the CNU attack continued poking at the Mary Washington defense. With seven minutes left, Rice laced another man-up tally. Moments later, Glenn Doering nearly circled the entire field before finding an opening and slipping inside on the way to the squad's final strike.
 
Leading 14-7 with five minutes remaining, the defense took control and closed out the win. Playing two men down after back-to-back penalties, the Captains refused to break. Hines and Will Cogan both deflected shots to keep the Eagles quiet before McAneney made one final save and pounced on the loose ball to kill off both penalties and ease into the victory.
 
McAneney eventually finished the contest with 12 saves, while Wayne forced two turnovers and collected three ground balls. Overall, CNU out-shot Mary Washington, 46-30, and held a 34-20 edge in ground balls. Along with Cruz's six rollers, Crist secured five, while Hines picked up four. Wayne, McAneney, and Conor James all added three apiece as well.
 
---CNU---