Live Stats // Video Stream
SALISBURY, Md. -- The 16th-ranked Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team will continue its postseason run on Tuesday at 6 p.m. when the Captains travel to No. 7 Salisbury for the Capital Athletic Conference semifinals at Sea Gull Stadium.
Entering the contest, CNU boasts a 14-3 record, including a 6-1 mark away from Newport News. On the other side, Salisbury has an identical 14-3 ledger while compiling a pristine 11-0 record at home this season. Overall, the Sea Gulls have the nation's longest home winning streak, capturing 29 straight games dating back to 2016.
For those fans unable to attend the game, live stats and a video stream of the action will be available at SUSeaGulls.com. Direct links to both features can be found at the top of this release and on the CNU schedule page.
The third-seeded Captains punched their ticket to the semifinals after topping sixth-seeded Mary Washington, 14-7, on Saturday. During the game,
Dylan Rice led the way with six points and five goals, while
Drew Magnusson also contributed a hat-trick.
Tony Cruz starred on faceoffs as well, winning 18 of his 23 battles. Guided by that performance, the senior standout established a new single-season program record for faceoff victories with 215.
On the cusp of history,
Matthew Crist enters Tuesday tied with former teammate
Will Geise for the program's career goals record with 121. He is also two assists shy of 100 for his career and four points away from matching Geise's single-season standard of 77 set last year.
Entering the midweek battle, Crist ranks second in the conference with 73 points and fourth with 42 goals and 31 assists. Rice also sits as the league-leader with 48 goals, while Cruz boasts a conference-best .653 faceoff percentage. Defensively,
Max Wayne is seventh in the league with 26 caused turnovers, and
Scott McAneney is third with a 7.85 goals-against-average.
Salisbury earned its spot in the semifinals after securing a first-round bye. The Sea Gulls have won eight straight contests, including a 17-4 win over St. Mary's (Md.) in the regular season finale on April 24. Entering the postseason, SU ranks third in the nation with a .910 clearing percentage and fourth with 659 ground balls. Equally successful on both sides of the ball, the squad boasts the nation's 20th-ranked scoring offense (14.59 goals-per-game) while also standing 20th in the country in caused turnovers per contest (11.35).
On an individual level, Corey Gwin leads Salisbury and ranks in the top-10 in the conference with 41 goals and 56 points this season. Defensively, Kyle Tucker ranks third in the conference with 33 caused turnovers and sixth with 69 ground balls. Meanwhile, T.J. Logue has won 137 of his 233 faceoff attempts, and Brandon Warren has a league-best .551 save percentage.
In their last meeting, the Sea Gulls upended the Captains, 6-5, in Newport News. Tied at four with 11 minutes remaining in regulation, SU struck twice before Crist added the game's final tally with 73 seconds left in the contest. Crist finished with a hat-trick for CNU, while Griffin Moroney contributed a pair of strikes for SU.
Overall, Salisbury holds a 4-1 edge in the all-time series.
The winner of Tuesday's contest will advance to the CAC Championship, which will be held on Saturday. In the other semifinal game, top-seeded York (Pa.) hosts No. 4 seed Frostburg State. The highest remaining seeded team in the playoffs will host the title bout.
---CNU---
