HAVERFORD, Pa. -- Sarah Culver erupted for six strikes, while two other Captains contributed multi-goal efforts, but the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team came up short against Haverford, 21-14, during a non-conference tilt on Saturday afternoon at Swan Field.

During the contest, Culver led the team with seven points, including four tallies in the second half. Zoe Dyer and Cat Leighty also added two goals apiece, while seven Captains registered at least one point. On the defensive end, Kaitlyn Ready nabbed 11 saves and caused three turnovers, while Katie Orrison tormented the Fords on clear attempts. The junior helped break up four clears while collecting two caused turnovers and a pair of ground balls.

With the setback, Christopher Newport falls to 0-3 on the season. The victory bumps Haverford to 1-0.

After the hosts opened the scoring, Culver shot back. Just 30 seconds later, after the Captains methodically moved the ball around the zone, Culver took possession at the top. Bullying her way towards the crease, she was fouled and earned a free-position attempt. With a clean look from the arc, she quickly deposited an eight-meter strike to knot the score at one.

Looking to continue the rally, Julia Golden picked up back-to-back draws, but the Haverford defense hung tough. The Fords brushed aside two straight free-position shots, while Sam Wettengel had an on-target rip snuffed out to keep the Captains in check.

Unfortunately, on the other side, the hosts strung together six straight goals during a five minute-window to steal a 7-1 lead.

Refusing to go down quietly, Dyer snapped HC's streak. In the 10th minute, the freshman faced a double team at the top of the arc. With a wall in front of her, she spun backwards to gain a little wiggle room before bursting straight through the defenders on a run towards the crease. Without hesitation, she buried a rocket on the move for the squad's second goal.

Meanwhile, on the defensive side, Ready pieced together her finest run of the game. The junior goalie pushed a shot over the bar and intercepted a feed headed back towards the arc. Later, she snatched another shot and scooped up a loose ball to end two more rallies before stoning a runner from pointblank range in the 18th minute.

Finding its groove, the CNU attack started picking apart the Haverford defense. Wettengel kicked off the run with a free-position dart before Culver broke through a slew of defenders and capitalized while tumbling to the turf. Later, Orrison excelled on both sides of the field. She helped break up a pair of clear attempts, including one that led directly to a goal by Golden. Moments later, she also snapped off a strike of her own following a feed from Gracie Sanders.

Entering halftime down 12-6, the Captains came out of the break looking to inch closer. Taking advantage of some early contact, Culver converted back-to-back free-position attempts. Later, the senior star came back with her fifth goal after blowing past three defenders on the left side of the field. Sadly, despite those efforts, Haverford managed to score six of the next seven goals to snatch a 19-9 edge.

With just over 15 minutes remaining in regulation, Christopher Newport looked to put a positive punctuation mark on the contest. First, Dyer settled behind the crease before dishing over the top to Leighty, who pounded one home on the inside. Just over a minute later, after Culver collected the ensuing draw, she fired her sixth goal of the contest off a straight-forward free-position attempt to cut the deficit down to eight.

Continuing to push, Dyer secured a roller with just over 10 minutes remaining in the contest. Finding herself matched up one-on-one with a defender on the left side of the crease, she pushed forward, forced her way inside, and gained a step before snapping off her second goal. Meanwhile, on the other side, the CNU defense continued to battle. Slowing down the high-powered opposition, Taylor Walker put together a great run along the crease to prevent a pointblank shot. Later, Kendall Krause swallowed up a pair of cutters to stop attempts along the interior.

Shortly thereafter, with less than four minutes remaining, Krause caused a turnover that jump-started a fast-break, which Leighty capitalized on. Two minutes later, Leighty flashed her passing skills as well after finding Sanders cutting towards the cage for the squad's 14th and final goal.

With time winding down, Orrison continued tormenting the Fords on clear attempts. She scooped up a ground ball and forced a pair of turnovers to close off two late runs by Haverford, which kept the hosts from extending their lead any further.

Overall, Haverford out-shot CNU, 47-29, and held a 28-17 lead in ground balls. On draws, the Fords won 19 of the 36 battles. Culver led CNU with six draw controls, while Golden had five.

Christopher Newport will return to action on Wednesday at 4 p.m. when the Captains host Virginia Wesleyan.

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