BROOKLANDVILLE, Md. -- The 14th-ranked Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team will face a neutral-site test on Saturday at 2 p.m. when the Captains take on Ursinus at St. Paul's School in Brooklandville, Maryland.
CNU enters the weekend with a 3-1 record, including a 1-1 mark away from Newport News. Ursinus sits at 3-0 with a 2-0 mark on the road. Both teams have won three games in a row entering Saturday's tilt.
Suffocating on the defensive side of the ball, the Captains have held their last three opponents to fewer than 10 goals, including a 17-3 triumph against No. 12 Roanoke on Wednesday. CNU leads the Capital Athletic Conference with 66 caused turnovers, including a school-record 28 against the nationally-ranked Maroons. The squad has forced at least 15 turnovers in each of the last three contests.
On an individual level,
Phoenix Hines leads the CAC with 11 caused turnovers, while
Drew Cornell is tied for second with 10.
Will Cogan and
Max Wayne also sit in the top-10 with seven apiece. Just as effective between the pipes,
Scott McAneney stands atop the conference with a .663 save percentage. The junior has made at least 10 saves in each of his four appearances this year, including 18 stops against Roanoke.
Offensively, nine different Captains have at least two goals this year, including
Brady Altobello, who ranks fifth in the conference with 12 strikes.
Dylan Rice and
Lucas Barry have nine apiece as well. Meanwhile,
Jackson Deal and
Thomas Mark have also found the back of the net in each of the last two contests.
On the other side of the field, Ursinus has already knocked off a pair of nationally-ranked opponents this year with wins over Stevenson and Cortland. The Bears also took down fellow CAC member Mary Washington, 10-9, during a double-overtime thriller on February 23.
So far this season, Ursinus has been led by Peter DeSimone, who has 10 goals and eight assists. Bobby McClure has also struck 11 times and ranks second on the squad with 13 total points. Along with the offensive standouts, Aiden Baltz has won 50 percent of his faceoffs while collecting 13 ground balls. Between the pipes, Nick Kirk has a .542 save percentage and an 8.88 goals-against-average.
Saturday's game will mark the first meeting between Christopher Newport and Ursinus.
Following the weekend action, CNU will travel to Elizabethtown for a 2 p.m. contest on March 8.
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