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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Julia Golden registered her third hat-trick of the season, while
Sam Wettengel pieced together a solid performance on the defensive end, but the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team dropped a 21-8 decision to No. 8 York (Pa.) during a Capital Athletic Conference showdown on a breezy Saturday afternoon at Captains Field.
Golden converted on three of her four shots during the game, including a pair of first-half tallies. She also controlled two draws and forced a turnover. Meanwhile, Wettengel matched her career-high with five caused turnovers against the Spartans. Incredibly, it marked the second time in nine days that she reached that number after forcing five miscues during a win over Messiah on March 21.
Her five caused turnovers also equaled the eighth-highest single-game total in program history. With that performance, Wettengel joined Sally Allstadt as the only Captains to force at least five turnovers twice in one season. Allstadt accomplished the feat against Marymount and Methodist during the 2006 campaign.
Along with Golden and Wettengel,
Sarah Culver scored twice for CNU, while
Zoe Dyer added two points and collected a pair of draw controls. Between the pipes,
Kaitlyn Ready made 10 saves and corralled seven ground balls. Her seven rollers established a new career-high and tied the ninth-highest total in CNU history.
With the setback, Christopher Newport falls to 6-6 overall and 0-1 in conference action. The victory bumps York (Pa.) to 6-4 with a 1-0 mark against league foes.
In the early going, the Spartans tossed the first two goals on the board before CNU struck with a little razzle-dazzle on the offensive end. In the eighth minute of action,
Cat Leighty controlled the ball behind the cage. Moving up along the right side, she flipped the ball behind her back to Dyer, who trailed a few steps behind. With one defender left to beat, the freshman shook her mark before depositing on the interior.
Moments later, after a great defensive ride by the midfield unit, Golden disrupted a pass near the crease before Ready snatched the ground ball. Capitalizing on her own defensive hustle, Golden took advantage on the other end after snagging a pass from Dyer before firing a dagger on the run to even the score at two.
Unfortunately, York retaliated. Firing right back, the visitors strung together six straight goals to grab an 8-2 lead with 11 minutes left in the opening half.
Staring at a six-goal deficit, the Captains tried to claw back into the contest. Golden converted an eight-meter attempt for her second strike of the contest before Culver came back with her first blow a few minutes later. After taking possession at the top of the zone, the senior pushed hard to her right and split a pair of defenders along the post with a missile to cut into the deficit.
Sadly, the Spartans were unfazed. Continuing to push back against the Captains, York (Pa.) closed out the first half with a 14-4 advantage.
Continuing their run in the second stanza, the visitors tossed four more goals on the board to stretch their lead to 18-4 with 18 minutes remaining in regulation. Still fighting, Wettengel ended YCP's next rally after stealing the ball back during a scrum on the far side of the field. After a quick clear,
Anna Bowers slipped a ball to Golden, who completed her hat-trick with a rocket on the run.
Still pushing on the offensive end,
Gracie Sanders took possession behind the crease, rolled around the back side of the cage, and cut underneath a defender on the left side. With a little room to work, she shrugged off a tough hit and snapped off a tally while tumbling to the ground for the squad's sixth goal.
After York was hit with a penalty following Sanders' strike, Wettengel made them pay after snatching a feed from
Katie Orrison before firing on the interior.
Later, with less than five minutes on the clock, Culver capped off the offensive highlights. After Wettengel hopped on another miscue by the Spartans, Culver took advantage. Similar to her first goal, the senior cut hard to her right and found an opening again with a defender on her hip to close out CNU's scoring.
During the contest, York held a 34-21 advantage in shots and a 21-17 lead in ground balls. Along with Ready's seven rollers, Sanders collected four and Wettengel picked up three. The Spartans also controlled 22 of the game's 30 draws. Golden and Dyer both had two for the Captains, while
Victoria Betterly had one to go along with a pair of caused turnovers.
Kendall Krause also controlled a draw and collected a ground ball during the contest.
CNU will return to action on Tuesday when the squad travels to Southern Virginia for a 4 p.m. battle.
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