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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Sarah Culver registered her 200th career goal, while Kaitlyn Ready was equally historic on the defensive end as the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team stormed past Frostburg State, 21-8, during a Capital Athletic Conference battle on a soaked Saturday afternoon at Captains Field.

During the contest, Culver registered a game-high five goals. Her third strike on Saturday marked the 200th of her decorated career. With that performance, she joined former CNU legends Ashton Marshall and Kaitlin Quigley as the only Captains to reach the 200-goal plateau.

In addition to solidifying her spot among the elite scorers in CNU lore, Culver also became just the seventh player in CAC history to reach that milestone. She is also the first conference standout to notch 200 career goals since former York great Kim Wayson accomplished the feat on March 23, 2013. Incidentally, during the last game in which a league member reached 200 career goals, Wayson started alongside fellow York All-American and current Captains assistant coach Katie Vautier in a battle against St. Mary's (Md.), which was led at the time by current CNU head coach Lisa Valentine.

Along with Culver's historic showcase, Ready also made three saves in the game, including the 500th stop of her career. With that performance, the junior standout founded her own club, becoming the first Captain to reach that milestone.

Meanwhile, Christopher Newport also received fitting contributions from its fourth-year members. After participating in the program's annual Senior Day ceremony before the contest, Anna Bowers, Julia Golden, and Sasha Towne joined Culver with electric efforts during the game. Golden finished with six points, seven draw controls, and three caused turnovers. Bowers and Towne also contributed three points apiece during a spectacular showcase by the senior class.

With the win, CNU improves to 8-8 on the season, including 2-3 in league action. The setback drops Frostburg State to 3-11 overall and 0-3 against conference foes.

From the outset, the Captains tormented the FSU defense. Fittingly, it was the seniors who led the early onslaught. Bowers flashed her passing skills with a pair of quick assists on strikes by Towne and Culver. Meanwhile, Culver had her sights set on history. With two goals already in her pocket, including a free-position dart from the top hash, the senior added her 200th less than five minutes into the contest.

Although the Bobcats wiped away an eight-meter attempt by the Captains, Golden pounced on the ensuing clear attempt. The senior picked off a pass and jump-started a breakaway with an outlet to Culver. After collecting the feed in-stride, the senior bolted straight towards the crease and buried her third goal of the game - and the 200th of her career - to snatch a fast 4-0 lead.

Continuing the early barrage, Bowers picked up her first goal after making a great cut right in front of the crease before Sam Wettengel eliminated another clear attempt by the visitors before storming in for the squad's sixth goal.

After Frostburg State collected its first tally of the game, Christopher Newport quickly retaliated. First, the Captains found themselves in a mad scramble with the shot clock ticking down. After collecting the ball along the end line with only a few ticks left, Cat Leighty launched a heave over the crease to Golden, who caught and fired just before the horn sounded. Less than two minutes later, Katie Orrison set-up Wettengel's second dart to push the lead to 8-1.

Despite a free-position goal by Olivia Aumais in the 12th minute, Frostburg State began to find its rhythm. The Bobcats scored three goals in less than three minutes to cut their deficit down to 9-4 midway through the opening stanza.

Refusing to lose the momentum, CNU stepped up on both sides of the ball. First, on the defensive end, Ready made a sensational stop on a breakaway attempt after an attacker slipped free following a turnover. Later, Victoria Betterly slammed the door on two rallies by the Bobcats, while Joely Stevens blanketed an opponent on the end line and badgered her with relentless pressure before forcing another miscue by FSU.

After brushing aside Frostburg State's retaliatory efforts, Christopher Newport went back to work on the offensive side. With 13 minutes remaining in the period, Culver secured a pass in the middle of a cluttered zone on the right side of the field. Facing a wall of defenders, the senior wiggled free and nearly broke the ankles of FSU's entire back line before depositing her fourth goal of the game. Later, Golden added three straight daggers before Leighty cut around the right pipe and snapped off a pointblank pellet to snare a double-digit lead at 14-4.

Still motoring along in the final minutes of the first half, Golden came back with her most impressive play of the game. Although she stuffed the stat sheet throughout the contest, her finest highlight came without any statistical celebration. After a pass hit the ground in front of the crease, the Bobcats attempted to regain possession. Refusing to let the ball change hands, Golden scooted in, corralled the hopper, and escaped through the defense while showing exceptional hand-eye coordination. After gaining some breathing room, she dished the ball off to Culver, who connected with Kendall Krause on the squad's 15th goal.

Less than a minute later, after Krause cut off a rally by the Bobcats, Zoe Dyer assisted on Culver's fifth and final goal to grab a 16-4 lead entering the break.

After halftime, the Captains slowly closed in on the victory. Towne came through with an early free-position goal, while Lizzie Burgoyne brushed aside an eight-meter attempt by the visitors. Later, with everything going well for CNU, Golden tossed a high-arcing pass into the zone with the shot clock running down. On the other end, Aumais batted it past the Frostburg State keeper to lock up an 18-5 lead.

With little left to prove, Christopher Newport closed out the game with three final goals. Betterly came up with two of the tallies, including the last nail after Towne hit her on the move with a pinpoint pass. Taylor Walker also converted a shot from the eight-meter arc to help seal the 21-8 victory.

Overall, CNU out-shot Frostburg State, 35-15, and held a 21-14 lead in ground balls. Wettengel covered the field as the junior secured seven ground balls and caused five turnovers. Her five turnovers equaled the eighth-highest single-game total in program history, while her seven rollers matched the ninth-best performance by a Captain. Christopher Newport also controlled 19 of the game's 31 draws, including seven by Golden and five by Betterly.

In addition to the standouts on the field, special recognition needs to be paid to the grounds crew that made sure the playing surface was ready for the contest. After a deluge left the grass field covered in lakes less than an hour before the game was to start, a crew of hard-working students and staff, led by administrators Danny Garay and Carrie Gardner, kept the field playable. Thank you to Diana Eshun, Sarah Hobbs, John Kearse, Kyle McCoy, and Nathan White as well as the CNU coaching staff and assistant strength & conditioning coach Jesse Strawser for their efforts.

The Captains will return to action on Wednesday when the squad wraps up regular season action at St. Mary's (Md.). Game time is slated for 4 p.m.

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