NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Dylan Rice notched a hat-trick, including his 100th career goal, as the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team closed out the regular season with a 14-6 victory over St. Mary's (Md.) during a Capital Athletic Conference battle on a sunny Wednesday evening at Captains Field.

Making history against the Seahawks, Rice became the fastest Captain to reach 100 career goals. The sophomore accomplished the feat in just his 37th career outing, beating former teammate Matt Crist by 16 games. Overall, he is just the fourth player in program history to reach that milestone, joining Crist, Will Geise, and Randy Foster.

Along with Rice's historic performance, 10 other Captains also notched a point during the contest. Glenn Doering led the way with four points, including a pair of goals, while Brady Altobello also struck twice. On the defensive side, Scott McAneney notched 16 saves and was one of four players that forced two turnovers. Campbell Pozin also caused two miscues, secured three ground balls, and scored a goal.

With the victory, Christopher Newport closes out the regular season with an 11-6 record, including a 4-2 mark in conference action. The Captains guaranteed themselves a top-four seed and a home game in the upcoming CAC Tournament, which will begin with first-round action on April 27.

The setback drops St. Mary's (Md.) to 9-6 overall and 2-2 against league foes.

Kicking things off, CNU opened up a quick 4-0 lead. Lighting up the scoreboard first, Doering broke the ankles of his defender with a great cutback near the right pipe before striking from close range. Six minutes later, after McAneney brushed aside a pair of rallies by the Seahawks, Rice made history. After securing a feed from Jackson Deal, the sophomore used a quick dodge to shake his on-ball defender before bursting inside for his 100th career strike.

Continuing to shine, Rice added a submarine shot just inside the left pipe to nail down a 3-0 lead before Deal made his presence felt again. First, on the defensive side, the second-year star absolutely lit up a midfielder with a punishing hit to gain possession following a faceoff victory by the Seahawks. Just over a minute later, he flashed his offensive chops as well after curling around the right pipe before capitalizing on a bounce shot to grab the 4-0 lead.

Although the visitors retaliated and cut their lead in half before the first quarter expired, Christopher Newport went right back to work in the second period. Doering continued to torment the defense as the junior spun past one Seahawk before dodging a second on the way to a long-range rocket. Later, Thomas Mark and Will Stockhausen also connected from deep, while Altobello came through with his first goal to help snatch an 8-2 lead with seven minutes remaining in the first half.

After St. Mary's responded with a man-up goal, Miles Collins put the finishing touches on the first 30 minutes. Showing off the squad's full-field transition, McAneney connected with Phoenix Hines near midfield. Carving a path towards the crease, Collins eventually took a flip from Hines before landing an acrobatic dagger while shrugging off a hit from behind to close out the 9-3 lead.

Following the break, the offense continued its assault. Rice landed his third blow just beneath the crossbar less than three minutes into the third. Minutes later, McAneney snared a low liner before jump-starting another quick attack. This time, Collins made another run towards the cage but dished back to Lucas Barry, who slipped in his first goal along the right post. 

Later, with five minutes remaining in the third, Pozin took the top off the defense as he rolled around several Seahawks before finding a seam for Christopher Newport's 12th goal.

Although St. Mary's added two late goals at the tail end of the period to inch within six at 12-6, CNU flashed its muscle early in the fourth. First, Pozin won a brutal battle for the opening faceoff and bounced off several midfielders to keep possession. Later, the man-down defense withstood a pair of penalties, highlighted by a crushing blow by Aidan FitzGerald that forced an errant shot by the visitors.

Still doing work on the defensive end, Tristan Peschka picked the pocket of an attacker to end a threat before Tyler Lamb stole the ball back again with a great grab as the shot clock expired on the Seahawks. Andrew Clark also added an impressive pointblank save on a laser by the visitors in the final few minutes.

With little left to prove, the CNU attack hammered home two late goals. Spencer Shipman capitalized on a shot from the left side of the field before Altobello clanked a bullet off the pipe and into the back of the net to wrap up the 14-6 triumph.

Christopher Newport held a 34-28 lead in ground balls, including four rollers by Rice. Meanwhile, St. Mary's had a 43-39 edge in shots and won 16 of the game's 23 faceoffs. Hines posted four of CNU's faceoff victories, while Griffin Hanes went 2-for-3.



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