NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Making sure the veterans had a proper Senior Day celebration, the 18th-ranked Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team jumped out to a six-goal halftime lead and brushed aside a late comeback bid by the visitors as CNU upended Mary Washington, 15-11, during a Capital Athletic Conference battle on a soggy Saturday afternoon at Captains Field.
 
Playing in front of a nice-sized crowd, which included the CNU pep band, Dylan Rice electrified the onlookers with four goals in the first quarter. Jackson Deal also contributed five points during the game, including an impressive 50-yard bullet in the second stanza.
 
Meanwhile, several seniors also stepped up following their pregame celebration. Lucas Barry contributed four points, including his 67th career goal. That bumped him to 10th on the program's all-time scoring charts. On the other side, Drew Cornell tied the career record with his 68th appearance, matching the school standard established by Christopher Albright and Tony Cruz.
 
Making the most of his time on the field, Cornell finished with three caused turnovers and five ground balls. Fellow senior Will Cogan also forced a pair of miscues, while Phoenix Hines contributed five caused turnovers and six ground balls. Scott McAneney starred behind the pipes as well. The junior matched his career-high with 19 saves, which also equaled the third-highest single-game total in school history.
 
With the victory, CNU improves to 9-5 on the season, including 2-1 against conference foes. The setback drops Mary Washington to 6-7 overall and 0-2 in league action.
                                                                        
Although the Eagles opened the scoring less than a minute into the game, Christopher Newport retaliated with a rapid-fire assault. Showcasing their speed, the Captains hit the visitors with a quick transition goal to even the score after Miles Collins found Barry along the right pipe. Seconds later, Barry came back for more.
 
After Mary Washington won the ensuing faceoff, the visitors tossed the ball back to their goalie in order to avoid mounting pressure near midfield. With no safe space anywhere on the field, Barry absolutely badgered the keeper with nonstop attention. Eventually, the senior stripped the ball and dished to a hard-charging Rice, who sunk a shot into the open net.
 
Later, after Campbell Pozin beat a defender to the right pipe for his first goal, CNU capitalized on some more pressure in the ninth minute. Once again, Barry was at the center of the scrum as he and Deal blanketed a defender and forced another turnover. This time, Deal grabbed the ball and flipped it across to Rice, who added another quick dagger to steal a 4-1 lead.
 
Continuing his epic first quarter, Rice came back with two more darts in the final minutes of the opening stanza to grab a 6-2 advantage.
 
Keeping the momentum in the second quarter, Will Stockhausen put on a clinic. The second-year star used a fake pump to loosen up the goalie before dropping a low liner for his first goal of the game. Moments later, he faced one-on-one pressure at the top of the zone. After Stockhausen spun past his initial mark, Mary Washington sent some help, but the sophomore simply dodged the second wave as well before depositing another dagger on the interior.
 
With that showcase, Stockhausen collected a point in his 20th straight game dating back to last season. That run equals the program record initially set by Adam Abbate from April 13, 2013 through April 23, 2014. Later, John Thompson matched that stretch with his own 20-game roll from March 26, 2014 through April 4, 2015.
 
Holding an 8-2 edge, the Captains continued to extend their lead. First, on a man-down clear attempt, Pozin took possession. In a foot race, the freshman speedster simply burned the defense and tattooed the back of the net for his second goal of the game.
 
Keeping the pressure on, Deal added back-to-back goals, including an impressive effort with six minutes remaining in the period. Anchored near midfield, the sophomore prevented a clear attempt after elevating to steal a pass. With the goalie out-of-position, he simply landed and fired a 50-yard seed, which handed the hosts an 11-4 lead.
 
Pushing back, Mary Washington retaliated with two straight tallies before Griffin Hanes added the final punctuation mark in the first half. Bolting down the field, the sophomore took a tough hit on the interior but simply shrugged off the violence and ricocheted a goal off the right pipe to snatch a 12-6 advantage entering halftime.
 
Following the break, the Eagles looked refreshed. Although Brady Altobello scored an early goal after sending a defender spinning to the ground, the visitors whittled away at their deficit. Capitalizing on a pair of penalties, Mary Washington scored two extra-man goals at the start of the quarter. Later, the squad came back with a pair of even-strength tallies to inch within three with four minutes left in the stanza.
 
Needing to push back on the defensive end, Cornell and Pozin both stripped midfielders to cut off a pair of rallies. McAneney also made a huge pointblank save to end another threat and keep the 13-10 lead entering the fourth quarter.
 
With work left to do, the CNU attack added the death blow early in the fourth. First, Collins laid out a midfielder attempting to collect a loose ball before Hines pounced on the roller. Flipping the field, Deal hit Barry on the quick transition to snatch a four-goal lead. Moments later, Deal came back with another assist on a rocket by Collins to push Christopher Newport's advantage to 15-10.
 
Although UMW came back with one final goal, the Captains smothered the opposition over the final 10 minutes. McAneney made five saves during the latter part of the quarter, including two in the waning seconds, to close out the win.
 
Mary Washington held a 44-42 advantage in shots during the game, but McAneney cleaned up between the pipes. The Eagles also held a 43-36 edge in ground balls and won 26 of the game's 30 faceoffs. However, the ball-hawking CNU defense forced 21 turnovers to keep the visitors at bay.
 
Christopher Newport will return to action on Wednesday when the squad travels to No. 1 Salisbury for a 7 p.m. showdown.


 
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